Research Article

Revival Outcome of Warmheartedness in Langston Hughes’ “Thank You, M’am”

Number: 22 March 21, 2021
  • Zennure Köseman *
TR EN

Revival Outcome of Warmheartedness in Langston Hughes’ “Thank You, M’am”

Abstract

This article higlights warmheartedness of a female character that causes the moral revival of a teenage boy after his robbery crime factor to buy himself blue suede shoes as portrayed in Langton Hughes’ “Thank You, M’am” (1958). Although the woman becomes extremely angry and flaming in a short process after the robbery, she becomes kindhearted towards the child afterwards. After looking at him carefully, she discovers that the boy is a poor child who needs help and, thus, she transforms into kindheartedness. Her goodheartedness enforces herself to warn the boy to wash his dirty face. As a poor and lonely child, what he needs is some money. Thereby, she calls him to her house and helps him with the money he requires. Such a story signifies that the woman is warmhearted knows the difficulty of living in poor circumstances. The woman gives some money for him instead of accusing him for his theft. She incondemns the child and, thus, assissts to remove away the misbehaviours in society through becoming sympathatic for the poor. This emphasizes that whenever a chance is given to this woman to improve herself in life, she would have the opportunity to organize life for the poor. Accordingly, the woman performs mother role for the child and, concerns his problematic economic life. Her sympathatic behavior signifies her readiness to carry out rational activities for whole humanity whenever required. In this case, the boy displays the journey of experiencing a huge moral transformation from being a theft to becoming an entirely honest, polite and respectful person in his life.

Keywords

References

  1. Anderson, M. (2015). “Langston Hughes’s two faces.” The New Criterion. Retrieved from jstor on December 22, 2020.
  2. Ballard, E. (2011). “Introduction: What is Your Greatest Epiphany in Life.” Epiphany. New York: Random House. Pp. 1-14.
  3. Bloom, H. (2008). “Introduction.” (2007). Harold Bloom, Ed. Bloom’s Modern Critical Reviews: Langston Hughes. New York: Infobase. Pp.:1-5.
  4. Hokanson, R. B. (2008). “Jazzing It Up: The Be-Bop Modernism of Langston Hughes.” Harold Bloom, Ed. Bloom’s Modern Critical Reviews: Langston Hughes. New York: Infobase publishing. Pp: 113-135.
  5. Houston, G. T. (1994). “Psychoanalytic Criticism.” The Critical Experience: Literary Reading Writing, and Criticism. Eds. David Cowles and et al. Second Ed. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing. Pp. 139-159.
  6. Hughes, L. (1986). “Thank You, M’am.” Sudden Fiction: American Short Short Stories. Robert Shapard and James Thomas, eds. Utah: Gibbs M. Smith, Inc. Pp: 64-67.
  7. Jongh, J. (2004). “The Poet Speaks of Places: A Close Reading of Langston Hughes’s Literary Use of Place.” A Historical Guide to Langston Hughes. Ed. Steven C. Tracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp.: 65-84.
  8. Joyce, James. (2013). A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. İstanbul: Sis.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Linguistics

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Zennure Köseman * This is me
0000-0002-3420-9801
Türkiye

Publication Date

March 21, 2021

Submission Date

February 7, 2021

Acceptance Date

-

Published in Issue

Year 2021 Number: 22

APA
Köseman, Z. (2021). Revival Outcome of Warmheartedness in Langston Hughes’ “Thank You, M’am”. RumeliDE Dil Ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, 22, 846-856. https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.897206