Thank You MaM Analysis free essay sample

Introduction:Mrs Luella Bates Washington Jones is walking home from work one night,when a young teenager attempts to snatch her purse. HHe breaks the strap in his haste to get away and Mrs Jones gives him a kick shakes him and finally grabs him by his shirt. Inciting incident:When the boy breaks the strap in his haste to snatch the large purse or just when the boy attempts to snatch the purse ,inciting incident occurs because this event creates the struggle or conflict between the characters. Development:The woman gives the boy a kick,shakes him and gives him a stern lecture and then marches him off to her furnished single room. She wants him to wash his face. Then she asks him about himself. and learns that his name is Roger and he tried to steal her purse to buy blue suede shoes. She prepares the dinner for the two. We will write a custom essay sample on Thank You MaM Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Climax:While Mrs Jones is cookingdinner,the boy remains seated near the purse and we wonder if he’ll steal the purse and run away. (or when she refuses to turn the boy loose we wonder what she is going to do with him or where she ‘ll take him to. Resolution: Mrs Jones tells him that she herself is not so proud of certain things that she has done in her life. Probably she wants him to know that they are not so different from each other. Then she gives him the money for the shoes. Roger can see that everybody can make mistakes and still go on to lead happy,honest and productive lives. So he relaxes. Finally she lets him go warning to behave himself. Characterization:Mrs Jones is avery strong and confident woman. She is obviously concerned about children and the ones who are misbehaving. She wants to make sure that he understands his fault and help him to behave better(a flat and static character)She is understanding,considerate,kind,respectful,helpful, generous and thoughtful. She works in ahotel beauty shop. She sets a good relation with the boy,sincere but also balanced . She could have done something to punish him ,but instead of it she chose to train him. Roger:is a frail,thin boy at the age of 14 or 15. He is wearing blue jeans and tennis shoes. He is timid,defenceless,dishonestfirst but the way that Mrs Jones treated him makes him feel ashamed of what he has done. Her attitude makes Roger feel confident and he relaxes becomes trustworthy and grateful for human kindness. So he changes He feels better,gains self respect ,self- worth(being treated respectfully)It seems he has never been treated well before. He understands the mistakes and wants to improve because although he has the chance to escape he chooses to stay. Reasons can be various. ;The need to prove himself to Mrs Jones as he is not bad and can be reliable. Theme:lt; Lessons can sometimes be taught more effectively with kindness than with punishment lt;Kindness and understanding can change a person’s behaviourespecially if the person is not used to being treated well lt;Responding with kindnessrather than punishment when somebody tries to hurt you can bring about good results lt;Experiencing a little kindness and generosity of spirit may make a big difference in someone’s life. I. Introduction: A. Setting: 1. Time:Past XPresentFuture 2. Specific time: evening â€Å"about eleven o’clock at night† 3. Place: on a street and then in a rooming house 4. Mood (Atmosphere): tense, suspenseful B. Characters: NamePhysical DescriptionCharacter Traits Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Joneslarge woman with a large pursetough, kind Rogerdirty face, â€Å"fourteen or fifteen, frail and willow-wild, in tennis shoes and blue jeans. †daring, meek (daring to try to snatch the purse but quite meek afterward), lied at the beginning, appreciative at the end C. Antecedent Action: none given II. Initial Incident: A. Type(s) of conflict: Man versus Man B. Problem (in question form): What will Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones do to the boy who tried to snatch her purse? C. 1st event that shows the problem: â€Å"a boy ran up behind her and tried to snatch her purse. † III. Rising Action:- the first event which began after the Initial Incident and that makes us wonder about the answer to the problem. G – purse strap breaks and the boy falls down G – the large woman picks the boy up and gives him a shakeG – the woman takes the boy home G – the woman lets the boy wash up B – the boy wonders if he will be sent to jail G – the woman says she won’t take him to jail but fixes him supper instead B – the boy thinks about making a run for it G – the boy stays and listens to Mrs. Jones confess to doing things wrong herself G – Mrs. Jones shows trust in Roger G – Mrs. Jones doesn’t ask any embarrassing questions G – Mrs. Jones tells Roger about her job, then cuts him some cake G – Mrs. Jones gives him ten dollars to buy blue suede shoes IV. ClimaxMrs. Jones lets him go and tells him to behave himself OR see the comments below for another opinionclimax: the turning point of the story is when Roger looks at the sink, the door, the sink and stays (he has changed) and at that moment the story has turned, the falling action is Jones sharing her life accounts with Roger, leaving him with $20 for shoes and advice; the resolution is him turning to say but never stating Thank you. The turning point occurs when Roger looks at the sink and decides to stay. V. The last paragraph begins with â€Å"The boy wanted to say something else but couldn’t do it. † What else do you think he would have like to be able to say to her besides â€Å"Thank you†. 16. Analyse how Roger’s view of Mrs. Jones changed from the beginning to the end of the story. 17. Do you think at the beginning if Roger had been successful in stealing the purse, would he have bought shoes with the money? At the end, now that he has been given $10, will he use it to buy shoes? 18. Create a theme statement. 19. What is the central conflict and climax? 1. Story elements: What kind of narrator does the story have? * What is the setting? * Who are the main characters? * What is the central conflict and how is it resolved? * What is the main theme of the story? 2. How were the two characters different? How were they the same? 3. Can people change? Is change easy? When do people usually feel the need to change? 4. A famous African proverb says, It takes an e ntire village to raise a child. How does this idea relate to this story? Do you agree or disagree with this idea? 5. What lesson can we learn from this story when it comes to dealing with problems and conflicts? 8. In the short story Thank you, Maam tells a story about a young boy who tries to steal a womans purse. When he thought he had it, he thought wrong because he tripped and fell on the lady. The lady asked him if she let him go would he run, he responded yes so she didnt let him go. The lady saw that the boys face was dirty, and she didnt want him going home like that. What she did was that she brought him home with her and she fed him food. She asked him why he wanted to steal her purse, and the boy said it was because he wanted blue sued sneakers. Later on, the lady gave him ten dollars and walked him out of the house. The boy wanted to thank the lady but before he did, the lady closed the gate. This short story will be very memorable for me, because instead of the lady turning in the boy to the police, she instead took him with her. She understood the boy for trying to steal her purse, and she forgave him in a different manner without saying anything (for ex. feeding him food and giving him water to wash his face). The boy was confused throughout the whole time in her house, because she left the door open and her purse out in the open. He had many chances of escaping, but he didnt. He preferred to give her trust as the same way she gave him. I liked this story a lot because there was a lot of trust and a lot love. 1. â€Å"Thank You, Ma’m† was written by Langston Hughes in 1958. The story is about a young teenage boy, Roger, who attempts to steal a large purse from a large woman, Luella Bates Washington Jones. The purse is too much for him to handle and after he loses his footing, he is in the grasps of Luella. Luella immediately recognizes that the boy has little to no looking after at his home. She carries his by his neck, to prevent escape, to the house she lives at to clean him up and give him something to eat. When they reach Ms. Jones’ house, which appears to be filled with other tenants, the boy washes his face while Luella cooks dinner. While cooking Roger admits that he wanted to steal her purse to buy himself a pair of blue suede shoes. Ms. Jones admits that when she was younger had done similar things in pursuit of similar objects. Over dinner they talk about Luella’s job and other light subjects, but Luella does not pry into Roger’s life as the reader may assume she would. After dinner Luella sends Roger on the way very abruptly. Roger has barely enough time to say, â€Å"’Thank you, Ma’m’ before she shut the door. And he never saw her again. † (349) 1 Who is the story really about? Roger 2 How does Roger react after Mrs. Jones asked him why he tried to steal her pocketbook? he tells a lie I didnt aim to. 3 Why do you think Roger lied to Mrs. Jones? He was afraid 4 What does Mrs. Jones say when Roger apologizes? Your face is dirty. I got a mind to wash your face. Aint you got nobody at home†¦? 5 Are you surprised with Mrs. Jones reaction? Why or why not? 6 Why do you think Mrs. Jones makes Roger wash his face and then eat dinner with her? She feels sorry/compassion 7 How does Mrs. Jones treat Roger? with kindness Why does Roger try to steal the purse? for blue suede shoes 9 How does Mrs. Jones react to Rogers answer? She says Roger could have just asked her  for the money. He didnt have to steal. 10 How does Roger react to Mrs. Jones saying that Roger could of just asked her for the money? A long pause, a very long pause. 11 What is Roger thinking about here (with the pause)? Hes surprised and hes thinking what to do. Re-read the first two paragraphs out loud on page 54. 12 After Roger frowned, what did Mrs. Jones say? Um-hum, you thought I was going to say, but I didnt snatch other peoples pocketbooks. 3 How did Mrs. Jones know what Roger was thinking? She saw his frown and figured it out. 14 Have you ever noticed a look on someones face and known what they were thinking? Give an example from your life 15 Now what does Mrs. Jones tell Roger about her life? She has done bad things too. 16 Why does Mrs. Jones not watch Roger or watch her purse? She wants Roger to know she trusts him. 17 Where does Mrs. Jones work? In a beauty shop 18 Do you think she is rich? No 19 Then why did she give Roger $10 to buy shoes? To teach him about kindness 20 What do you think Roger learned from the way Mrs. Jones treated him? various answers: Kindness and trust can  teach you a lot about life. Or the golden rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. 21 How would you like to be treated if you were caught doing something wrong? various 22 What advice did Mrs. Jones give Roger? Do not make this mistake again behave yourself 23 What lesson about life does this story teach? 24 Is the storys lesson the same thing as its theme? yes 25 Make a list of three important events or details that suggest the storys theme. Detail: various kindness acts Detail: Roger wanted to say thank you mam