Thank You, Ma’am
Just because one is less fortunate does not mean they have the right to take from others. Mrs. Jones, one of the main characters in “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes is walking alone down the street in the city going to the grocery store, and Roger, another one of the main characters, sees the old lady walking alone with her shoulder strapped purse, and decides to run up behind her and snatch her purse. In Langston Hughes short story “Thank You, Ma’am” one of the main characters becomes a victim of someone who feels this way. As the story prepares, the author reveals the characteristics of the two main characters that help develop the theme.
Langston Hughes, portrays Mrs. Jones as a very confident and courageous character. However, Mrs. Jones must be very confident and courageous. Hughes explains, “She was a large woman with a large purse that had everything but hammer and nails” (Hughes 1). Mrs. Jones description is very intimidating; the quote above tells the reader that one does not what to expect from this old lady. Mrs. Jones is very serious; her dialogue shows the readers that she means business. “When I get through with you, sir, you are going to remember Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones” (Hughes 2). Later in the story, Mrs. Jones feels
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Being young does not mean anything but growth , so the author explains to the readers, “He looked as if he were fourteen or fifteen, frail and willow-wild, in tennis shoes and blue jeans” (Hughes 1). So he is young, skinny, shabby looking clothes. The young boy Roger has some kind of soft skills, when Roger replies back to Mrs. Jones respectfully saying, “Yes’m” (Hughes 1). When people show they have manners, there is something deeper they may lack. By the looks of his clothes and the sound of Roger voice you can tell he is scared and regret messing with Mrs. Jones. His voice is very soft quite like a
Our young, unnamed narrator sets the tone by describing his home, which is his grandfather's dirty, yellow, big-framed house. He also notes why his mother hated it. They had fleas, she said. He goes on to render how the people of Jonesville-on-the-Grande became in sync with the routine on the post at Fort Jones. At eight, the whistle from the post laundry sent our children off to school.
When Mrs Hale and Mrs. Peters first walk into Minnie Wrights house, they see how lonely and unkept her house was. The men could not understand why a woman would keep her house in that condition, but the women determine how sad and depressed Mrs. Wright was. "'I might 'a' known she needed help! I tell you, it's queer, Mrs. Peters. We live close together, and we live far apart. We all go through the same things—it's all just a different kind of the same thing! If it weren't—why do you and I underst...
As Bailey, the grandmother’s only son was escorting his family on this trip through the South en route to Florida, Flannery O’ Connor vividly described the scenery along the road such as the makeup of Stone Mountain and its different shades, the assorted rows of crops which was best described as “rows of green lacework on the ground”, and the way the sunlight cascaded along the trees. Among all this beauty, John Wesley fixed himself to say, “Let’s go through Georgia fast so we won’t have to look at it much”. The grandmother was taken aback by this comment. She explained to him that if she were him, she wouldn’t talk so negatively about the state that is his own home state. She continued to reflect about the past, referring to the children about how the kids in her days were not only respectful to
In the poem "Minerva Jones" by Edgar Lee Masters, it describes a poetic woman who is from a small village. It highlights that some of the people in that small village made bad remarks about her person that brought her down. In verse number 2 it says,"Hooted at, jeered at by the Yahoos of the street For my heavy body, cock-eye, and rolling walk,". This indicates that her life in a small community was not at all great. This poem consists of other people who have some sort of relationship with Jones. For example, "Butch" Weldy, is the person who captures Jones and brutally hurts her. Another person who has a relationship with Jones is Doctor Meyers. This person is who she seeks after getting brutally attacked. Her life depended on this man's care but in the end, he cannot save her. The things this lets us know about the poet's view on small-town American culture and values is that there are things that are simply overlooked. People don't sit down and think how dangerous a small town can really be.
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,
For instance, when Roger sees the tension between Ralph, Piggy, and the tribe; the author narrates, “Below him, Ralph was a shock of hair and Piggy a bag of fat.” (180) Roger no longer sees the two boys as people, but as prey. At this moment he becomes a hunter that stops at nothing to earn the respect of the tribe. Another example of Roger’s accepted masculinity is shown when Roger joins Jack in hunting the pig. The author narrates, “Roger ran around the heap, prodding with his spear whenever pig flesh appeared.” (135) Roger continuously stabs at the pig without hesitation; he no longer wants to eat the meat for survival but enjoys the slaughtering. His actions of savagery are applauded by society, which shows that he himself has become more of an animal than a boy. Roger begins to portray an animal that goes to great lengths to achieve what he wants and is encouraged by
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.
Whether it is because of the obligation, out of love, pity or kindness, Jane believes she visit Mrs. Reed and fulfill her last wishes. “Forgive me for my passionate language; I was a child then; eight, nine years have passed since that day.” (253) Putting the hardships behind her Jane gives her full apologies to Mrs.
The poems of Langston Hughes have been alluded to as the voice of African American troubles since the beginning of 20th century America. Poems filled with aspirations, beliefs, desires and perseverance of black America to be acknowledged for their parts in helping form this nation and be considered equivalent among their white counterparts. The poem, “I, Too” is one of the numerous works in Hughes’ archives that follows this trademark style which has brought him worldwide fame. Here, Hughes uses having supper at the dinner table as a symbol for being seen as equal in America.
Although growing up without his parents was difficult and confusing for Hughes, it was during this time that his fire for literature was sparked by his grandmother, who always told Hughes stories of independent and strong forbears (Mullane 499). Hughes's grandmother, Mary Sampson Patterson Leary Langston, was prominent in the African American community in Lawrence. Her first husband had died at Harper’s Ferry fighting with John Brown; her second husband, Hughes's grandfather, was a prominent Kansas politician during Reconstruction. Hughes has been quoted as saying, “Through my grandmother’s stories, always life moved heroically to an end. Nobody ever cried in my grandmother’s stories. They worked, or schemed, or fought. But no crying. When my grandmother died, I did not cry either. Something about my grandmother’s stories(without her having said so) taught me the uselessness of crying.
of a grape going into a raisin. Hughes knew the pain and sorrow internally and externally that the
She would not have grieved over someone she did not love. Even in the heat of her passion, she thinks about her lost love. She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked safe with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. Her love may not have been the greatest love of all time, but it was still love. Marriage was not kind to Mrs. Mallard, her life was dull and not worth living, her face showed the years of repression.
Langston Hughes “The ballad of a landlord” had an ironic twist when the speaker ended up in jail. The landlord thought that the man was lawfully wrong because he “threaten the government.” The landlord didn’t fix the speakers house because of the color of his skin. This poem can be useful today because of the racial tension that is happening today. Many African American face problem with social injustices every day just because the color of their skin isn’t like everybody else’s. The community gets profiles as soon as they enter the room. Langston Hughes poem is one that brings the audience along to inform them that the African American community is still dealing with a problem with something as simple as living in an
The author uses dialogue to express hope for Roger within the short story. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones stated that “I got a great mind to wash your face for you. Ain’t you got nobody home to tell you to wash your face? (pg. 1, para. 12). This shows how the woman glanced at Roger after he tried to steal from her, and cared for him; she wanted to help him. Hughes used dialogue to show compassion for Roger, even though he tried to steal from her. On the last page, Mrs. Luella Bates