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In Langston Hughes' short story "Thank You, M'am," how does the setting of Ms. Jones' home--her furnished room, the gas plate, the ten-cent cake,...

Langston Hughes' short story “Thank You, M'am” is a lot like his poetry, nothing pretentious or overdone, just good straightforward writing that paints a picture of ordinary people trying to find meaning in their lives.


Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones has quite a name for a down-to-earth woman. When she apprehends young Roger in the act of trying to steal her purse, she drags him back to her apartment. Like many good writers, Hughes then...

Langston Hughes' short story “Thank You, M'am” is a lot like his poetry, nothing pretentious or overdone, just good straightforward writing that paints a picture of ordinary people trying to find meaning in their lives.


Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones has quite a name for a down-to-earth woman. When she apprehends young Roger in the act of trying to steal her purse, she drags him back to her apartment. Like many good writers, Hughes then uses this setting to characterize his protagonist.


The details you mention, the gas plate, the ten-cent cake, the fact that the apartment is furnished, all point to the fact that Mrs. Jones is a woman of limited means. Her financial situation makes her subsequent generosity with Roger more meaningful. Despite that fact that she doesn't have much, she's willing to give food, and ten dollars, to a kid who tried to rob her. This is no small act of kindness on her part.


The reader can easily imagine that Mrs. Jones' lifestyle is austere. She probably has few possessions, and what she does have is not particularly valuable. But, like the name she goes by, she is a big person in other ways.

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