Chris Smith
Mr. Musick/ Ms. Lynch
English 10
November 1st, 2017 Thank You, Ma’am One small deed can change a persons whole life. This is very well seen in Langston Hughes short story “Thank You, Ma’am,” when Hughes uses the power of trust and charity to get this point across. “Thank You, Ma’am,” is about a working class woman named Mrs. Jones helps a young troubled teen named Roger. At the beginning of the story Roger tries to steal Mrs. Jones purse. Unsuccessful Roger is left on the ground while Mrs. Jones yells at him. Instead of taking him to authorities Mrs. Jones trusts Roger and takes him to her house. Mrs. Jones can tell from Rogers appearance that he is less fortunate and she's willing to help him. Hughes uses these themes to create a strong relationship between Mrs. Jones and Roger. …show more content…
Jones trusts Roger enough in the story that she takes him to her house. She trusts him because he's just a young foolish boy. Mrs. Jones takes Roger inside her house and has him wash his face. Mrs. Jones proves that she trusts Roger when she leaves him alone with her purse and the door open, as seen here, “The door was open. He could make a dash for it down the hall. He could run, run, run, run, run!”(Pg. 2). Roger was to nervous to run. He knew that she trusts him now but if he ran and was caught she wouldn't be as charitable. Instead of running Roger decides to stay and talk to Mrs. Jones. Mrs. Jones tells Roger about how he wasn't the only person who wanted something as bad as he