1. Thank You, M’am by Langston Hughes
Feature Menu
Introducing the Selection
Literary Focus: Dialogue
Reading Skills: Making Inferences

2. Thank You, M’am by Langston Hughes

3. Thank You, M’am Introducing the Story
“She was a large woman with a large purse that had everything in it but a hammer and nails ”
from “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes
From “Thank You, M’am” from Short Stories by Langston Hughes. Copyright © 1996 by Ramona Bass and Arnold Rampersad. Reproduced by permission of Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.

4. Thank You, M’am Introducing the Story
In “Thank You, M’am,” readers meet Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones on the night a boy tries to steal her purse. How this woman reacts to the attempted theft might surprise you.
A Slice of Life
What makes Hughes’s characters seem so real?
Click here to find out.
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5. Thank You, M’am Literary Focus: Dialogue
In fiction, as in real life, what characters say can reveal a lot about them.
To get to know the characters in a story, pay close attention to the dialogue, or conversation between characters.

6. Thank You, M’am Literary Focus: Dialogue
As you read “Thank You, M’am,” notice what the characters say to each other—and what they don’t say. Then, decide what you think of them.
“You gonna take me to jail?”
“Your face is dirty. I got a great mind to wash your face for you.”
Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones
Roger
From “Thank You, M’am” from Short Stories by Langston Hughes. Copyright © 1996 by Ramona Bass and Arnold Rampersad. Reproduced by permission of Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.
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7. Thank You, M’am Reading Skills: Making Inferences
Most good writers don’t tell you directly what their characters are like. Instead, you have to make inferences about characters based on what they say and do.
Observations of characters’ speech and actions
Prior experience with people and situations
Inference about a character

8. Thank You, M’am Reading Skills: Making Inferences
After you read “Thank You, M’am,” skim through it again and jot down clues that you think reveal something important about the characters.
Pay close attention to character’s actions and the dialogue.
Discuss the subtext—what characters don’t say aloud but may be thinking, feeling, or communicating without words.
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