Thank You Ma Am Langston Hughes Analysis

Thank You, Ma’am by Langston Hughes tells that story of a teenage boy who tries to steal and older woman's purse, but the women attempts to make him a better man. Langston Hughes shares a few similarities with Roger, the teenager, like not having a set home or family. Langstons parents split up when he was young leaving him to grow up with his grandma and in high school travel around the country with his mom. In the story Roger says “There’s nobody at my house,” hints that Langston didn’t have a set childhood. He shows his own upbringing in the story not only by him not having a set place to live, but by the boy confiding and learning from an older lady like he did when being raised by his grandma. At the end when Roger is thanking the lady it is easy to see he is thanking his grandma for what he taught him. …show more content…
The first character being Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, the older lady who almost got her pocketbook stolen. In the story they describe her as “a large woman with a large purse that had everything in it but hammer and nails,” making her seem tough and not scared of anything. As you go to read you know nothing about her or why is so tough. Did something happen to her to make her that way or is it all a front? She told the young boy she had done things that can not be spoken of and that just added more mystery on who she is, “Um-hum! You thought I was going to say but, didn’t you? You thought I was going to say, but I didn’t snatch people’s pocketbooks. Well, I wasn’t going to say that.” Her name is Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones so is she married? If so where is her husband? You don’t know who she is, her back story, or even her personality and it makes it very hard to connect with the