Thank You, Ma Am By Langston Hughes

Everyday, the world drifts farther and farther away from peace. Crime rates of children are tragically increasing because parents are running away from the burden of raising them, failing to realize that they play a significant role in their lives. In return, children are left to grow up in a cruel world by themselves with little to no knowledge of how things go. In the story, Thank You, Ma’am by Langston Hughes, A little boy named Roger attempts to steal the purse of a older lady named Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. During his attempt, he falls and Mrs.Jones picks him up and takes him to her house. Throughout the story, she learns that Roger has no one at home and just wanted some money to buy some shoes. Instead of taking him to jail,

She finds out that he is by himself and that’s why he's acting the way he is. According to the article Learning from Our Mistakes, for Kids and Ourselves, it states, "It drives me nuts, but that's how it works: Children repeat our mistakes, because they aren't born with their parents' formative experiences baked into their brains" (Philpott). This demonstrates that children need their parents to help guide them through situations so that they don’t make the same mistakes as them. Without their parents, children will have to learn the hard way by doing things on their

In the story it says, “I wanted a pair of blue suede shoes,” said the boy. “Well, you didn’t have to snatch my pocketbook to get some suede shoes,” said Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. “You could of asked me.” “M’am?” (Hughes). In this quote, Mrs.Jones tells the boy that he didn’t have to try and steal from her and all he had to do was ask. The boy is surprised because he was probably thinking she would say no if he did that’s why he tried to steal the purse. In the article Learning from Our Mistakes, for Kids and Ourselves, it also states, “They also have to figure out for themselves that putting off projects to the last minute doesn't pay off, that manners matter, that you'll almost always regret cutting your own hair in the mirror with kitchen scissors” (Philpott). This quote shows that children won’t know the correct way to do something until they experience it. If their parents were in their life then they could inform them of this to prevent these situations from happening but without them, children have no choice but to learn by trial and