Thank You Ma’am

TUTUN’S ACADEMY FOR LEARNING ENGLISH (TALE)

(Contact no. – 7908594812)   Thank You Ma’am   by Langston Hughes (tutun2017.blogspot.com)

1. Justify the title of the story, “Thank You Ma’am”.

Ans. The title of the story consists of an expression of gratitude to a woman. The story unveils how Mrs. Jones with her affectionate and motherly attitude helped a boy named Roger, to transform into a good person. Despite handing him over to the police, she brought him home, fed him, gave him money to buy his shoes and moreover cleaned his dirt ▬ physical and moral. She also offered him self-esteem and taught what right or wrong in life was. So at the end the boy wanted to say some words of gratitude but he only managed to say “thank you”. So the boy’s feeling of gratitude towards the woman strikes the essence of the story making the title apt.

2. Sketch the character of Roger.

Ans. Roger was a teenager orphan boy. So he was deprived of parental love and affection. In order to buy a pair of blue suede shoes, one night he tried to rob Mrs. Jones. But his attempt was in vain as Mrs. Jones with her large appearance made him surrender to her. She caught him and took him to her house to wash and feed him. Roger got many chances to flee but he did not, for the affectionate behaviour of Mrs. Jones. He probably felt motherly love from her for the first time. This affectionate treatment and advice made him transform into an honest. At the end he felt gratitude towards Mrs. Jones but he could only thank her. The story actually relates to his transition.

3. How did Mrs. Jones treat Roger in house? Or Describe the motherly affection noticed in the character of Mrs. Jones.

Ans.     After Roger’s futile attempt of snatching the purse, Mrs. Jones brought him to her house, gripping his shirt firmly. On the way noticing Roger’s face dirty she resolved to clean his outer as well as inner dirt. So, after dragging him to her house, she let him loose to wash his face. She cooked food with motherly affection, served him and shared her past to teach. After dinner, she gave him half of a ten cent cake as dessert. Even at the time of departing, she gave Roger ten dollars to buy blue suede shoes, for which he had attempted snatching.  All the above mentioned activities show that Mrs. Jones treated Roger with motherly love and affection.

4. “Eat some more, son.”

     i) Who said this to whom?

     ii) What feature of the speaker’s character is revealed here?

Ans. i) Mrs. Jones said this to Roger.

ii) After gripping Roger red-handed, Mrs. Jones took him to her house for cleaning his physical as well as moral dirt. She did not inform the police or leave him on the road to be beaten by others.  On reaching home, she treated him affectionately like a mother. The woman, who was large in physique, was large in heart as well. She got him washed, fed and provided money for the shoes after listening to the boy. All the above mentioned activities show that Mrs. Jones treated Roger with motherly love and affection.             

5. Discuss the moral of the story “Thank You Ma’am”

Ans. The main theme of the story is very simple but forceful. This story is about the sympathy shown by an elderly woman to a teenager who tried to steal her pocketbook. Instead of handing him over to the police she provided him with food and money to satisfy his want. Thus the positive and kind attitude of the lady paved the way to transform the boy into an honest man. The moral of the story lies in its consequences of events showing how trust, understanding and fellow-feeling can rectify a person which law and order can’t. We also know from the story that none is born sinner and so we should not hate the sinner but the sin.

6. Discuss the character of Mrs. Jones.

Ans. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is the main character of the story. The whole story is centred on her journey with the secondary character, Roger, after he tries to snatch her purse. She is very kind-hearted and generous. She does not hand Roger over to police. She also provides money after cleaning his outer as well inner dirt and feeding him. She has seen much of life herself and so she displays no surprise when the boy attempts the theft. Instead she acts like an experienced mother expecting nothing in return. She has had a troubled past as a young and doesn’t want Roger to make the same mistakes. Thus the whole story is told from her perspective, making her the protagonist of the story.

7. Comment on the end of the story.

Ans. The story with a hard beginning has a soft end. After gripping Roger red-handed, Mrs. Jones took him to her house for cleaning his physical as well as moral dirt. She did not inform the police or leave him on the road to be beaten by others.  On reaching home, she treated him affectionately like a mother. The woman, who was large in physique, was large in heart as well. She got him washed, fed and provided money for the shoes after listening to the boy.            At the end of the story, Jones advised him not to take the dishonest way to earn his wish. Her affectionate care made the boy so surprised and overwhelmed that he could only utter thanks before Jones shut the door. Thus the story ends with a soft emotion.

8. “Shoes come by devilish like that will burn your feet.” -- Who said this to whom? What does the speaker mean to say here? What aspect of the speaker’s character is revealed here?

Ans. Mrs. Jones said this to Roger.

At the time of parting, Mrs. Jones warned him that if he procured things of his desire in devilish ways it would only cause suffering. Through Mrs. Jones, the author, therefore, focuses on the guilt which the boy will undergo when he would buy a pair of shoes from the money he had stolen. Those shoes would burn him inside and in his consciousness of guilt of performing such illegal activity.

Through this line Mrs. Jones seems to be God-fearing woman with distinct moral values and there is also motherly aspect in her character as she passes on her belief that Roger that sin will cause suffering.

9.  “Then we will eat” – Who is the speaker? Whom did she refer to by ‘we’? What was offered for eating?

Ans. Mrs. Jones is the speaker.

By ‘we’ she referred to herself and Roger who was caught red-handed trying to snatch her bag.

After dragging the boy to her house, she cooked ham and lima beans and also prepared cocoa out of canned milk. She, then, offered these as a supper. At last she shared a half of her ten-cent cake with Roger.

10. Bring out the Christian element from the story.

Ans. Christianity is a religion based on love, empathy, forgiveness and sharing. Mrs. Jones did not try to punish the boy, Roger for his attempted sin. She actually tried to reform him by her motherly love with a belief that none is born sinner and so we should not hate the sinner but the sin. Confession is another feature of Christianity and we find Mrs. Jones to confess her sin. Sharing her food and especially her ten-cent cake is another instance of Christianity. Finally the Christian concept, that crime or sin will only cause suffering, is also revealed in the story.