Themes

The main themes of the short story “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes are trust and dignity. In what follows you can read an useful discussion about these two themes.

Trust

Trust is a very important theme in the short story. As you have seen, Mrs. Luella brings the boy home without any trace of fear. She trusts him enough to allow him near her unguarded purse while she goes to another side of the room to prepare something to eat: “The woman did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run now, nor did she watch her purse, which she left behind her on the daybed.” 

The boy finds it intriguing that the woman trusts him. He does not want to give her any reason why she might treat him like a criminal:

But the boy took care to sit on the far side of the room, away from the purse, where he thought she could easily see him out of the corner of her eye if she wanted to. He did not trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not want to be mistrusted now.

What do you make of the woman’s trust towards the boy? Reflect on the fact that he tried to attack her without remorse. The trust displayed by the woman is meant to make the boy reflect on his conditions and on the decisions he is about to make. Mrs. Luella may have been the only adult who has shown him trust and who has believed in his self-control.

Dignity

Dignity is another important theme in the short story. To have dignity means to have a noble soul and to display respect towards others. In “Thank you, M’am”, Mrs. Luella is the embodiment of this theme. She is noble and loving and she understands what it means to be young and misunderstood: “I was young once and I wanted things I could not get.” 

Dignity is shown when the woman decides not to call the police and give the boy another chance. She understands the fact that he needs guidance and she tries to demonstrate him that it is not diffi...