How Does Langston Hughes Use Direct Characterization In Thank You Ma Am

In all stories characters undergo changes that can affect the other elements in the story such as the conflict, climax, and theme. In the short story “Thank You M’am” by Langston Hughes, a young boy by the name of Roger attempts to steal a women’s pocketbook. Mrs. Jones, the woman, in response to the attack, aggressively turns around and kicks him. In order to teach Roger a lesson, Mrs. Jones drags him to her home. Throughout the course of the rest of the story, Roger is given many chances to run away, or steal. Through his actions, Roger is able to leave Mrs. Jones’ house with a fresh start. The character Roger from “Thank You M’am” by Langston Hughes is a realistic character because he is round, developing, and the author uses indirect characterization to describe him. To begin, Roger is proven to be realistic because he is a round character. A round character is complex and many sided, they are more like real people. Because a round character is complex, their personality can’t be summed up in one sentence. We read the entire story and still we do not understand everything about him. When Roger is washing his face, the author states, “He could make a dash for it down the

When an author uses indirect characterization, they show the reader what a character is like through the dialogue, actions, and thoughts of the character. In the story, it is shown to us what the character is like through all of these things. Hughes states that, ”But the boy took care to sit on the far side of the room where he thought she could easily see him out of the corner of her eye, if she wanted to”(Hughes 174). Through observation we can tell that Roger is someone who is insecure, and is looking for trust from adults. The quote from above proves this. Although Roger has done something wrong, he now feels bad, and tries to make up for his mistake. This shows that he wants to gain Mrs. Jones’