Not holding grudges on the people that have wronged you, but instead forgive them is a crucial, aspect of life. In Langston Hughes’ short story, “Thank You Ma’am” he shows the importance of mercy through his two main characters, Roger, a young poverty-stricken boy, and Ms. Luella Bates Washington Jones a large compassionate woman. In the beginning of the literary work, the author wrote that Roger snuck up on Mrs. Jones and attempted to steal her pocketbook, but his mission failed when the wide women simply turned and gave him a kick in his jean’s sitter. However, she later forgives the vulnerable boy’s actions and takes him to her house where Luella would feed and care for him. Although forgiving one another can be extremely tough, “Thank you, Ma’am” demonstrates the practice of forgiving people out of their kindness of your heart, even if they have harmed you.
Furthermore, in Langston’s work, he stresses the significance of being compassionate through the protagonist, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. After almost having her pocketbook stolen, she puts herself in Roger’s shoes and feels sympathy for Roger, which …show more content…
She rewards him for moving on from his wrongdoing and has faith in him to chose to make the right decisions. Before Roger left her home she said “Now, here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes. And next time, do not make the same mistake…”, which makes clear to the reader that in order to keep living our lives we must forgive the mistakes of others and ourselves (Hughes 4). Not only does she show mercy towards the young boy, but she also reassures him that even she has made mistakes by claiming, “ I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son- neither tell God if he didn’t already know.” (Hughes 3). “Thank You Ma’am” spreads the moral that, we must fail a manifold of times to