Hughes’s story ‘‘Thank You, Ma’m’’ seems straightforward enough on a casual reading and, indeed, its moral message of self-help aimed at the black community could hardly be more blunt. Hughes gives a vivid description of his home in Harlem with its types and characters, lamenting it as a neighborhood in decline. Yet Hughes is a…
Tag: Thank You Ma'am
Thank You, Ma’am by Langston Hughes – Characters
Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones Hughes begins ‘‘Thank You, Ma’m’’ with an evocative description of Jones: ‘‘She was a large woman with a large purse that had everything in it but a hammer and nails.’’ This sets the tone for the development of her character. She is powerful and capable. She is overwhelmingly physically superior…