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. Roger, a dynamic character in the short story, started off as an inconsiderate thief who was afraid, but in the end learned values and a lesson, that helped him become grateful, and a better person. Roger started off as a nervous thief who didn’t know right from wrong, and who thought he could steal from others to get what he wanted. According to page 123, “It was about eleven o’clock at night, dark, and she was alone, when a boy ran up behind her and tried to snatch her purse.” In the beginning of “Thank you Ma’m,” Roger, a poor …show more content…
Jones, a static character, helped Roger understand morals, but when she first met him, you wouldn’t of expected her to trust the young boy. In, “Thank you Ma’m” Mrs. Jones started the story off being a strong independent woman, and even though she had these traits in the end too, she became more compassionate. “The large woman simply turned around and kicked him right square in his blue jeaned sitter.” (123). When Mrs. Jones first encountered Roger, he did her wrong, and she held up her own in defending herself against him. Also when she first spoke to him, she asked him why he did it, which shows that she was not afraid of Roger. After speaking to him for a little bit, she made a criterion about Roger. Mrs. Jones started understanding him and tried to help him by taking him to her house. “I would teach you right from wrong. Least I can do right now is to wash your face. Are you hungry?” (124). Soon realizing that Roger didn’t have anyone taking care of him, Mrs. Jones decided to help him by cleaning him up and feeding him. She also felt bad for the boy and decided to give him a second chance despite their first interaction. Mrs. Jones and Roger spent some time together and Mrs. Jones knew that Roger wasn’t going to try anything else on her, so she decided to trust him. “The women did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run now, nor did she watch her purse, which she left behind on the daybed.” (126). The time that the two spent together, helped build a small bond between them. Mrs. Jones trusted Roger now and knew he wouldn’t try anything, so she left all of her belongings out where he could easily see them. Mrs. Jones a strong, courageous, static character in, “Thank you Ma’m,” went from having strong feeling towards Roger to helping him and becoming motherly and compassionate towards
By examining Roger’s character in Lord of the Flies, I believe that Roger is a symbolic representation of someone who is losing respect for human life and what it has to offer. In the novel Roger does not seem to appreciate others, causing him to act in a disrespectful way towards the other boys and seems to enjoy other people’s pain. This shows that people in society will do negative actions that will affect others, because they are losing respect for human life.
The first main character of the book The Gum Thief, Roger, is a middle-aged man who finished high school, has a son with his ex-wife Joan, and works at Staples, not pursuing his dreams of becoming an author. During his high school days, Roger did not put effort into studying, but spent his time partying and drinking. After he got married to Joan, they had a son who passed away a few years l...
Roger has shaped his identity throughout the book by doing actions to form his new cruel, violent identity. Roger has done things such as throw and release rocks at two boys, and then viciously hunting a pig and killing him.
In this first instance, the boys push for their freedom. The boys still have the rules of society in the back of their minds, however, they are about to go over the edge. Roger is contemplating on whether or not he should harm a child when Golding writes,“Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed, and threw it at Henry- threw it to miss… round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law”(62). This quote shows that Roger’s violent actions were minimized because of the thought of how doing so would affect him at home. When Roger realizes this, he decides it’s not worth it to hit the young boy. The boys also become more violent on the hunts. Jack wants to kill the pigs so they can have meat, but is that the only reason he’s doing this? After they hunt, the group feasts on the pig they killed and reenact the scene. The boys become more violent with their words and actions when golding states, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in”(75). This shows how the boys go from being free with rules to being violent with no consequences. This displays the violence hidden within the boys and how they might use violence
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.
After being abducted, Roger makes the conscious choice to find the man he was mistaken for in order to prove he is not who Vandamm's men want dead. His first stop was the hotel in which Kaplan was said to be staying at. When he arrives, he has his mother obtain a keycard to the appropriate room, and proceeds to search for information regarding Kaplan. He asks the staff questions, impersonating Kaplan in order to get information regarding the last
Through many Langston Hughes and Richard Wright’s literary works, both authors sought to build up his community of African-Americans by instilling in them a sense of pride and triumph. This theme was frequently applied to their works as they wrote to encourage their readers to fight the skirmish against racism. They had hopes that their writings would somehow make a difference, a difference in which the world could change from its biased ways.
Roger, in Lord of the Flies,was underestimated as someone sweet and kind, turned out to be horrific. He is described as a sadist, which is someone who loves inflicting pain, in the beginning and throughout the book. “There was a slight, furtive boy whom no one knew, who kept to himself with an inner intensity of avoidance and secrecy.” (Lord of The Flies 21,22). Roger had suggested a vote among the group of boys, for who would be chief. But he had always had a knack for being sadistic to people and this was played out in the book. At the beginning, it started out as something small when he throws small rocks and pebbles at Henry, just to tease. But ever so slowly as the group began to start losing their innocence, he purposely pushed a boulder that killed Piggy, something that we are all capable to do. We all are savages to some point and it all just depends on how we deal with it and how much we let out.
How does the character of Roger conform to the character conventions of the thriller genre?
Roger could not bring himself to fully abandon the social norms and rules he’s accustomed to for “Roger’s
Roger was caught in the act of attempted robbery by Mrs. Jones, where she was grabbing the boy by his shirt and pushing him to the ground. With roger begging to be release, Mrs. Jones notices his dirty face-asking if he has anybody at ¨home to tell [him] to wash it¨ (Hughes). With Roger living alone, and having no family, he replies with a simple no; but in a turn of events, she replies and says, ¨then [your face] will get washed this evening¨ (Hughes). With this, one can conclude that Mrs. Jones cared, and felt possibly sad for Roger, since he was so desperate for money, that he attempted robbery; and has no one to tell him right from wrong. Furthermore, if a teenager were trying to rob someone, one would not simply act with the type of kindness like Mrs. Jones, and offer to help clean the thief's face; knowing he has no family, and therefore no one to guide him through the way he should look and act. Toward the end of the story, Roger confessed that he meant to steal her pocketbook in order to buy himself a pair of blue suede shoes, with this disappointing Mrs. Jones. After the two´s dinner Mrs. Jones prepared, she led Roger out of her home, handing him a ten dollar bill, saying ¨do not make the mistake of [stealing anybody´s pocketbook]-because shoes...like that will burn your feet¨ (Hughes). Due to Roger´s confession behind the ¨needed¨ money, Mrs. Jones could relate to his
Roger’s decline ultimately proves Golding’s belief that humans gradually decline in morals. This is similar to a scenario in the article “What makes us Moral” by Jeffrey Kluger. Kluger introduces a concept of rules being lifted at certain times, yet hesitation to break that rule occurs. Preschoolers are taught morals for distinguishing right from wrong. Kluger uses a scenario where a preschooler feels morally wrong to push someone when being given the opportunity, “In both cases, somebody taught the child a rule, but the rule against pushing has a stickiness about it, one that resists coming unstuck even if someone in authority countenances it” (Kluger 5). Being moral for the preschooler is an innate feeling. Although the preschooler is taught not to push people, when he is given a chance to, he decided not to. Similar to Roger being given a chance to be immoral and throw stones at Henry, yet he is able to control himself from throwing the stones directly at Henry. However, goes through the motions of that action. Roger’s specific conformity proves Golding’s belief of civilized behavior being gradually shifted, and a slight decline in
He has not transitioned entirely from order and civilization to savagery and chaos as he does further into in the novel. This scene is effective because it shows the beginning of the decline Jack goes through, from civilized to savagery. A little boy named Henry wanders and Roger trails him. Henry stops at the end of the beach and sits down. Roger hides behind a palm tree and observes Henry. A breeze passes and causes nuts and lumps to fall onto the ground from the palm tree. “Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law” (Golding #64). In this quotation, internal conflict is seen through Roger by how he throws stones at Henry. As Roger purposely misses, he is held back by ‘parents and school and policemen and the law’. The civilized and savage parts inside of him are budging heads when he throws rocks at Henry yet purposely
By showing sympathy for someone who did not deserve it, Mrs. Jones may have led Roger to be a better person in the future and to stop doing bad things to other people. Through almost unexplainable acts of kindness to a young boy in need of a second chance, Mrs. Jones proves herself to be the hero in Langston Hughes’ short story, “Thank You Ma’am.”
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