Mother Son relationships in Thank You Ma’am” and “All the Years of Her Life”
A child’s bond with his mother is a bond unlike any other. It is an irreplaceable relationship that is pivotal to a child’s growth and success. In both “Thank you Ma’am” and “All the Years of Her Life”, the main protagonists Roger and Alfred get caught stealing, and are than condemned and confronted by a motherly figure. While the motherly figure in both stories helps raise their child and teaches him valuable life lessons, their effect on the child is extremely different. In “Thank You Ma’am” Rogers’ mother has a much more positive effect on her son than Mrs. Bates does on Alfred. Mrs. Bates puts in a significant amount effort to help Alfred, in contrast to Roger’s …show more content…
Bates puts in a greater amount of effort in the well-being of Roger than Mrs. Higgins does to Alfred. This is evident when Mrs. Bates invites Roger into her home, and she informs him how she “has a great mind to wash [his] face.” (Hughes 2). Mrs. Bates goes even further, as rather than just cleaning up Roger and letting him go, she informs him that, “contact is not going to last awhile, you got another thought coming. When I get through with you, sir, you are going to remember Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones.” (Hughes 3). In addition to helping Roger clean up, Mrs. Bates gives Roger enough money to “go and buy [himself] some suede shoes,” (Hughes 3), which is the original reason he attempted to rob Mrs. Bates. The actions of Mrs. Bates portray her devotion and care for the well-being of Roger, unlike Mrs. Higgins, who shows little care for Alfred. For instance, when Mrs. Higgins catches Alfred stealing, rather than offering advice on how to support him, she tells Alfred to “Be quiet.” (Callaghan 4). And how he has “disgraced [her] again.” Callaghan 4). For a parent to say this to their child does no good. Rather, being so negative is demoralizing for the kid and can spark more rebellious action. Alternatively, she could have been motivating like Mrs. Higgin’s whom most likely inspired Roger’s to be a better person through her positive, helpful attitude. Thus, portraying how Mrs. Higgins, being supporting and kind, has a much more profound, …show more content…
Higgins and Mrs. Bates treat their child, a different relationship can be seen between the two. This is due to Mrs. Higgins and Roger not being biologically related, unlike Mrs. Bates and Roger, who are. Mrs. Bates non-biological relation allows for her to be much more open, and much more caring due to their relationship. As when Mrs. Higgins asks Roger if, “[he] got [a]nobody home to wash [his] face,” (Hughes 1) and finds out he does not, she is than more inclined to help him. As well, Rogers reminds Mrs. Higgins of herself when she was, “young… and wanted things [she] could not get.” (Hughes 1). This connection lead to Mrs. Higgins feeling empathy for Rogers, and again, making her more inclined to offer Roger to “set down, while [she fixes them] something to eat,” (Hughes 1) and to run a “comb through [his] hair so [he] will look presentable.” (Hughes 2). These instances are a product of Mrs. Higgins and Roger not being biologically related, which is a factor into why Mrs. Higgins was so nice to Roger. In contrary, Mrs. Bates has a far worse effect on Alfred due to the fact that they are biologically related. The negative effect in being biologically related can be seen when Mrs. Bates gets home with Alfred and informs him how he is a “bad lot,” (Callaghan 4) and has always been “one thing after another.” (Callaghan 4). This statement comes from Mrs. Bates growing monotonous for Alfred’s crime ridden life style. She has been with Alfred “again
A child’s bond with his mother is a bond unlike any other. It is an irreplaceable relationship that is pivotal to a child’s growth and success. In both “Thank you Ma’am” and “All the Years of Her Life”, the main protagonists Roger and Alfred get caught stealing, and are than condemned and confronted by a motherly figure. While the motherly figure in both stories helps raise their child and teaches him valuable life lessons, their effect on the child is extremely different. In “Thank You Ma’am” Rogers’ mother has a much more positive effect on her son than Mrs. Bates does on Alfred. Mrs. Bates puts in a significant amount effort to help Alfred, in contrast to Roger’s …show more content…
Bates puts in a greater amount of effort in the well-being of Roger than Mrs. Higgins does to Alfred. This is evident when Mrs. Bates invites Roger into her home, and she informs him how she “has a great mind to wash [his] face.” (Hughes 2). Mrs. Bates goes even further, as rather than just cleaning up Roger and letting him go, she informs him that, “contact is not going to last awhile, you got another thought coming. When I get through with you, sir, you are going to remember Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones.” (Hughes 3). In addition to helping Roger clean up, Mrs. Bates gives Roger enough money to “go and buy [himself] some suede shoes,” (Hughes 3), which is the original reason he attempted to rob Mrs. Bates. The actions of Mrs. Bates portray her devotion and care for the well-being of Roger, unlike Mrs. Higgins, who shows little care for Alfred. For instance, when Mrs. Higgins catches Alfred stealing, rather than offering advice on how to support him, she tells Alfred to “Be quiet.” (Callaghan 4). And how he has “disgraced [her] again.” Callaghan 4). For a parent to say this to their child does no good. Rather, being so negative is demoralizing for the kid and can spark more rebellious action. Alternatively, she could have been motivating like Mrs. Higgin’s whom most likely inspired Roger’s to be a better person through her positive, helpful attitude. Thus, portraying how Mrs. Higgins, being supporting and kind, has a much more profound, …show more content…
Higgins and Mrs. Bates treat their child, a different relationship can be seen between the two. This is due to Mrs. Higgins and Roger not being biologically related, unlike Mrs. Bates and Roger, who are. Mrs. Bates non-biological relation allows for her to be much more open, and much more caring due to their relationship. As when Mrs. Higgins asks Roger if, “[he] got [a]nobody home to wash [his] face,” (Hughes 1) and finds out he does not, she is than more inclined to help him. As well, Rogers reminds Mrs. Higgins of herself when she was, “young… and wanted things [she] could not get.” (Hughes 1). This connection lead to Mrs. Higgins feeling empathy for Rogers, and again, making her more inclined to offer Roger to “set down, while [she fixes them] something to eat,” (Hughes 1) and to run a “comb through [his] hair so [he] will look presentable.” (Hughes 2). These instances are a product of Mrs. Higgins and Roger not being biologically related, which is a factor into why Mrs. Higgins was so nice to Roger. In contrary, Mrs. Bates has a far worse effect on Alfred due to the fact that they are biologically related. The negative effect in being biologically related can be seen when Mrs. Bates gets home with Alfred and informs him how he is a “bad lot,” (Callaghan 4) and has always been “one thing after another.” (Callaghan 4). This statement comes from Mrs. Bates growing monotonous for Alfred’s crime ridden life style. She has been with Alfred “again