A Changed Life

Authors Note: In this piece of writing I’m analyzing the short story Thank You Ma’am I am mostly going to be analyzing the character Roger  and the challenges he faces throughout the book and who made these changes.

Imagine having no parents or being neglected and having to live life all on your own, and stealing is the only possible way of surviving. In the short story Thank You Ma’am  by Langston Hughes this is Rogers way of living his life. Stealing and not having a true family are certainly some of the foremost important challenges Mrs. Bates  has to help Roger with throughout this short story.

During the short story Roger makes bad decisions when he decides to attempt to steal stuff. Near the beginning of the story Roger right away attempted to steal Mrs. Bates pocketbook. Right after this occurrence I personally would be embarrassed as Mrs. Bates noted "Now ain't you ashamed of yourself?" Throughout this little story Mrs. Bates is able to change Roger mind on the act of stealing by showing him what it is like to have somebody watching over you.

Despite stealing being a main challenge, not having a family is defiantly the big one. Mrs. Bates asked Roger several times in the story for example “Ain’t you got nobody home to tell you to wash your face” or he stated "There’s nobody home at my house,". Despite Roger not having a true family Mrs. Bates shows him what that really is like and this act of kindness changes Roger as a person, as the story went on he started asking her if is she need anything like “Do you need somebody to go to the store”. In spite of that Mrs. Bates really changed Roger by just showing him what a family is really like and the that act by Mrs. Bates changed Rogers life.

Throughout the short story both challenges stealing and having no family were real big reach for Roger to defeat , and what Mrs. Bates does to change Rogers life is phenomenal . Seeing that right there lead Roger to a life that’s much safer and meaningful.