1. “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes
Page 109
CCRS – RL ; RL ; RL ; W ; W ; W ; W ; W ; SL ; L ; L ; L ; L ; L
Reading Skills – Making inferences
Literary Skills – Understand how character traits are revealed through dialogue

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Dialogue – conversation Inference – educated guess
Literary Terms
Dialogue – conversation
Inference – educated guess

6. 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

7. Thank You, M’am Quickwrite
Make the Connection
There’s a saying “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” In very difficult circumstances, some people do indeed get going. They have a spirit that moves them ahead—pushing them to do heroic deeds. What makes these people so tough, so strong in spirit? Why do they turn out to be good? Why do others go so wrong? Jot down your thoughts about these hard questions.

8. How does Roger change over the course of the story?
While Reading
Describe Roger.
Describe Mrs. Jones.
How does Roger change over the course of the story?
Identify a possible theme for the story.
How does the change Roger makes contribute to the theme of the story?

9. Activity
Compare the character traits revealed by Mrs. Jones in the dialogue in the story with the traits revealed by the mother in “Mother to Son” (p. 114). Both women talk about difficulties in their own lives. In an essay, compare the two women. Be sure to cite information from the story or poem. Think about the following:
1. Characters’ pasts
2. Characters’ current situations
3. What important message is each character trying to convey to her listener?