Thank You M Am Character Analysis

Anyone can teach someone a lesson. Sometimes, a grown up woman is only what a young person needs to change the way they behave or to learn something. In “Thank You M’am” by Langston Hughes, it all starts when a frail and willow-wild boy named Roger tries to steal Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones’s purse. Instead of punishing him and taking him to the police, however, she brings him home with her, teaching him valuable things while he’s there. The three traits that best describes Mrs. Jones are understanding, kind-hearted, and motherly.
One of the traits of Mrs. Jones is that she’s understanding. She tries to make Roger comfortable, and “[does] not ask the boy anything about where he lives, or his folks, or anything else that [will] embarrass him.”(164) Realizing how Roger doesn't want to be questioned about his background, Mrs. Jones doesn’t interrogate him like a criminal. She understands that Roger will only get more embarrassed, and decides it’s better for her to leave that topic aside. Moreover, Mrs. Jones can relate to Roger and what he has done: “I have done things, too, which I [will] not tell you, son--neither tell God, if he

Jones is also a motherly person. Realizing that Roger doesn’t have anyone at home to care for him, when she asks him: “ain’t you got nobody home to tell you to wash your face?” and Roger replies with a “no’m”, she decides to take care of him. She says: “ You ought to be my son. I [will] teach you right from wrong.”(162) She now feels responsible, and feels the need to help him. Also, Mrs. Jones is trying to teach Roger a lesson, from right to wrong like any mother will do. Moreover, she says: “when I get through with you, sir, you are going to remember Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones.”(164) Like a mother, she again feels responsible for Roger and how it is her job to make him learn how to be a better person from the experience. Mrs. Jones’s actions after noticing Roger’s appearance shows how motherly she