People can change

By: Zach Maderski

Author’s Note: This is a response to the story “Thank you Ma’am” by Langston Hughes. It talks about some quotes from the story and how they are important and show a change in the characters and in the reader’s thoughts.

There are several quotes in this story that affect the way the reader feels about the characters. Their importance not only affects how you feel about a character but also shows how that character changes throughout the story. For example Roger in the beginning of the story was a thief and would take any chance he could to get money or food, but in the end he learned respect and trust.

In the beginning of the story Roger has almost no trust in Mrs. Jones partly because she had caught him red handed trying to steal her pocket book but also, she is a complete stranger to him. There is a quote in the story that proves that Roger is scared and has no trust in this women that he had just tried to steal from.  "If I turn you loose, will you run?" asked the woman. "Yes’m," said the boy. This quote just proves that Roger is still in a way a thief and has no trust what so ever in Mrs. Jones.

An important quote in the story that really stands out was when Mrs. Jones brought Roger to her house after he had tried to steal her pocket book. When he got to the bathroom after she told him to wash up the quote said,” Roger looked at the door—looked at the woman—looked at the door—and went to the sink.” This quote is probably one of the most important quotes in the story because it shows how much Roger changed from the beginning of the story to now, and it shows how much he is beginning to trust her because if I was in his position I would have taken her pocket book and ran.

Toward the end of the book Mrs. Jones did something risky, she left her pocket book on the couch were Roger was sitting. This part of the story will really changes what you think or believe about Roger, because Mrs. Jones could not even see Roger nor could he see her. He decided to scoot to the edge of the couch to where she could see him out of the corner of her eye. He did not trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not want to be mistrusted now.

Telling from Roger’s actions at the beginning of the book to the end of the book you can really see how much he had changed. You might not have been able to see his change in attitude and confidence throughout the story if it weren’t for these quotes. Overall quotes can really change how the reader thinks and shows their improvement throughout the story.