Thank You M'am

                                              

     The story entitled “Thank You Ma’am” is truly an interesting and affecting story. It deals with some situations that can influence people. It expresses different emotions and moral lessons in every case. It gives us a glimpse of Langston Hughes’ short story about what happens when a youth named Roger tries to steal a large woman’s purse named Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. The story indicates that the woman catches the boy, and then she takes him home, cleanses him up, gives him some advice, and sets him in the right direction, having a lasting effect on the boy. The theme of the story may be about some children that are in poor homes and are miserable, they feel being ignored, neglected and only needs someone who cares for them. The story tells about Roger who looks very dirty, he comes from a poor family and needs to steal to get what he wants. I learn that there is no one home who can take care of him. Then there is Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones who takes Roger home and makes sure he is clean, fed and has money to buy the shoes he really want, but can't afford. This shows that Mrs. Jones is generous and kind-hearted even though she’s poor, she still gave the boy money to buy a blue suede shoes. Instead of turning him in to the police, she takes him home and gives him some care and attention. I believe the story is about admiring the strong woman because she cares for anyone and everyone. Her aim probably is to teach the boy a thing about life and how to behave. She does everything good just to get the boy on the right track and leaves the rest to him. We never really get to know what the characters are thinking. Only the narrator knows where the story is going. There is a time when Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones walks behind a screen and leaves Roger alone with her purse. “But the boy took care to sit on the far side of the room, away from the purse, where he thought she could easily see him out of the corner of her if she wanted to. He did not trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not want to be mistrusted now.” Here we learn his thoughts, but not the emotions behind them. So even though we know what he is thinking, we don't know how he feels. 
     One of the obvious ones is the shoes Roger wants. They are blue suede shoes; they certainly aren't in fashion today. Also the language is somewhat old fashioned. The way the characters speak is a clue too, not just to the time, but also the place. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones says “You a lie!” to Roger and means that he's a liar. If the story was from today or sometime close to today she wouldn't speak like that, neither would she speak like that if she was wealthy. As I've said before I think Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is a symbol of strong women, and that the story is a thank you to all of them. A thank you ma'am to every woman who gives their time to care for others. I think that is what the story is, a big thank you to women like Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. 
     I think that it’s still a good choice for me to read this story because some situations are relevant to our present-day and inspires me but some cases are not into reality. Despite all the fancy situations, I still like and admire the story that Langston Hughes’ wrote. All I know is that the story talks about trust and the lesson is: A person who trusts no one can't be trusted.