Change And Resilience In Thank You Ma Am, By Langston Hughes

“To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often.” -Winston Churchill

Change is a great thing that can be used to improve and grow, and make anyone a better person.

A key part of “change” is something called “resilience.” The concept of resilience is described in “Thank you Ma'am” by Langston Hughes and is also exemplified in “Retrieved Reformation” by O. Henry. In “Thank You Ma’am” the character Roger experienced a transformative change that strongly impacted him and his community. In “Retrieved Reformation,” the character Ben Price also experienced a transformative change that not only impacts him individually but also the world around him. Both books show how change and resilience are great qualities.

In Langston Hughes's book

Henry’s “Retrieved Reformation,” the character Ben Price underwent a major change in mindset and personality that positively impacted him and his community. Ben Price says '"Going to marry the banker's daughter, are you, Jimmy?”' This expresses the idea that Ben Price is using sarcasm to show that he is going to try to stop the marriage of Jimmy and the banker's daughter. Ben Price wants to put Jimmy back in jail because he believes Jimmy is only using the marriage as leverage to get closer to the big bank, but in reality, Jimmy actually fell in love with the banker's daughter. Later in the story, Ben Price says “I guess you're mistaken, Mr. Spencer.” He said” Don’t believe I recognize you.”’ This means that after Ben saw Jimmy was willing to give up his fake identity to save the little girl. Ben realized Jimmy just wanted to be a normal person with a normal life. This shows that at first, Ben Price wanted to throw Jimmy Valentine in jail no matter the cost, but after Ben saw Jimmy help the little girl, he realized Jimmy was a good person so he let Jimmy lead a good life with his wife and kids. In conclusion, Ben Price changed for the better because he let Jimmy get away and live a happy life with his

In the article “The Philosophy of dealing with change,” by Kathleen Smith, it states “The transition in life allows you to consider where your priorities lie. How do you want to spend your time on earth?” This quote relates to Roger because Roger is just a young boy who never wanted to be a criminal. Roger was shy but open to change because no one wants to live as a thief and a criminal. The reader can infer that Roger changed for the better after being taught right from wrong by Miss Luella Bates Washington Jones. In the same article by Ms. Smith, it says ”but rather than that focusing on blaming others or moving the unmovable immovable, resilient people set their minds on what they can control.” This is shown by Ben Price in “Retrieved Reformation” when he was in a difficult situation because on the one hand, he has been waiting to catch Jimmy red-handed and expose his true identity, but on the other hand Ben sees that Jimmy has undergone a critical change and just wants to be a good person. So Ben Price takes control of what he can and has to decide whether to put Jimmy in jail or to let him go. At this point, Ben experiences a transformative change and decides to let Jimmy live a happy and normal