40 pages • 1 hour read
Thank You, M'am
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Themes
The Transformative Effects of Empathy
At its core, “Thank You, M’am” is about the power of empathy to transform people’s lives. In the most basic sense, this dynamic plays out in Mrs. Jones’s decision to forgive rather than punish Roger; by recognizing and sympathizing with the impulses that led him to try to steal her purse, Mrs. Jones decides not to report him but to give him the money to buy the shoes he wants. Given what the shoes represent—a lifestyle characterized by something beyond mere necessity—this is significant in and of itself.
With that said, Mrs. Jones’s empathy runs deeper than simple kindness or charity. For a start, there is a strongly maternal element to it: When she learns that Roger has no one at home to look after him, Mrs. Jones indicates that she’d like to step into the role of a parent, saying, “You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong. Least I can do right now is to wash your face” (Paragraph 17). However, this remark also illustrates the relationship between care and moral character, as Mrs. Jones associates showing kindness or concern for someone (washing their face) with teaching them right from wrong. This is perhaps a recognition that trying to instill a sense of morality in someone presupposes a certain level of respect for and interest in them—that is, a belief that they’re a free agent capable of doing good. At the same time, it’s also a statement about empathy’s ability to transform others for the better.
This is precisely what happens over the course of “Thank You, M’am.” Although Hughes offers only brief glimpses into Roger’s life, it’s reasonable to assume he hasn’t known kindness or compassion. His home life seems characterized by neglect, and his initial fear of Mrs. Jones suggests he may even have endured outright cruelty. If nothing else, Mrs. Jones’s behavior toward him illustrates that a different way of interacting with people is possible, such as when she surprises Roger by saying that he “could of asked” her for the money he tried to steal (Paragraph 32). Perhaps even more importantly, the kindness she shows Roger motivates him to repay her and to live up to the trust she shows by inviting him to have dinner with her. As the story progresses, he becomes the person Mrs. Jones’s actions imply he already is, offering to fetch milk from the store, placing himself where she can see him, and expressing heartfelt gratitude before leaving.
The Importance of Personal Responsibility
Perhaps counterintuitively, one of the main ways in which Mrs. Jones shows empathy for Roger is by holding him accountable for his mistakes. Although both she and the story are sympathetic to Roger’s circumstances, neither views his poverty as sufficient reason for his attempted robbery. When Roger says he “didn’t aim to” steal Mrs. Jones’s purse (Paragraph 6), implying he acted without intent and is consequently not responsible for what he did, Mrs. Jones accuses him of lying. Likewise, when Roger tries to get away from Mrs. Jones, she reminds him that he “put [him]self in contact with [her]” and that he will have to abide by the consequences of that choice (Paragraph 21).
With that said, the fact that those consequences don’t include punishment is significant. In insisting that Roger take responsibility for his actions, Mrs. Jones is not trying to hurt him but to help him. There’s an implicit sense of powerlessness in Roger’s behavior, in that someone who believed they could get the money legally would probably not resort to something as risky as purse-snatching. That riskiness also frames Roger’s irresponsibility less as a form of immorality and more as a kind of carelessness; he doesn’t even seem particularly alarmed when asking whether Mrs. Jones intends to report him, probably because he’s already written off his own future. Roger’s unwashed face also suggests self-neglect and in many ways symbolizes a broader tendency to devalue himself.
It’s therefore all the more significant that Mrs. Jones is so emphatic in her insistence that Roger wash up. In doing so, she is encouraging him to take responsibility for himself and the way he presents himself to the world. Similarly, she leaves the door to her apartment open to signal to Roger that the choice of staying or leaving is in his hands, and thus to instill in him a sense of agency. Roger decides to remain, ensuring that he is as responsible for the implied change in his attitude and behavior as Mrs. Jones’s kindness is. A newfound belief in his ability to change himself and his life for the better is presumably part of what Roger wishes he could thank Mrs. Jones for at the end of the story.
Reclaiming the American Dream
Race and class constitute a mostly implicit—but nevertheless important—backdrop to “Thank You, M’am.” Hughes conveys the characters’ blackness mostly through their dialogue, which is inflected by African American Vernacular English. Meanwhile, he signals Mrs. Jones’s working-class status through details like her job (a beautician) and residence (a kitchenette apartment), and Roger’s poverty by the very fact that he resorts to robbery. Hughes also hints that Roger’s home life is one of instability or deprivation, although it isn’t clear whether his family’s absence is due to work or other factors. Regardless, when Mrs. Jones asks whether Roger has had dinner, he implies that he hasn’t, saying, “There’s nobody home at my house” (Paragraph 29).
As understated as they are, these details provide necessary context for the story’s plot. The American dream—the idea that anyone can improve their lot in life if they work hard enough—has not historically been accessible to people of color, and has only intermittently been available to those in poverty. When Mrs. Jones says she was once young and wanted things she couldn’t get, the very open-endedness of the statement asks readers to think about her desires not as concrete objects or goals but as a longing for a way of life that seemed out of reach. Similarly, Roger’s desire for a pair of blue suede shoes is as symbolic as it is literal; the shoes are a luxury item that evoke wealth, style, and—thanks to their association with the Elvis song of the same name—perhaps access to white America and its culture.
The irony of this is that Elvis as an artist borrowed heavily from (or, arguably, appropriated) black musical tradition. In this sense, Roger’s desire for the shoes is not so much a desire to access a lifestyle he’s been excluded from as it is a desire to reclaim something that was taken from him. Given the historical entanglement of America’s wealth and power with slavery, Hughes is perhaps making a similar point about the American dream: that it was only the labor of black Americans that made that dream possible, and that it therefore belongs as much to them as to anyone.
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