Thank You, Ma Am By Langston Hughes

The Impact of Generosity Langston Hughes’s short story “Thank you, ma’am” displays the theme of generosity throughout. To begin with, Mrs. Jones did not turn in Roger to the police although he was a thief. She saw him as her son rather than a thief. In an ordinary world, this would not be the case whatsoever. Later, she had dinner with him and demanded he washes his filth off. This is a significant act of generosity and displays generosity in every way since Mrs. Jones let him off the hook so easily as well as provided for him. Not to mention, Mrs. Jones gave him a second chance and the benefit of the doubt as his situation could have been the reason why he was stealing in the first place. Mrs. Jones related to Roger on a personal level

This exemplifies that she did not grow up in a wealthy household and she knows the difficulty of having to go through poverty at such a young age. Furthermore, she also committed to participating in such rebellious activities which is another example of how she relates to Roger. Secondly, Mrs. Jones passed no judgment and asked no questions. Mrs.Jones was understanding and understood because “Well, you didn’t have to snatch my pocketbook to get some blue suede shoes, you could have asked me.” ( Hughes 71) she explained. Then she proceeded to give him ten dollars at the end of the story. This demonstrates the trust and understanding that they had built, this left Roger in disbelief as this wasn’t expected. To elaborate, this is an example of situational irony and contributed to the plot of the story meanwhile captivating the reader's attention. Moreover, most people would be quick to judge but Ms.Jones made it her job to behave the boy by either sharing her own hardships of life or treating him like her own. She was successful since Roger did not run through all the opportunities he had and wanted to thank her at the end. Lastly, the pocketbook foreshadowed symbolized generosity. In other words, “It had a long strap and she carried it slung