Thank You Ma Am, By Langston Hughes

In the short fiction story “Thank You Ma’am” by Langston Hughes we learn about a troubled, problematic boy named Roger who attempts to purloin the purse belonging to Mrs. Jones, a strong, fierce women due to his own financial tribulations. Roger fails to steal the purse as Mrs. Jones snaches him and drags him back to her home. Throughout the story Roger’s personality changes as he realizes his mistake. In the beginning of the story Roger can be described as a delinquent and unruly, as he attempts to steal Mrs. Jones’s purse simply because of his want of blue-suede shoes. “It was about eleven o'clock at night, and she was walking alone, when a boy ran up behind her and tried to snatch her purse.” In this quote the author demonstrates the disorderly,