Thank You, M'am

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay. 

Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the story over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Consider the attention Mrs. Jones pays to Roger’s unwashed face and uncombed hair.

• What does personal hygiene illustrate or symbolize in the story? (topic sentence)
• Identify three passages involving Roger’s hygiene and discuss these with reference to your topic sentence.
• Finally, use your concluding sentence or sentences to state what the story’s emphasis on hygiene suggests about The Importance of Personal Responsibility.

2. Consider Mrs. Jones’s work as a beautician.

• How does the story depict Mrs. Jones’s work? (topic sentence)
• Identify three passages involving Mrs. Jones’s work or socioeconomic status and discuss them with reference to your topic sentence.
• Finally, use your concluding sentence or sentences to discuss how Mrs. Jones’s work reflects the story’s interest in Reclaiming the American Dream.

3. Consider Hughes’s depiction of Mrs. Jones.

• How do Roger’s impressions of Mrs. Jones change as the story progresses? (topic sentence)
• Identify three passages describing or evoking Mrs. Jones’s appearance, behavior, mindset, etc., and discuss them with reference to your topic sentence.
• Finally, use your concluding sentence or sentences to discuss how the story’s depiction of Mrs. Jones relates to its ideas about Empathy.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Mrs. Jones initially assumes Roger was attempting to steal her purse to feed himself, but he actually wanted the money to buy a pair of blue suede shoes—a relative luxury item rather than a necessity for survival. Discuss the symbolism of the shoes throughout the story. What do you think the shoes represent to Roger? Why does Mrs. Jones ultimately give him the money to buy them? What point do you think Hughes is making about the American Dream?

2. Though Hughes wrote in multiple genres over the course of his lifetime, he is most famous as a poet. Consider his use of more typically poetic literary devices in “Thank You, M’am”—e.g., the alliteration of “willow-wild” or the repetition of “run, run, run, run, run!” (Paragraphs 16, 34). What effect do these kinds of devices have on the story’s tone? How do they contribute to the story’s meaning?

3. Hughes wrote “Thank You, Ma’am” during the civil rights era. In what ways might the concerns of the civil rights movement have shaped Hughes’s story? Does this historical context inform how you read the story? If so, how? If not, why not?