Empathy In Thank You Ma Am By Langston Hughes

In the short story, “Thank You Ma’am,” the author, Langston Hughes, shows how important it is to have empathy for others. The story begins when Mrs. Jones is walking home from work late at night. Much to her surprise, a young boy runs up behind her and tries to steal her purse. Instead of running off with the purse like the boy had planned, the strap on the purse breaks and he slips and falls. When Mrs. Jones turns around, she kicks him. She then shakes him until his teeth rattle, scaring the boy. After Mrs. Jones finds out his name is Roger, she asks him why he had tried to steal her purse. He lies saying that he didn’t mean to steal it. This is when Mrs. Jones decides to take Roger to home to teach him a lesson. When they arrive at her home, Mrs. Jones tells him …show more content…
Jones contemplating on whether he should try to escape, he decides not too. While Roger obeys, Mrs. Jones asks him if he’d had any dinner yet. He tells her that there’s nobody at his house. This is when Mrs. Jones realizes that Roger has nobody to look after him and tell him what’s right from wrong. She then tells Roger that he is going to stay for dinner assuming that he stole her purse for money to buy food. She was wrong though, he tells her that he was planning to use the money for blue suede shoes. Mrs. Jones can relate to Roger; she knows how it feels to want something you can’t have. Mrs. Jones tells him that he could have asked for the money. While she’s making dinner, Roger offers to run to the store to get something for her. Mrs. Jones declines saying that she thinks she’s all set. The boy was hoping that Mrs. Jones would trust him even though she has no reason to. During the meal, Mrs. Jones tells Roger about herself and then cuts him a slice of a ten cent cake. After the dinner, Mrs. Jones tells him to behave himself. She also gives him ten dollars to buy a pair of blue suede shoes which surprised him. Roger leaves her home with not just ten dollars, but a lesson