Thank You M Am Langston Hughes Analysis

Treating someone with kindness and empathy can change his or her life drastically even if you don’t realize it right at that moment. In “Thank You M’am” by Langston Hughes, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones treated a boy named Roger with such a degree of forgiveness you would not usually expect, considering Roger had just tried to steal her purse from her minutes before. Their interaction that night contained the power to drastically change Roger’s view on the world. Mrs. Jones’s helpful and non-judgemental attitude towards Roger served as a catalyst for the transformation of Roger’s view on the world, showing that even strangers can possess the power to change each other’s life forever.
Mrs. Jones took Roger into her home for the night as

if he was her own, letting him know that he does not have to feel alone in this big world. “The woman said, ‘You...your face. Are you hungry?’” (pg 1, paragraph 16) “Maybe, you ain’t been home to…at my house,’ said the boy” (pg 2, paragraph 8-9). Mrs. Jones saw his dirty face and realized that Roger most likely did not have anyone really looking after him. Her making it a point to help this boy learn from his mistakes lets him know that she is there for him, even if it was only for one night. Her maternal instincts kicked in the moment she saw this teenage boy fall down after trying to snatch her purse. When you feel that no one is there for you, you tend to take matters into your own hands and not care much about others. That’s exactly what Roger tried to do. He wanted new blue suede shoes, so he decided he was going to try to steal money from a random stranger so he could get them. Since he believed no one cared for him, he thought it was okay to not take the feelings of other people into account. By taking Roger to her house, having him wash his face, and cooking dinner for him, Mrs. Jones made it more clear to Roger that he is not alone it is important to care about others, no matter who they are.
Mrs. Jones was very understanding of Roger’s actions and saw herself in him, so she felt it was important that he knew that life was not always going to be difficult. “After a while she said...if he didn’t already know’” (pg 2, paragraph 15-17). “The woman did not ask the boy...blondes, red-heads, and Spanish” (pg 3, paragraph 5). Mrs. Jones revealing that she was just like Roger once and made actions she now regrets in order to obtain things that she originally couldn’t get, shows that these two strangers are more alike than they thought. Mrs. Jones knew that young people tend to do things they regret, including herself, so she knew it would be wrong to act judgemental towards Roger’s actions. She acted as an example that life gets better. Like Roger, Mrs. Jones was not able to get all of the items she wanted. It can be inferred that she also committed immoral actions in order to get those items, just like Roger. But now, she is a working woman who has her own house and is able to provide for herself. Roger was able to see that he currently is like what Mrs. Jones was like when she was young, and consequently will have the potential to be as successful as she is now when he grows up. This connection brings two troubled or previously troubled beings together and allows one to realize how much she has grown as a person and allows the other to get a glimpse of the great things that have yet to come.
Mrs.

Jones taught Roger that it is more important to learn from your mistakes than to only be punished as a result of them. “‘You gonna take me to jail...take you nowhere,’ said the woman” (pg 2, paragraph 7-8). “When they were finished eating...from here on in” (pg 3, paragraph 7). Mrs. Jones could have reported Roger to the police after he tried snatching her bag, but she chose not to. She instead wanted him to learn to not make this mistake ever again. If she had taken Roger to jail, all that would have done was punish him for trying to steal. He would not have learned any lesson except to not attempt to steal bags anymore. Roger most likely would have came up with a different illegal method to get quick money. By taking Roger into her home and helping him recognize the consequences of his actions, Roger learned to not try to take anything from others for his personal benefit ever again. Even though Mrs. Jones and Roger were strangers brought together through an unsuccessful theft, the impact left on Roger was greater than any possible interaction with anyone he knew. He learned the important lesson of recognizing and accepting when you can or can’t have something you want and always taking others’ feelings into consideration, even if you don’t know

them.
Two strangers can be brought together under the most uncommon circumstances but still teach each other more than anyone they know could’ve taught them. After encountering Mrs. Jones and listening to all of the insightful things she had to say Roger left her house a completely different person. His outlook on the world around him was changed for the better. After spending a couple of hours with a stranger, he was no longer alone and life looked a lot brighter. This shows that by listening to a new voice, you can learn things that you never would have come to realize by yourself until many years later. Even a stranger wields the power to transform a lost soul into a person who is whole.