Thank You Ma Am, By Langston Hughes

In this world, we have families that doesn’t have as much opportunity as we do. Roger, the male protagonist in the short story Thank You Ma’am by Langston Hughes, was a boy who couldn’t afford much and didn’t have a family he could come home to. One day, Roger tried to steal a purse from a woman, Ms. Jones, because he wanted to buy a pair of blue suede shoes. But then, he got caught, and the woman grabbed him by the shirt and forced him pick up her purse. The boy thought she was going to let him go, but instead, she took him to her house to clean him up and feed him. When Roger was about to leave, she gave him a ten dollar bill, telling him to buy the suede shoes that he wanted to buy. I believe the theme of this short story, Thank You Ma’am by Langston Hughes, is that you need a village to raise a child. In the beginning of the story, Ms. Jones was really rough on him, because he attempted to steal her purse. But after she saw how barbaric he looked, she took him home to clean and feed him. In this passage, it will describe the scene where Ms. Jones was talking to Roger after he got caught trying to steal her purse. “ “Um-
“ “ Now, here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes, And next time, do not make the mistake of latching onto my pocketbook nor nobody else’s-because shoes come by devilish ways like that will burn your feet. I got I to get my rest now. But I wish you would behave yourself, son, from here on in.””(pg 7) Why is this passage important? Imagine this. A boy tried to steal your purse but you caught him before he could run away. What would you do? I would call the police immediately. But, Ms. Jones took him to her house after she saw how run down he looked, and gave him food and warm water to clean himself up. And even after all that, she gave him $10 to buy suede