Thank You M Am Theme

Is helping the bad a good decision even if they do not deserve it?
The concept of helping others is usually seen as a returning favor. When an individual does the opposite and excepts the other person to show respect and compassion, the entire, stereotypical idea is thrown off. In “Thank You M'am” by Langston Hughes, a boy by the name Roger is given respect and trust even though he did a deed that shows he is not worthy. Mrs. Jones displays trusting others with sympathy and respect is the right approach to life because of the setting and the characters developed within the short story.
To begin with, the setting of the story demonstrates that the right approach to life is treating others with sympathy and respect.
“In an urban neighborhood similar to the New

York City neighborhood… many single family houses are converted into modest, smaller apartments,” according to Langston Hughes on page 387.
In the 1950s.

the economy was just advancing, and with economic growth that also includes an increase in the human population. This additionally lead to construction of apartments since houses took up more land. With houses becoming expensive, many people are left homeless. In "Thank You, M'am", Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones lives in the enormous city of a poor community. About eleven o'clock at night, she was walking, and suddenly, a boy attempted to steal her purse (Hughes 389). Although he saw an alone women on the street, he did not have to assume and take an advantage on her that alone is immensely not respectful to elders. Mrs. Luella Jones ended up taking him to her home described as a large kitchenette-furnished room (Hughes 390). During his stay, they were able to bond in a sense. Although Mrs. Jones was fully aware of the boy's actions, she did not treat him without consideration. He had several opportunities to have some type of mischievous plan up his sleeve; however, he did not want to be

mistrusted.
Roger may had started off rough, but he had the capability in which Mrs. Luella Jones saw in him, to have sympathy in others.
Furthermore, the characters' progression in “Thank You M'am” is evident to how the life is about the good in treating others with sympathy and respect.
As stated by Langston Hughes, on page 389, it states, “Your face is dirty…. He looked as if he was fourteen or fifteen, frail and willow-wild…”
When Roger tried to take Mrs. Luella Jones purse, his endeavors did not successfully pull through. His small physique was most likely a reason for his setback. Not to mention, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is not just your ordinary elder; she is a large and tough women. The unbalanced forces concluded Mrs. Luella Jones to putting Roger in his place. In Luella Jones's care, he washed his face, combed his hair, and was even feed (Hughes 391). As she gave him a lecture, she was able to figure out what was Roger's ambition. His small figure can articulated that he was not properly feed which connects to financial issues. All he wanted was the latest trend- blue suede shoes. Even if his reason was for shoes, it still did not have to involve stealing someone else's money. Mrs. Jones clarified to him that people do make mistakes, but it is always favorable to right your wrongs. In the end, she put trust in his hands when she gave him the money to buy the shoes. Because he was just understanding the concept of respect, he was not able to express his feeling of gratitude into words (Hughes, 392).
From Roger's thievery out on the streets to his developing respect in Mrs. Jones's home, he was able to learn about the feelings in which he was not able to connect with before this encounter.