In the grime that disfigures Roger's face, you can tell a lot about what kind of life he leads. One can reasonably surmise that this is a boy whose home life is disfigured by considerable poverty and squalor. The dirt on his face speaks eloquently of a life of neglect and penury, shaped by parents who appear to have abrogated their responsibilities. It's little wonder, then, that when we first meet him, he's a would-be thief who's on the fast track to becoming a juvenile delinquent.

It would seem that Roger doesn't know anything about the importance of personal hygiene and cleanliness. That's either because he doesn't care or because, more than likely, his parents haven't bothered to teach him about it. One shudders to think about what kind of living conditions Roger has to endure at home.

In any case, the filthy face that Roger presents to the world is a physical representation of his neglect by his family and by society as a whole. That's why Mrs. Jones's insistence on Roger's washing his face is of such great symbolic significance. For the first time in Roger's life, here's someone who actually cares about him, who isn't going to neglect him, and who sees the real Roger hidden beneath his grimy exterior.