Trust In Thank You, Ma Am, By Langston Hughes

Trust is a hard thing to earn. You have to prove your trustworthiness, and the tests you are put through will not be easy. In the story “Thank You, Ma’m” by Langston Hughes, Roger, the protagonist, tries to steal a purse from Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. She brings him to her home, and in their brief time together, Roger learns that trust is earned, not given.
At first, Mrs. Luella obviously doesn’t trust Roger. She kicks him and punches him and yells at him. She puts him in a ‘Half-Nelson’ and won’t let him go, because she doesn’t trust him to stay. She drags him all the way up the street. When they reach Mrs. Luella’s home, she won’t leave Roger where she can’t see him. This evidence makes it pretty obvious that Mrs. Luella doesn’t
trust Roger. The reason she won’t let him go and won’t leave him alone is because she believes he will run off. She simply distrusts him to stay.
In the middle of the book, Mrs.
Luella gives Roger a chance to prove his trustworthiness. She leaves him alone with the purse while he combs his hair. Roger takes the opportunity, and he stays far away from the purse. He thinks about running, about grabbing the purse and running out, but he decides not to. He stays, showing he longs to be trusted. This evidence shows the theme because Roger is put through a test in order to prove himself. He passes, only because he truly wants to.
In the end, Mrs. Luella trusts Roger. He passed the test. You can tell he passed because Mrs. Luella offers to let him go to the store alone, with her purse or money. Also, she’s comfortable leaving him alone with the purse. ‘He did not trust the women not to trust him.’ This shows her trust for Roger because at first, she wouldn’t leave him alone to wash his face, now she’s leaving him alone with her purse. Even though he’s poor and needs money, she distrusts that he will steal.
Throughout the story “Thank You, Ma’m” by Langston Hughes, we can see how Roger learns that trust is earned, not given. In life, you’ll be put through tests to prove your trustworthiness. They won’t be easy, but that is the only way you can be trusted. Even if you’re a trustworthy person, you can learn from Roger. We can all learn from Roger. We can all realize that our trustworthiness will be tested. Roger learned something very important to life in this story, something we should all strive to
learn.