There are many, many important messages that the author Langston Hughes is trying to get across in his story, Thank You Ma’am. The main ones being the importance of: kindness, forgiveness, empathy and trust.
In the story it is Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones that epitomizes all of these traits. The first thing Mrs. Jones does after catching the boy that tried to snatch her purse was made him realize that what he tried to do was wrong. Next instead of acting negatively toward the boy and his actions she responds with kindness by taking the boy home and letting him wash his face. She then offers him dinner and finally gives him $10 to buy himself some blue suede shoes. These actions show us that Mrs. Jones is a truly kind person and.
We can also see that Mrs. Jones is also a very forgiving person because of her actions. Most people would have probably either beet the kid up or just turned him into the authorities. She not only forgives Roger for trying to steal from her but she also takes him home and tries to convince him to never steal from anyone ever again.
Another important trait that Mrs. Jones has is trust, after she takes Roger home she trusts him enough to leave him alone with her purse, Roger sees this and he wants to make sure that Mrs. Jones continues to trust him. So he does not try to escape and he gets away from her purse. In this scene I think the author Langston Hughes is trying to show us that if we treat other people with respect, kindness and in general they way we would like to be treated that they are more likely to treat us with respect and kindness in return.
Furthermore, we also see that Mrs. Jones is very empathetic toward Roger, probably because she herself also had a rough childhood growing up. We know that she is empathetic because she is able to see and understand why Roger tried to steal her purse. And after explaining to him that stealing is never the answer she gives him $10 because she understands how badly he wants those blue suede shoes.
Some people may disagree with the message that the author Langston Hughes is trying to give. Some people may think that Mrs. Jones was too soft on the boy and as a result gave the wrong message. People may argue that by taking Roger in, and being kind to him, feeding him and giving him money that Mrs. Jones gave him the impression that it is okay to steal because even though he got caught he didn’t suffer any negative consequences. These critiques may go on to say that by telling Roger that she was also bad as a child that it is giving him the idea it is a okay to lead the life of a criminal because Mrs. Jones did and she turned out alright.
However I would completely disagree with these critiques mainly because I believe positive reinforcement is much more powerful than negative reinforcement especially with children. These critiques would say that if Mrs. Jones had punished Roger he would be afraid to steal again. Again I disagree, I think if Mrs. Jones had punished him Roger would become more angry and would feel that the world is unfair which would lead him further along in the wrong path. On the contrary by being kind to Roger Mrs. Jones showed him that there are kind people in the world and that he doesn’t have to steal. Also because of her kindness Roger she’s that what he did was wrong and as a result he himself chooses to believe that stealing is wrong and that he should never do it again. And a choice you make for yourself is always much more powerful than a choice someone else makes for you. Meaning that you are more likely to believe in and follow through on the choices you make yourself.
Therefore, I believe Langston Hughes is giving the right message. He is showing the importance of treating others the way you would like to be treated. And the importance of showing respect, kindness, forgiveness and trust when dealing with people, even if those people are on the wrong path, and are not believed to be “good” people.
