Thank You, M’am: Themes, Characters And Moral Lessons Of The Story

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1. What is the theme of the story?

· The first theme of the story is: Empathy and forgiveness.

Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones chose not to take him to jail even though he committed a crime by trying to snatch her purse. She told Roger that she as well has done wrong, and by that she offered him empathy, “Everybody’s got something in common.” Mrs. Jones forgives him and by her motherly nature: “You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong” and later cooks him a meal. There is also forgiveness involved in this conversation: “You gonna take me to jail?” “Not with that face, I would not take you nowhere,” said the woman. At the end of the story, she gives him 10 dollars, so he could buy the shoes he wanted, but she also told him to never repeat the crime he committed.

· The second theme of the story is: The power of trust and love.

While she prepared the meal for Roger, Mrs Jones left her purse on the daybed behind her. She trusted Roger enough to know that he would not take the purse nor run away. Roger assumed that Mrs. Jones did not trust him, and he decided to move away from the purse, hoping she would see that he was moved form the purse, hoping to regain trust. Her motherly nature came through when she decided to cook a meal for Roger.

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· The last theme of the story is: Christian Charity.

Even though Roger committed a crime, Mrs. Jones understood what he wanted and therefore she gave him 10 dollars, so Roger could buy some blue suede shoes he originally tried to steal her purse for. While she gave him the 10 dollars, she told him to not steal again. While she walked him out, she said “Good night! Behave yourself, boy!” Afterwards she was fine, knowing she helped Roger.

2. What do you think the writer wants to tell us?

I think the writer wanted to tell us that we need to understand the reason the person committed a crime/did something wrong and see the situation from his/her perspective before judging the person.

3. Is there any moral lesson to the story?

One moral lesson is that we need to understand that the immediate actions we might take can have a direct impact on the person which can lead to illnesses. The way we treat others is reflected in their overall behaviour.

Another moral lesson is that the reader can learn to be a better person by showing the same level of forgiveness, by not ignoring their surroundings and understanding (helping) those who may not be deserving.

4. What do we get to know about Luella?

Mentally: Luella is not afraid of danger. For instance, when Roger tried to snatch her purse, she did not react with fear, in fact she took a hold of him and shook him until his teeth rattled, which is a sign that she is mentally stable.

Secondly, she is kind and non-judgmental. Instead of judging Roger as a criminal/thief and reporting him to the police, she takes him home, feeds him and after that gives him money. This is an act of kindness which came as a shock to Roger, because he did not assume that he would be treated as he did.

Finally, she is forgiving and believes in giving people a second chance. This might be the reason she did not judge him, because she herself had a troubled childhood which is just like Roger. (After a while, she said “I were young one and I wanted things I could not get.”

Physically: Mrs. Jones was a large woman with a large purse that had everything but a hammer and nails.

5. How does she deal with the boy who tried to steal her purse? (I interpreted the question so that the incident first occurred then she took him home).

When Roger tries to snatch her purse, she did not react with fear, in fact she took a hold of him and shook him until his teeth rattled. Afterwards she takes him home, feeds him and after that gives him money. She had empathy and dealt with him with good manners.

6. What does this tell about her as a person? (I interpreted the question so that the incident first occurred then she took him home).

What this signifies is that she is fearless, non-judgemental and understanding and that she believes in giving people a second chance.

7. What do we get to know about the boy?

What we get to know about the boy is that he is both polite and honest, but he decided to steal. At the start he was a liar and said, “I didn’t aim to” when Mrs. Jones asked him “What did you want to do it for?”. Mrs. Jones said, “If I turn you loose, will you run?” and he replied “Yes’m”, which shows his honesty. He also says m’am which shows that he is not disrespectful.

8. Why does he not try to run away?

The reasons the boy does not try to escape are because he felt guilty and he felt understood by Mrs. Jones. He also has a bad conscience for what he did.

9. When and where does the story take place? (Setting)?

The story takes place in a city in the 1950’s. It takes place at night, firstly in the street where Roger tried to steal her purse, and afterwards in her room in what I think is a boarding house, where makes Roger food and talks with him before giving him the moneySide 2 av 2

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