Thank you, M’am

1. “It had a long strap and she carried it slung across her shoulder.”
a. What does ‘it’ refer to?
b. Who does ‘she’ refer to?
c. What time of the day was it?
2. “But the boy's weight and the weight of the purse combined caused
him to lose his balance.”
a. Who was the boy? What did he do?
b. Why did the boy lose his balance?
c. What did the woman do?
3. Now, ain’t you ashamed of yourself?
a. Who said these words and to whom?
b. What was the shameful act?
c. Why was the shameful act done?
4. “Ain ' t you got nobody home to tell you to wash your face?”
a. Who said these words to whom?
b. Describe the boy. How do we know that he was poor and
uncared for?
c. What did the woman do after this?
5. “I would teach you right from wrong.”
a. Who said these words to whom?
b. What did the speaker say before this?
c. What did the listener do before?
d. Where did the speaker take the listener? How?
6. “Some of their doors were open, too.”
a. Whose doors were open?
b. How did the boy know this?
c. Describe the house where the woman lived.
7. “Not with that face, I would not take you nowhere”
a. Who said these words to whom?
b. Why did the speaker say this?
c. Roger had the perfect opportunity to make a run from M rs
Jones ' h ous e. Why did he not run away?
8. “I wanted a pair of blue suede shoes”
a. Who said these words to whom?
b. What did the speaker do to get what he wanted? Was he
successful?
c. How did the listener react?
9. “I were young once and wanted things I could not get.”
a. Where was the speaker at this moment? Who else was there
with her?
b. What, according to the speaker, did the listener think she would
say next?
c. What did she actually say? Why did she say so?
10. “So you sit down while I fix us something to eat.”
a. Who said these words to whom?
b. Where did the speaker go to cook food?
c. What did the boy do to avoid being mistrusted?
11. “That will be fine.”
a. Who said these words to whom?
b. Why did the speaker say so?
c. Describe the meal that Mrs Jones and Roger had.
12. And next time, do not make the mistake of latching onto my
pocketbook nor nobody else’s - because shoes come by devilish like
that will burn your feet.”
a. What had the woman just given the boy and why? ·
b. What did the woman want in return?
c. Explain the advice contained in the above lines.
13. “He barely managed to say ‘Thank you’ before she shut the door.”
a. What had the woman given him? What did she ask in return?
b. Why was Roger not able to say anything more than Thank You?
c. What advice had the woman given him?
1. blue-jeaned sitter: (here) rear end
2. pocketbook: a purse or a handbag
3. half-nelson: a wrestling hold which prevents the opponent from
moving
4. kitchenette-furnished: a room where a part is used as a kitchen
5. stoop: (here) porch or veranda
Mrs Jones was a woman returning home from work at night at eleven ‘o
clock to cook her food and have rest, and a boy named Roger tried to
snatch her pocketbook to buy himself some blue-suede shoes. The purse
broke with one pull the boy gave from behind, so the weight of the purse
added to the weight of the boy, causing him to lose his balance. Mrs
Jones turned around and kicked him. Then she shook him until his teeth
rattled and asked him to pick up her pocketbook. The boy was afraid that
she would take him to the police. Instead, she took him to her house,
asked him to wash his face, and served him food. She then gave him ten
dollars to buy the shoes. The boy was overwhelmed by emotions and
wasn’t able to say anything more than a ‘Thank You’.