Discussion Topic

Roger's Decision to Stay in "Thank You, M'am"

Summary:

In Langston Hughes's "Thank You, M'am," Mrs. Jones leaves the door open to demonstrate trust and allow Roger the choice to stay or leave, teaching him a lesson in decision-making. Despite his initial intent to steal, Roger chooses to remain, intrigued by Mrs. Jones's unexpected kindness and support. Her actions, including leaving her purse accessible and treating him with respect, create a pivotal moment for Roger, fostering trust and prompting him to reconsider his choices.

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Why does Mrs. Jones leave the door open when Roger enters her room in "Thank You, M'am"?

Mrs Jones has just dragged Roger very forcibly into her house. She has been holding him, we are told, in a half-Nelson grip and is a large and imposing woman, while Roger is "willow-wild" and slender for his age. Therefore, although the text doesn't tell us explicitly, we can assume that Mrs Jones wants to reassure Roger that she isn't actually taking him prisoner when she brings him into her house. We are told that Roger can hear the chatter of other people in the house—specifically, people "laughing and talking." These are reassuring sounds: Roger now knows that he and the woman are not alone in the house, and this presumably will reassure him that Mrs .Jones is not about to commit an act of violence toward him, as this would be heard by the other boarders in the house. Likewise, the door being left open prevents Roger from feeling...

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as if he has been forcibly confined in the house. If he wanted to leave the room, he could do so.

The way Mrs Jones begins her interaction with Roger is aggressive, but she is always careful to prevent the boy from being too frightened—she does not want to be yet another bad influence in his life but rather is trying to help him.

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When Mrs. Jones eventually drags Roger into her home, she purposely leaves the door open for him as she instructs him to wash his face in the sink. Mrs. Jones purposely leaves the door open for Roger to make him feel comfortable and in control of the situation. She does not want Roger to feel confined or forced to stay in her home. Mrs. Jones is also intentionally teaching Roger an important lesson in decision-making and trust. Roger has clearly made a poor choice by attempting to steal Mrs. Jones's purse, which is why she is now giving him the opportunity to make a better one. She also wants Roger to learn to trust others and begins by giving him the option to leave or trust that he is in good hands and stay.

Fortunately, Roger makes the right choice by assessing the situation, correctly judging Mrs. Jones's intentions, exercising trust in Mrs. Jones, and deciding to remain in her home. Roger proceeds to follow Mrs. Jones's instructions by washing his face in the sink before he enjoys a hearty meal and receives ten dollars from Mrs. Jones to purchase a pair of blue suede shoes.

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Mrs. Jones is anxious to ensure that Roger learns a lesson in trust. She thinks that if she trusts Roger enough to leave the door open, he'll respond in an appropriate manner. Mrs. Jones senses that Roger's not someone who's ever been placed in a position of trust before, at any time in his short life. She figures that if she shows she trusts Roger, then, in return, he will learn to be more trusting of people in general.

Mrs. Jones doubtless also thinks that if she leaves the door open and Roger doesn't run off, that will reveal to her what the young boy is really like. Leaving the door open will be a test of Roger's true character.

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In the short story “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes, Mrs. Jones leaves the door open to her room as a lesson in trust and decision-making. When the pair arrives at Mrs. Jones’ room she has Roger wash his face and comb his hair so he will be presentable to eat supper with her. At that point, he thinks to himself that he could run but he makes the choice to stay. Mrs. Jones does not pry, she does not scold; she treats him as visitor in her home, which is not what he expected. During their conversation, she reveals that she did some unacceptable things in her youth. She goes behind the screen to warm up the ham, lima beans, and cocoa, leaving the door open with her purse sitting on the daybed within Roger’s reach. He could grab it and run, but he does not. Roger even offers to go to the store to show that he is to be trusted, but Mrs. Jones does not need anything. While she is behind the screen, he moves to the opposite side of the room where he thinks she can see him out of the corner of her eye. He wants Mrs. Jones to trust him as much as she wants to.

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Roger is the teenage protagonist of "Thank You, M'am" by Langston Hughes, and when we first meet him he is trying to steal a woman's purse. That woman is Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, an imposing African American woman who promptly sets him on his back end--without ever letting go of her purse, of course. 

When she looks at the boy more closely, she can tell that he is not being well taken care of, as he is rather dirty and a bit unkempt. Though the boy wants to leave, she is unwilling to let him off the hook so easily, so she makes him go home with her. 

She thinks he tried to steal her purse for money, but he tells her that he just wanted to buy a pair of blue suede shoes. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones understands wanting things she cannot have, and she has some things in her past of which she is not proud. Clearly she decides to give the boy a chance--presumably the same kind of chance someone once gave her.

When she goes to fix some dinner, she leaves the door open and her pocketbook on the bed. She obviously does it it in order to demonstrate her trust in him, and it works.

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.

The woman gives the boy ten dollars for the shoes; even more importantly, she gives him her trust. 

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Why doesn't Roger leave Mrs. Jones's apartment immediately in "Thank You, M'am"?

Roger is stunned into obedience by Mrs. Jones’s unusual behavior and chooses not to run away.

I think that the reason Roger doesn’t run immediately is that he is so surprised by Mrs. Jones’s actions.  Roger doesn’t seem like a hardened criminal, so he was probably really nervous about the purse snatching.  It did not go as planned.  He definitely did not expect the woman whose purse he tried to snatch to snatch him instead.

“If I turn you loose, will you run?” asked the woman.

“Yes’m,” said the boy.

“Then I won’t turn you loose,” said the woman. She did not release him.

Mrs. Jones takes Roger home with her, basically dragging him behind her.  She tells him that once you make contact with her, that contact is going to last.  If he was her son, she would teach him right from wrong.  Roger is still completely baffled by the experience.  He set out to rob a woman, and she took him home.

Once Roger is in her home, he still doesn’t really know what he is going to do.  He is a little frightened of her, and curious too.

“Then, Roger, you go to that sink and wash your face,” said the woman, whereupon she turned him loose—at last. Roger looked at the door—looked at the woman—looked at the door—and went to the sink.

Hughes emphasizes the fact that Roger thought about it and then decided to wash his face.  The sink was really the first chance he would have had to run away, and he chose not to. This was the first time in a while, perhaps, that someone had taken an interest in him and tried to take care of him.  Besides, Mrs. Jones seems like a tough lady.  Who knows what she would do to him if he tried to run away now?

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In "Thank You, M'am," why does Roger decide not to run?

Roger does not run because he is intrigued by Mrs. Jones and she is being supportive of him.

When Roger tries to snatch Mrs. Jones’s purse, she does not scream or call the police.  She knocks him down, grabs him, and takes him home.  Once home, she basically takes care of him. 

At first, Mrs. Jones still has Roger “by the neck,” so he isn’t going anywhere.  She asks him his name, and tells him to wash his hands.  He decides to do it.

"Then, Roger, you go to that sink and wash your face," said the woman, whereupon she turned him loose--at last. Roger looked at the door—looked at the woman—looked at the door—and went to the sink.

Roger asks if she is going to take him to jail, but he stayed, so he either doesn’t believe it or is willing to just go along with her.  He trusts her and respects her.  He is not a bad kid, but he has made a bad choice.

As the evening goes on, Roger learns that Mrs. Jones does care about him.  She wouldn’t have brought him home if she didn’t.  She will make him a meal and tell him about her life, and even ask him why he tried to steal from her.  What an unusual occurrence!

Mrs. Jones opens up to Roger, and confides in him.

The woman was sitting on the day-bed. After a while she said, "I were young once and I wanted things I could not get."

This reveals the reason she brought him home, instead of calling the police on him.  She saw something of herself in him.

Maybe Roger will change, and maybe he won’t.   One thing is for sure—he has had a unique experience.  He has learned that he is not completely alone in the world, but he has also learned that life is not about just taking what you want.  Roger may not have made the right choice in trying to steal the purse, but he made the right choice in going to the sink—in staying instead of running. 

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Why does Roger go to the sink instead of running in "Thank You, M'am"?

When Mrs. Jones literally drags Roger home with her, she finally releases him and orders him to wash his face in the sink. Once freed, Roger debates whether to run and decides against this action, perhaps thinking he would be caught after looking back at the formidable Mrs. Jones, who has wrestled him to submission earlier. He also realizes they are not in the house alone, so someone could assist her in his capture. Added to this, there is a certain yearning in him which causes him to stay.

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

It is also possible that Roger thinks there is a chance that Mrs. Jones is not going to turn him over to the police since she could have already done so. But, if he runs out the door, she may just call the police to have him arrested.

So, he goes to the sink and lets the water run until it grows warmer, as Mrs. Jones instructs him. But, as he bends down to clean his face, Roger does ask her, “You gonna take me to jail?”  Then, with her incongruous mix of kindness, complaint, and authority, Mrs. Jones replies, 

“Not with that face, I would not take you nowhere,” said the woman. “Here I am trying to get home to cook me a bite to eat and you snatch my pocketbook! Maybe, you ain’t been to your supper either, late as it be. Have you?”

All Roger can reply is that there is no one at his house. Clearly, then, he has been starved, not only for food, but for attention and love. And, when Mrs. Jones gives him some harsh attention, attention that is also mixed with motherly caring, Roger cannot run from what he has so needed.

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