Thank You Ma Am, By Langston Hughes

As Kathy Calvin, president of the United Nations Foundation, once said, “Being poor is not like being a victim. Being poor means you don’t have one resource.” Poverty can mean lack of money, food, or shelter. However, poverty doesn’t define people. In fact, some people might be poor but still not show it, or vice versa. This is very apparent with kids at school who might have no income sources but don’t show it. Roger does ’t really have money or food at his house, but he still hides it and isn’t just the poor boy who steals. In the short story “Thank You Ma’am” by Langston Hughes, Roger is a troubled boy with a big heart, as shown through his neglect and gratefulness. One way that Roger is troubled is because he is neglected by his family.

Jones. Trying to be helpful, Roger asks if he should go to the store to buy milk for Mrs. Jones. When Mrs. Jones is cooking, Roger asks, “‘Do you need someone to go to the store,’ asked the boy, ‘maybe to get some milk or something?’” shows that he wants to help and be trusted. (Hughes 2). This shows his gratefulness because Mrs. Jones has already done so much and is cooking him a meal and giving him money and guidance, and he wants to see if she may need anything from him in return, like a physical item such as milk, to make it better and even. The second reason Roger is grateful is because he uses his manners and tells Mrs. Jones thank you. After getting a meal and some money, “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. He barely managed to say ‘Thank you’ before she shut the door” reveals Roger’s internal struggle and a big heart to do something more. (Hughes 3). Roger knows that Mrs. Jones was a mother-like figure for a day, and his struggle to do something nice in return reveals his big heart and gratitude. However, his pride and other things get in the way and unfortunately prevent him from going to the extra mile to say thank you. Overall, Roger has a big heart and is grateful for everything Mrs. Jones did because he offered to do errands for her and he showed his thanks through