how far Mrs. Luella Bates’s kindness will extend.

It seems that the kindness shown to him adds a layer of complexity to this conflict, because he does not want to be mistrusted, and therefore does not run, even though he has ample opportunity to grab her purse and leave. He stays for dinner and then leaves, and while we are not told what happens to him after that, we are left free to hope that this internal conflict has changed Roger for the better.

In "Thank You, M'am," there is internal conflict as Roger struggles between doing what is easy versus doing what is right. After Mrs. Jones drags him to her home, Roger has an opportunity to flee. When Mrs. Jones tells him to wash his face, Roger sees that the door is open. The evidence of an internal struggle is seen when "Roger looked at the door—looked at the woman—looked at the door—and went to the sink." After washing his face, Roger again notices the open door, and the reader once again sees evidence of an internal struggle. Roger could make the choice to run and to free himself from Mrs. Jones's words. However, he again chooses to stay. As Mrs. Jones prepares food, Roger is careful to sit where he thinks Mrs. Jones can still see him. At this point, it becomes clear that Roger has made his decision to stay and to be trustworthy.

In the Langston Hughes’ short story “Thank You, M’am,” the internal conflict isn’t blatantly obvious. It must be inferred from the actions and thoughts of the characters. The external conflict is easy to find—it happens right away when the boy, Roger, attempts to steal Mrs. Jones’ purse.

The internal conflict is demonstrated later in the story when Roger has been dragged to Mrs. Jones’ apartment. Once they get there, Roger is surprised to find that Mrs. Jones, instead of calling the police to report his attempted theft, has behaved with kindness toward him. She speaks to him warmly and cooks for him. This begins to affect Roger in an important way, and Roger, who initially just wanted to rob Mrs. Jones, begins to want to earn her trust, as we see in the following passage:

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.

From the above passage we see that the boy is worried about whether or not Mrs. Jones trusts him. This concern about what someone else thinks about him is internal conflict, because it is an issue he is dealing with within himself, and it is causing him some anxiety. It cannot be external conflict because it is not happening in the form of a disagreement, argument, or fight with something else outside of Roger’s person.

The story "Thank you, Ma'am” illustrates the three main types of irony: situational, dramatic, and verbal.

Situational irony occurs in a narrative when the outcome or result is different from what is expected. At the beginning of the story, Roger snatches Mrs. Jones’ purse and falls over before he can run away. Then she kicks him, grabs him by his shirt, and forces him to pick up and return her purse. We expect that Roger will be set free and flee after giving her back her purse. Surprisingly, the livid Mrs. Jones refuses to let him go and takes him back to her apartment by putting "a half-nelson about his neck."

Her rough handling of the boy implies an impending physical punishment. However, while she scolds him, she offers him a sink to wash his face, a warm dinner to eat, and money to purchase coveted “blue suede shoes.” Ultimately, she not only shows him kindness and empathy, but also tries to teach him right from wrong.

Dramatic irony is when the readers know about a situation of which the characters are ignorant. This type of irony occurs when Mrs. Jones releases Roger to go and wash his face.

Roger looked at the door—looked at the woman—looked at the door—and went to the sink.

We know that he could make a dash to escape, but Mrs. Jones does not (or at least does not seem to). And then after washing up, the boy spies another chance to flee.

The door was open. He could make a dash for it down the hall. He could run, run, run, run, run!

Although she may realize the possibility of the boy’s escape, she acts as if there is no chance of him fleeing or that she is unaware of the open door.

Finally, verbal irony occurs when a character states the opposite of what she or he means or intends to communicate. Mrs. Jones displays verbal irony when she tells Roger,

I were young once and I wanted things I could not get.

This statement implies that she—like Roger—coveted things she could not have but did not turn to crime like him. He and the readers then expect her to say that she was good and did not steal. She knows that Roger may interpret her statement to be a preamble to a lecture on how she avoided a life of crime when obtaining “things” she wanted. Instead, she says,

You thought I was going to say but, didn’t you? You thought I was going to say, but I didn’t snatch people’s pocketbooks. Well, I wasn’t going to say that…I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son—neither tell God, if he didn’t already know.

Her earlier statement sets up an interpretation that ultimately conflicts with reality.

There are a number of examples from the text which you can mention in your essay to indicate the conflict between Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones and Roger. The first would obviously the actual altercation between the two—Roger's attempt to steal her purse and her reaction.

Another form of conflict, though not as direct, would be her threat to wash his face and his desire to be turned loose. She has taken a solid hold of him. Further conflict is apparent in the fact that Roger needs to be dragged to her home. He is her unwilling, uncooperative prisoner and would certainly not walk easily and freely. He specifically tells her:

"I just want you to turn me loose." 

You can mention Mrs. Jones' threat and Roger's reaction thereto as an addition to the conflict. Finally, you need to mention how the conflict is resolved by referring to Mrs. Jones' actions and Roger's response. To enhance your essay, you might choose to mention the social conditions in which our two characters find themselves that provoke this conflict and how the manner in which it is resolved can be seen as surprising and unexpected.

To support your contention that the main conflict in the story is character versus character, you need quotes that demonstrate how the characters are at odds with one another as well as quotes that demonstrate how that conflict is resolved. For the first, look to quotes about how the two meet--Roger tries to snatch Mrs. Jones's purse and she responds but kicking him in the butt then picking him up by his shirt front and shaking him hard enough to make his teeth rattle. This is pretty strong evidence that the two are at odds with one another. 

There are more as the story develops, usually embedded in their conversation. 

We see how their relationship changes from the original conflict to one of mutual respect when she leaves him alone with her purse while she cooks dinner for them. Instead of taking the purse and running, he goes out of his way to make sure she knows she can trust him (by sitting where she can see him at all times). By the end of the story, she gives him money for the blue suede shoes he wants and he responds by wanting to thank her for all she's done, but being unable to put his gratitude into words. Thus, the characters move from combatants to allies.