A single story can teach you many things. It can change you into a whole other person. Theme is a message about life conveyed through literature. In the story, “Thank You Ma’am,” by Langston Hughes, the author conveys a theme that, you can change a person for the better through kindness, trust, and forgiveness. The story talks about a young boy, Roger, who tries to steal a woman's purse. The woman, Mrs. Luella Bate Washington Jones, stops him and drags him to her house instead of hurting him.
1920’s Harlem was a time of contrast and contradiction, on one hand it was a hotbed of crime and vice and on the other it was a time of creativity and rebirth of literature and at this movement’s head was Langston Hughes. Hughes was a torchbearer for the Harlem Renaissance, a literary and musical movement that began in Harlem during the Roaring 20’s that promoted not only African-American culture in the mainstream, but gave African-Americans a sense of identity and pride.
Langston Hughes paint a picture of himself, as he goes on to thirteen in church but finds himself directly reflecting on mans own instinctive behavior for obedience. A congregation who wants him to go up and get saved, gives into obedience and goes to the altar as if he has seen the light of the Holy Spirit itself. "won't you come? Wont you come to jesus? Young lambs, wont you come?" As the preacher stilling there with open arms, girls crying, kids standing that they have felt the power force of the holy spirit through there body. There, Langston, sits not feeling anything but himself sitting in a hot church waiting for this unknown pheumona to come and touch his inner soul only to find out that the Holy Spirit isn't coming for him at all.
Everyday people encounter challenges that stand in their way of achieving their goals, but with sheer determination most accomplish their mission. In the short story “A Worn Path” written by Eudora Welty, Phoenix Jackson, the main character, has a mission to complete while confronting many challenges. One way to convey this idea is with the literary use of theme. The theme of a literary work is defined as the central idea, concern or message about life that an author wishes to convey to his/her readers. There can be more than one theme in a literary work. One of the major themes in Eudora Welty’s short story “A Worn Path” is the sheer determination that Phoenix Jackson conveys via her actions. This short story centers on the challenges faced by an elderly African-American grandmother, as she makes her long journey from the secluded pinewoods into the nearby town of Natchez in order to get the needed medicine for her ailing grandson. This is a journey that Phoenix has taken before and now must travel it again. She begins her journey on a bright, cold morning in December and w...
Berry, Faith. Langston Hughes Before and Beyond Harlem Connecticut: Lawrence Hill and Company Publishers, 1983
In the short story, "An Hour With Abuelo", the tale tells us of boy reluctantly visiting his grandfather, Abuelo. The story's theme is that things that you expect may not turn out the way you think. She conveys the theme at the end of the story when the main character learns the theme of the story.
Langston Hughes's stories deal with and serve as a commentary of conditions befalling African Americans during the Depression Era. As Ostrom explains, "To a great degree, his stories speak for those who are disenfranchised, cheated, abused, or ignored because of race or class." (51) Hughes's stories speak of the downtrodden African-Americans neglected and overlooked by a prejudiced society. The recurring theme of powerlessness leads to violence is exemplified by the actions of Sargeant in "On the Road", old man Oyster in "Gumption", and the robber in "Why, You Reckon?"
The Harlem Renaissance inspired, and was inspired by some of the greatest poets, musicians and artists of the century. Among these great minds, were the poets Langston Hughes, and Claude McKay. Though motivated by the same hardships, people, and events, the works of both Hughes, and McKay show glaring differences in the perspectives of the authors. Upon reading “Harlem” by Hughes, the audience may easily see the author’s more peaceful call to action. In contrast, after reading “If We Must Die,” one can infer that McKay prefers to call his audience to obvious (physical) action. Langston Hughes’s poem portrays a more passive overtone, while Claude McKay’s poem is more aggressive. There are, however, a few similarities between the two works of
The Five Elements of a story and novel are the theme, the plot, the setting, characters, and conflict. However, each element should rely and emphasize each other throughout the story. A prime example of this is found in the short story, “Thank You, Ma'am.” The story was written in 1958 by Langston Hughes. It is about a poor boy named Roger, who tries to steal a woman's purse. The woman, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, responds, however, in a very unexpected way. Mrs. Jones takes Roger, who tried to steal from her, to her house and shows him kindness. So the first theme of “Thank You, Ma'am” is 'be kind to everyone, even if they don't deserve it.' But, then, Mrs. Jones later reveals to him that she, too, used to be just like Roger, and that she used to steal and do worse things than that. Thus, the second theme is 'you can always work past and issue and
Although there are many significant structures that come along with the construction of a story, theme is the most important one. Theme in a story is the basic structure or the main idea of what the story is all about, using strong or immediate words. In the book Anthem, by Ayn Rand, there are several themes the author purposes to the reader. Some themes Ayn Rand shares with the reader in the book Anthem are love, worthy, perfection, honesty, responsibility, etc. Although there are numerous themes that could apply to this book, only one stood out to be most relevant to my own life. The theme that was most relevant to my life was the theme ‘responsibility.’
Theme plays a very important part in this short story. Theme is the idea of a literary work abstracted from its details of language, character and action. The great example of theme that is evident throughout the entire short story is the duty to perform certain acts. We can see here that the Irishman Donovan is very big on obeying his duty to carry out orders that have been authorized to him.
A theme is a message of a story or the idea that the author wishes to express. The theme in the short story, “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” by Rudyard Kipling is that evil is punished and good is rewarded. Rikki-tikki’s character is good, and he is the protagonist. Throughout the story he worked to protect Teddy and the family. Rikki-tikki’s reward was keeping the family safe by defeating the cobras. The cobras were evil, and they were antagonists because they tried to kill everyone in the house and in the garden. They were punished by getting defeated, losing the garden, and losing the baby cobras. In this story, the action helped me figure out the theme and helped me realize clearly that it had something to do with good versus evil. I can see, however, how some people might think the theme is that hard work can bring a great reward. I intend to prove that my theme is correct.
In the short story, “Thank you Ma’m,” by Langston Hughes, the main characters, Roger and Mrs. Jones went through changes that helped them reevaluate themselves, their outlooks, and their perspectives on life.
was based on African American culture and themes which made a him a main contributor in the harlem renaissance.langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. Carrie Langston and James Hughes Langston's parents separated after his birth and he was raised by his grandmother until she died in the early years of his teenage life. Later, Hughes lived with his mother Carrie in Lincoln, Illiois She had remarried when he was still a child, and they eventually lived in Clevelannd, Ohio where he attended high school.Hughes was a contributor to his school's literary magazine, and frequently submitted poetry, although they would reject him. Hughes
In the story “Thank You Ma’am” by Langston Hughes, the theme is you can find kindness anywhere. One of the main characters, Roger, wanted a new pair of suede shoes. Unfortunately, Roger does not have the means for these shoes. He attempted to mug Mrs.Jones, who was unexpectedly strong. She easily pushed Roger away. She generously took Roger into her care for the night. Since she noticed he was dirty, Mrs.Jones let Roger wash his face and fed him. Roger is very thankful for this and will never forget the name of the woman that helped him out.
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.