Yustika Rahayu

1202555
5A
Exploring Thank You, M'am by Langston Hughes

Through Thank You, M'am by Langston Hughes we learned how forgiveness, kindness, and empathy give
positives impact on someone’s life. At the beginning of the story Roger attempted to rob her, but instead of
calling the police and punishing him severely, she treated him well. She took him to her house, gave him
something to eat, talked to him and explained that stealing was not good. His demeanor changed as the story
progress.
His demeanor started to change when Roger did not try to run away from Mrs. Jones, he just attempt to do
so. We can see it on page 174, The door was open. He could make a dash for it down the hall. He could run,
run, run, run, run! She left Roger alone in a place where he could easily run away. He could just run but decide
not to. We can infer that Roger began to want gaining trust from Mrs. Jones.
The turning point in his life was when she started telling him her experience that once she was young, she
also wanted something she could not have. On page 174, "I have done things, too, which I would not tell you,
son—neither tell God, if He didn't already know.” between line, we can see that Mrs. Jones was telling him that
she had done things even worse when she was in his age. By telling it, she wanted to become the adult or
someone whom Roger trusted to understand and help him learn that stealing was not good. On page 174-175,
—The woman did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run now, nor did she watch her purse
which she left behind her on the day bed. But the boy took care to sit on the far side of the room
where he thought she could easily see him out of the corner of her eye, if she wanted to. He did not
trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not want to be mistrusted now. — he made sure that he
wanted to be trusted by sitting somewhere she could easily see. He also knew that Mrs. Jones trusted him, so he
did not want to betray her trust. Mrs. Jones showed that she trusted him by leaving her purse near him when she
prepares food. From that moment, Roger wanted to earn Mrs. Jones’s trust, he was no longer wanted to steal or
run away from Mrs. Jones.
What threw him off guard was when Mrs. Jones gave him money to buy blue suede shoes he wanted. She
also warned him not to steal anymore and told him that shoes come by devilish like that will burn your feet (Page
176). It means that by getting something from the money he stole, he would be eaten by his own guilt. Mrs.
Jones also told him to behave. At the end of the story he wanted to thank Mrs. Jones and said Thank you, Ma'm,
but he could not ever say it because he is so moved by what she had done to him (Pages 176).
Roger’s behaviors and attitudes have changed. He became responsible and trustworthy because of Mrs.
Jones’s kindness. It made him learn that stealing was not a good thing to do. Now he knows that there are kind
people in the world he might trust and she was the first person who ever really cared what happens to him.