Thank You M Am

Trust is a strange thing; it can be given easily, taken with reason, and once lost will forever alter a relationship. As strange as it is, it is very difficult to come by, more so when it comes to complete strangers. In Langston Hughes’s short story “Thank you M’am,” the main character Mrs.Luella Bates Washington Jones demonstrated a true act of generosity when she fed Roger, the young boy who attempted to steal her purse, trusted Roger after his act of rebellion, and gave Roger the money even though she was not able to afford it. Though Mrs.Luella Bates had just enough food to provide for herself, she so willingly took in the adolescent and fed him her food. Mrs.Bates had very little food due to her financial circumstances. After a tiring night of work, on her way home she, inconveniently, came upon a young boy who attempted to grab her enormous purse. Effortlessly, she grabbed the boy by the shirt collar and drug him to her small apartment. She let him wash up; Mrs.Bates then got her food that she bought with her hard earned money and cooked Roger a meal, including dessert. Roger was left dumbfounded, pondering why a complete and utter stranger would show such generosity towards him after his attempts to do such a vile thing. Roger knew that what he had

In the story, Mrs.Luella Bates shared her past with Roger, and she told him, in a way, that they were more alike than he thought. She grew up poor with no family, as he did, and she too had tried to snag purses in order to obtain what she wanted. She did not want him to fall into this lifestyle, so with what little money she had, she gave Roger what he wanted in order for him to purchase his shoes. Though he had no inkling as to why she gave him the money with such little income, he accepted with vast