A short story is a brief but pleasant narrative which has a length that is long enough to get the theme, message, and character development across, but takes only a moment to read. Langston Hughes, poet and author, has written a marvelous tale, “Thank You Ma’am,” to teach his readers lessons on manners. In this story, Roger, a poor boy, attempts to steal a woman’s purse, only to be shown kindness after brief interrogation, trust, and mutual understandings. Mrs. Luella Washington Bates Jones, the second protagonist of our narrative, demonstrates the importance of forgiving and leading people on to the right path in life through attentiveness towards this boy’s situation. The theme of “Thank You Ma’am” is that respect, trust, and forgiveness comes from understanding, whether you’ve been in their situation or make an attempt to comprehend their reasons behind mistreatment. …show more content…
Luella Bates Washington Jones, acts out in anger towards Roger. Her actions demonstrate she is upset by his choice to steal, but also that she has in interest in his decision. By the neck, she picks him up, drags him, and accuses him, “You a lie!” (Hughes 1). Judging by the fact she even hesitated calling the police to show curiosity to his situation reveals her attentiveness to the situation. Usually when someone attempts to steal a purse, their reaction would be to alert the authorities, yet she decides to show mercy. Luella Jones’ understanding doesn’t appear immediately; instead, she decides to test Roger. Setting down her pocketbook, which he previously attempted to steal, she leaves the room with the boy and the purse. When she returns, she realizes her faith was justly placed, as the thief and item were still remaining. This course of action leads her to confess to Roger that she has “done things, too,” (Hughes 3). Along with the choice to leave Roger and the purse alone, her confession shows where she first starting trusting
In a short story called, “Thank you ma’am”, the author is trying to convey the theme, or message, of the importance of showing random acts of kindness towards others to help institute change. Mrs.J show one act of kindness when she washes his face. Another when she makes Roger food at her house. Mrs.J is kind and shows multiple examples throughout the story.
After Liesel steals her second book she pulls it out and her father sees The Shoulder Shrug (Zusak 126). However, he tells her it will be their secret and he will not tell her mother (Zusak 126). Although her father will keep the secret, she is worried about the mayor's wife who saw her take the book (Zusak 132). Much to Liesel’s surprise, when she delivers the laundry to the major's wife doesn't scold her; instead the she allows Liesel to use her library (Zusak 134). Later Liesel finds out the mayor and his wife lost their son, probably, in World War I and she sees their grief (Zusak 145).
In his poems, Langston Hughes treats racism not just a historical fact but a “fact” that is both personal and real. Hughes often wrote poems that reflect the aspirations of black poets, their desire to free themselves from the shackles of street life, poverty, and hopelessness. He also deliberately pushes for artistic independence and race pride that embody the values and aspirations of the common man. Racism is real, and the fact that many African-Americans are suffering from a feeling of extreme rejection and loneliness demonstrate this claim. The tone is optimistic but irritated. The same case can be said about Wright’s short stories. Wright’s tone is overtly irritated and miserable. But this is on the literary level. In his short stories, he portrays the African-American as a suffering individual, devoid of hope and optimism. He equates racism to oppression, arguing that the African-American experience was and is characterized by oppression, prejudice, and injustice. To a certain degree, both authors are keen to presenting the African-American experience as a painful and excruciating experience – an experience that is historically, culturally, and politically rooted. The desire to be free again, the call for redemption, and the path toward true racial justice are some of the themes in their
Prejudice is a cancer that spreads hate among its perpetrators and victims alike. In 1930 Langston Hughes penned the novel, Not Without Laughter. This powerful story, written from the perspective of an African-American boy named James “Sandy” Rodgers, begins in the early 1900’s in the small town of Stanton, Kansas. Through the eyes of young Sandy, we see the devastating impact of racism on his family and those they are close to. We also see how the generations of abuse by whites caused a divide within the black community. Among, and even within, black families there were several social classes that seemed to hinge on seeking equality through gaining the approval of whites. The class someone belonged to was determined by the color of their skin, the type of church one attended, their level of education, and where an individual was able to find work.
The civil rights movement may have technically ended in the nineteen sixties, but America is still feeling the adverse effects of this dark time in history today. African Americans were the group of people most affected by the Civil Rights Act and continue to be today. Great pain and suffering, though, usually amounts to great literature. This period in American history was no exception. Langston Hughes was a prolific writer before, during, and after the Civil Rights Act and produced many classic poems for African American literature. Hughes uses theme, point of view, and historical context in his poems “I, Too” and “Theme for English B” to expand the views on African American culture to his audience members.
Another example of Hughes’s constant struggles with racism and his inner and thoughtful response to that is clearly seen when he recalls being denied the right to sit at the same table. His point of view identifies that he was not able to sit at the table because he was an African-American. Yet, he remains very optimistic in not letting his misfortune please what is considered the “white-man” in the poem. Langston Hughes’s states,
However, the murder of the guard also brought the symptoms of de-realization on Lolly, there was a point where Lolly perceived the assassination of the guard as one of her delusions and did not perceived it as real even though that time it was real. Nevertheless, when she found out that she killed the guard her delusions became worst and she wanted to use the time machine to go back in time and not kill the guard because now the government knew. Moreover, Lolly had memory problems, before arriving to Litchfield Penitentiary she met the main character, Piper, on a plane that was transporting other prisoners and spent time together on Metropolitan Detention Center in Chicago, but when Piper recognized her in Litchfield Lolly did not remembered her until later. Finally, at times Lolly has a lack of insight into her schizophrenia where she knows that her auditory hallucinations are not real, but have valid points like going back on time or that she does not need evidence that people is trying to hurt her because her life is her
Dewey Dell resents Darl so much because he is the only one who knows her secret. She wants to kill him but sending him of is the next best thing so her secret can be
After seeing Charlotte two years earlier, Montraville sees a very attractive Charlotte walking with her teacher Mademoiselle La Rue and joins them. Montraville finds Charlotte very attractive and bribes La Rue with 5 guineas to see Charlotte once more on the next field day (Rowson 29-30). Montraville presents Charlotte a love letter to read asking her to meet him. To ensure their safety, Charlotte plans on telling Montraville not to meet her again because she and her teacher can get expelled from the school. Charlotte falls under the negative influence of La Rue who goes only to church to get invited to parties and flirt. Charlotte does not want to open and read the letter, but La Rue encourages and insists she to open it. Charlotte tells La Rue that her mother always told her not to ever open letters from young men unless her mother read them first, but La Rue tells her
In the short story “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes, Mrs. Jones kindness to Roger changed him. Her kindness change him because even though he did something wrong Mrs. Jones still gave him things and this is why Roger has changed.
Another claim for Louisa is that she is very confident. Some evidence for Louisa being confident is that she had a full plan for running away and what day it was going to be on. A reason for her being confident for this is that she showed that she truly wanted to run away. Another example of Louisa being confident was when she wanted to go back home. This example proves that she had changed her mind about going back home and about her family. In all of this Louisa proves to be a sure women.
Mrs. Jones, a strong black woman grabbed onto the boy Roger who tried to steal her purse. She dragged him to her house and gave him food to eat and made him wash his face. Mrs. Jones handles the situation the way she does in the story because she wants Roger to learn his lesson not to steal from anyone else again to quench his thirst for things he wanted and be a good kid. “Now, here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes. And next time, do not make the mistake of latching onto my pocketbook nor nobody else’s.” She also acted this way because it reminded of herself before when she was young just like Roger, and how she wanted something she can not get. The quote that supports this sentence is “I were young once and I
Have you ever wanted to hide something you have done? Have you ever lied to someone about an accident that you caused? Doing these, and a few others, make you human. Madame Loisel, in “The Necklace”, written by Guy De Maupassant, did a few of these things.
Can you think of someone that has made an important impact on your life, helping you to grow and become the person you are today? In the story “Thank You M’am” by Langston Hughes, a young boy named Roger crosses paths with an older lady, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. Mrs. Jones is alarmed and disturbed because of him right away when he runs up to her. Then, she feels bad for the boy considering how he looks and acts, and she ends up helping Roger out by the end of the story. Mrs. Jones changes Roger by taking care of him and showing him he’s not alone even after he did something wrong.
Louisa is Gradgrind's daughter and both her and her brother have both been used by their father as test subjects. The ideology they are raised on is total utilitarianism; there is nothing important besides facts and statistics. There is no room for emotions or imagination because they are useless and pollute the mind. “It was a fundamental principle of the Gradgrind philosophy that everything was to be paid for. Nobody was ever on any account to give anybody anything, or render anybody help without purchase. Gratitude was to be abolished, and the virtues springing from it were not to be. Every inch of the existence of mankind, from birth to death, was to be a bargain across a counter. And if we didn’t get to Heaven that way, it was not a politico-economical place, and we had no business there.” (255) This mindset is responsible for her getting into a marriage that has no love in it whatsoever, and she nearly has an affair. “I have done no worse, I have not disgraced you. But if you ask me whether I have loved him, or do love him, I tell you plainly, father, that it may be that it may b...