A Christmas Memory Analysis

Generosity is the act of being kind and generous. In both short stories by Langston Hughes and Truman Capote the characters show many acts of generosity. “Thank You Ma'm,” by Langston Hughes represents the the act of Mrs. Jones helping Roger when he was in need, and “A Christmas Memory,” by Truman Capote tells the story of Buddy and his cousin being really good friends, until a death brings them apart.

First of all, both short stories show acts of friendship. The characters are able to get along and trust each other. In, “Thank You Ma'm,” by Langston Hughes, Mrs. Jones is generous enough to supply Roger with food and money. Also, Mrs. Jones starts to trust Roger at then end of the story, even though he tried to steal her purse. For instance,

In, “A Christmas Memory,” Langston Hughes portrays the idea of Roger being poor very well. The way he describes him brings most readers to tears. It is just horrible to think that a little kid is having to fend for themselves. One example of sadness in the story is when Mrs. Jones didn't ask Roger anything that would embarrass him about his home or family. This is sad, because it gets the reader's mind picturing what Roger has to go through. Another example of sadness in the story is when Roger leaves, and never sees Mrs. Jones again. The story describes this moment by saying, “The boy wanted to say something else other than “Thank you, m’am” to Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, but he couldn’t do so as he turned at the barren stoop and looked back at the large woman in the door. He barely managed to say “Thank you” before she shut the door, and he never saw her again.” It's hard to think about Roger never seeing the lady that has helped him the most. It makes my mind wonder how Jonas went on with his life after. In, “A Christmas Memory,” Truman Capote also used the theme sadness. When Buddy's cousin died it was really sad, because he had lost his best friend. Buddy was at military camp when he had first found out about it, and it's hard to think about him not being able to say goodbye. The story says, “I've always thought a body would have to be sick and dying before they saw the Lord.” The quote represents the fact that Buddy couldn't understand how his cousin had died when she seemed to have been healthy the last time he saw her. Another sad quote from the story was when the author wrote, “This is our last Christmas together.” It seems crazy to think that Bobby has lost his best