Thank You Ma’am
Imagine a lanky boy dashes up the street and attempts to snatch an unsuspecting woman's purse, but once he grabs onto the back is the the strap of the purse snaps of the woman's arm and the weight of the boy and the bag combined carries him backward and he crashes onto the cement. This is the story Thank You Ma’am by Langston Hughes, is about a young teen boy named Roger and the women who Roger attempts to steal from Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. Even after what Roger did Mrs. Luella still treats him to a meal and ten dollars which he wanted to buy a new pair of blue suede shoes. By observing the how the characters play out during the story it seems evident that Hughes was trying to convey to the reader that no matter what someone has done, one must forgive them in order to build trust and forge a stronger community.
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“‘You gunna take me to jail?’ … ‘Not with that face, I would not take you know were.” (pg 6). Indeed this conveys that Mrs.L has no intention of turning in Roger and that she actually wants to help him. Seeing how Roger is she empathises for him and feels the need to help him regardless of his prior actions.
Another important inference of this theme is when Roger is in Mrs.Luella’s home and they're talking about the blue suede shoes Roger wanted. “You didn’t have to snatch my pocket book to get some suede shoes.’ … ‘You could have asked me.’” (pg 6). In this quote Mrs.Luella talks to Roger about how he didn't have to steal to get what he wanted. This indicates how Mrs.Luella is teaching Roger a lesson, that it's never ok to steal and that you should always try asking before taking and how she helps him realize
Early America was a very racist country and some argue that it still is today. Racism has been an ongoing conflict in this country but it has gotten better in the last fifty or so years. African Americans are often times the target of racism and have had to persevere through slavery, segregation, and discrimination. During this discrimination and segregation, many African Americans embraced their talents and began what is known as the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance started in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem. Many new artists, musicians, and writers emerged in this renaissance. Writers such as Langston Hughes, Lucille Clifton, and Colleen McElroy were especially important in this time. Langston Hughes, Lucille Clifton, and
A slum neighborhood located in “Yes, Ma’m” and a brilliant train carriage in “The Storyteller” create the setting for this compare and contrast essay. These short stories are similar in that their themes both focus on negative objects, but play them into a positive light. However, their suggested themes are different in that “Yes Ma’m” tells the reader to not believe in people by where they live, but “The Storyteller” communicates to not judge something based on its formality. Langston Hughes’s “Yes Ma’m” has an implied theme found anywhere, “nice people can be found even in the lowest places on the planet.” Another true theme belonging to Saki’s “The Storyteller,” reads, “Sometimes the most improper story is the best one.” Both main messages are true, and provide a very keen focal point for the reader to enjoy.
Deconstruction of Thank You, Ma’am. & nbsp ; There are a million acts of kindness each day. Some young man gives a stranger a compliment, or a teacher brightens a students morning. But, in the world we live in today, these acts are rare to come by. In this short story Thank You, Ma’am, the boy, out of mysterious luck, gets taken in by the woman whom he was trying to steal a purse from. Her actions, following the incident towards the boy, may have seemed very as complicated as life is, there will not always be someone for you to lean on and depend on. The first and most foremost thing that would come to mind when reading this story is how caring Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones was, that she took in the boy and nurtured him; she tried to teach him between right and wrong. She gave him food, a nice conversation, and even a chance of escape, which he chose not to take, but these methods are still an immoral way of handling the situation. If a boy were to come up to an everyday woman on the streets, that victim would not be as sensitive as Mrs. the boy she caught. To teach a young man that if you steal and you are going to get special treatment is not an effective method of punishment. First of all, the boy told Mrs. Jones that he tried to steal her purse for one reason, to buy blue suede shoes for himself. She then replies, “Well you didn’t have to snatch my pocketbook to get some blue suede shoes.
It was about eleven o’clock when Roger ran up to Mrs. Jones and tried to steal her purse. It was at this
“I picked up the cup, took a deep breath, and then picked up the other letter that I had carried around with me for almost six weeks now” (Moyes 406). The note that Will writes contains instructions to go to Paris and visit a perfume shop, how to gain full access to an account full of money, an apology for causing pain and grief, a request to step out of the comfort zone, and to live well. The note is of great significance to Lou because it gives her something that she will be able to read multiple times and have it remind her of all the memories she has of Will. This note is also critical to the novel because the author uses it as a conclusion. Without the note, Louisa is unable to accept the fact that Will is gone. It gives Lou a sense of relief and acceptance knowing that Will is finally in a place where he is no longer in pain. It also gives Will the ability to move on by knowing he is able to convey his feelings and say his last words to Lou. The note is Will and Lou’s final goodbye to each
A situation can be interpreted into several different meanings when observed through the world of poetry. A poet can make a person think of several different meanings to a poem when he or she is reading it. Langston Hughes wrote a poem titled "I, Too." In this poem he reveals the Negro heritage and the pride that he has in his heritage and in who he is. Also, Hughes uses very simple terms that allow juvenile interpretations and reading.
Langston Hughes unique characterization of Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones in the short story "Thank you, Ma' am". Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is a very strong minded woman. She is also very rough and bossy and she even dragged Roger up the street. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones though bossy and strong mind, is very kind and honest. She had Roger wash his face and she fed him dinner while he was at her house. She is also very thoughtful for she knew that his parents didn't really care for him at home. She could tell by his face that his parents aren't home very much and probably neglect him. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is very empathetic towards Roger and she tells him that she was like him at one time, only worse. She
population is oppressed and must ignore or postpone their dreams. The more dreams are postponed
The poem from Roethke, “My Papa’s Waltz,” is a very detailed poem with a very sad story line. The description of the title that does not correlate with the poem but that is what makes the poem interesting to me. The young boy in the poem is not clearly “waltzing” with his father and the dancing in the poem is not graceful when describing the pans, wrist, and right ear. The poems “Mother to Son,” by Hughes was by least one of my favorite poems.
Later in the poem Mrs, Luella Bates talks about her past life being quite similar to the boy’s, and instead of lecturing the poor boy she embraces his hardships. Hughes later writes, “When they were finished eating she got up and said, 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...”. This is part of the poem is as important as any other regardless of it being towards the end of the poem because it shows sympathy and compassion from Mrs, Luella Bates instead of hatred. This quotation relates to the Charleston church attack because it shows that people have the ability to have different emotions regardless of their image or social stature. The New York Times writes, “Dylann s Roof, a self radicalized young white supremacist who killed nine black parishioners last year when he opened fire during a long-planned assault on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church”. This excerpt from the New York Time relates to Langston Hughes poem because it shows just about anybody can feel and have different emotions than what their personal image conveys. It talks about Dylann being young and self radicalized white supremacist which shows us that
The poem is about a pike, and the feelings that the poet holds towards them. He shows how they are brutal yet beautiful creatures. It appears to be a poem about nature but it does not follow the underlying romantic theme that most nature poems do. This poem shows the darker side of nature which is beautiful but terrifying and powerful. Hughes uses the image of a baby pike to represent the fact that they are already beautiful from birth and that there is no improvements that need to be made.
Using the views from the critical anthology and at least three poems by Hughes, explore and evaluate how the natural world is captured and used in the poems ‘Snowdrop’, ‘The Bull Moses’ and ‘The Bear’. Hughes, unlike any other poet, manages to capture the natural world in a variety of different ways. Most significantly he captures the power and beauty of nature, but always portrays the subtle danger and death that is contained in the same world. Thoreau said ‘I do not know of any poetry to quote which adequately expresses this yearning for the wild’.
(Hughes 12) Roger has an answer of no, which explains how he doesn't have anyone at home. He is almost homeless, definitely poor, and is a young child with no one to go to and nowhere to go. While reading, you may have thought Roger was taken to Mrs. Jones to be punished, but her ended up in an exact opposite place. She took him home, washed him, groomed him, fed him, and when letting him loose, she gave him ten whole dollars to buy himself a pair of blue suede shoes. She used to be just like Roger, wanting things that she could not get.
In reviewing two of Langston Hughes’ poems, Ballad of the Landlord and Ruby Brown, the literary theory that would be most appropriate to use in analyze these poems would be historical. Historical criticism by definition studies the historical factors that influence the writer. Whether it is social, cultural, economic or etc., historical references can be used to understand and analyze works of literature. This particular style of evaluating works of literature also focuses on the time period as an influence on the reader as well. This literary form would be most appropriate in evaluating Langston Hughes’ poems, because both of these poems and most of Mr. Hughes’ works of art, are deeply influenced by issues that plagued the 1920’s such as
He began by asking her why she didn’t by a real necklace in the first place, while she snuck over to her purse at which she saw the box that the necklace was held in inside. She grabbed the necklace and ran as fast as she could until she was out of sight. Mrs. Forestier saw her running and tried to stop her, but she was already gone and she didn’t know where she went. Her husband ran after her, but by the time he found her she was in a taxi leaving him to find his own way out of the