Welcome to your definitive guide for Langston Hughes’ heartwarming short story, Thank You Ma’am, featured in the ISC Class 11 & 12 English Literature syllabus. This blog provides detailed workbook solutions from the Evergreen Publications (Prism) workbook, designed to help you thoroughly understand this poignant tale of compassion and second chances.
Whether you’re analyzing Mrs. Jones’ unexpected kindness, exploring themes of empathy and redemption, or preparing for exams, our chapter-wise answers, character insights, and thematic breakdowns will deepen your appreciation of Hughes’ timeless narrative. Let’s step into the transformative encounter between Roger and Mrs. Jones—unpacking life lessons and literary brilliance, one workbook question at a time!
Table of Contents
About The Story :
In the story Thank You, Ma’am’, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is a well built and courageous woman. She carries a huge bag tied to her shoulders. The bag contains several things of her daily needs. She was going in a street at eleven o’clock in the night. She was all alone when a teenage boy tries to take away the huge purse. The bag is too heavy for the boy to snatch and run away with it. He falls on the ground and Mrs Bates kicks him and catches the boy by shirt. She asks the boy to pick the bag up and the boy silently follows her instruction.
The boy is about fifteen years of age. He looks weak and untidy. Mrs Luella Bates Washington Jones drags the boy to her house to let him wash and clean himself. The boy does not want to go. The woman tells him that he has no other option but to follow her dictates. She learns that the boy had nothing to eat and there was no one at his place to feed him.
Mrs Jones believes that the boy was trying to snatch her purse as he did not have anything to eat. But the boy tells her that he had attempted the theft to get a paw of blue suede shoes. Mrs Jones says that he could ask for the shoes instead of stealing the purse. At this stage, the boy thinks of making an attempt to run away. Mrs Jones sits in front of him telling that she too used to aspire for the things she did not have. She had done things that she did not want to tell the boy. After this confession, she offers him food to eat.
After some time Mrs Jones deliberately leaves her purse on the table unattended Roger could take the purse and run away. But he no longer wants to break her trust in him. He then offers to buy her milk or work for her. She wants him to have sweetened milk. Mrs Jones and Roger take food together. In the end Mrs. Jones gives him ten dollars to buy the shoes, he wanted. She leads him to the door and asks him never to steal anyone’s purse. Roger wants to express his sense of gratitude for her by saying, Thank You, Ma’am’, but Jones closes the door and he goes without having said this.
Workbook MCQs :
(I) Mrs. Jones carried a :
(a) small purse full of money
(b)precious dog with her
(c) a big and heavy purse
(d) a huge basket
Answer :- (c) a big and heavy purse
(II) The woman was :
(a) thin and weak
(b) stout and strong
(c) young and tall
(d) very old
Answer :- (b) stout and strong
(III)When the woman asked the boy fi eh would run away on getting a chance he said that :
(a) he cannot walk even
(b) he does not want to miss the chance to get the blue suede pair of shoes
(c) yes he will run away
(d) he will take away her purse also
Answer :- (c) yes he will run away
(IV) Mrs. Jones dragged Roger to :
(a) the police station
(b) the child care institution
(c) her house
(d) his parents
Answer :- (c) her house
(V) The boy Roger wore :
(a) blue suede shoes
(b) black suede shoes
(c) red leather shoes
(d) tennis shoes and blue jeans
Answer :- (d) tennis shoes and blue jeans
(VI)Who used to work in a hotel beauty shop :
(a) Roger
(b) Mrs. Jones
(c) Roger’s father
(d) the author
Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
(VII) When Roger entered Mrs Jones house, she asked him to : (clothes
(a) take a bath
(b) wear new clothes
(c) wash his face
(d) clean her room
Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
(VIII) There was an opportunity for the boy to run away :
(a) he ran away
(b) but he did not run away
(c) he did not know about it
(d) he tried to run away but the woman caught her
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(IX) Mrs. Jones, treated the boy :
(a) with kindness
(b) harshly
(c) like a police woman
(d) like a cruel person
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(X) In the end, the boy :
(a) said thank you and went away
(b) ran away after cheating the woman
(c) wanted to say ‘thank you ma’am’ but could not say
(d) wanted to thrash the woman and run away
Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
Logic Based Questions :
(I)The woman’s bag was heavy because she had kept several things in it.
(II)The boy fell down on the ground because he lost his balance because of the weight of the bag he tried to snatch and his own weight.
(III) Mrs Jones kicked the boy because he had tried to snatch her bag and thrown her pocket book down.
(IV) Mrs Jones bent down because to pick the boy by shirt front and shake him.
(V) The boy attempted the theft because he wanted to buy blue suede shoes.
(VI) The woman took the boy home because Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
(VII) The boy did not run away with the woman’s purse when there was an opportunity for him to do so because Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
(VIII) The woman asked the boy to go to the sink because Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
(IX) The woman did not ask the boy any questions about his family and life because Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
(X) The boy could not say Thank You, Ma’am’ because Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
Short Answer Questions :
1. Where was Mrs Jones when a boy attempted to snatch her purse?
Answer :- Mrs. Bates Washington Jones was a strong and healthy woman. She carried a huge purse. It was slung on her shoulder with a long strap. It was about eleven o’clock at night. The woman was going in the street all alone. The boy Roger tried to snatch her purse when he found these circumstances suitable. He walked behind her and gave a tug to the strap to take away the purse.
2. What does the narrator say about the bag ?
Answer :- The narrator talks about Mrs. Jones purse in an amusing way. He says that the purse she carried was very heavy. She had kept almost everything in her purse except a hammer and nails. It indicates that the purse had various things in it. When Roger attempts to snatch this purse he falls down on the ground. The weight of the purse and his own weight make him lose his balance. These details make the purse look quite big and strangely heavy.
3. What happened when the boy tried to snatch the purse ?
Answer :- Roger made an attempt to take away the purse that Mrs. Jones carried. He gave a tug to the strap slung on her shoulder. It broke down and Roger lost his balance because of the heavy purse and his own weight. He fell down. Mrs. Jones kicked him and got hold of his shirt to keep him under control. She did not let him go and dragged him on the road.
4. Where did the woman take the boy and why ?
Answer :- The boy named Roger attempted to snatch Mrs. Bates Washington Jones purse. She caught and dragged him on the road. She took the boy to her house. Instead of reporting him to the police, she treated him in a different way there. She took him to her house as the boy looked dirty and untidy. The woman was kind and generous. She thought of helping the boy. Therefore, she took Roger to her house.
5. Why did the woman leave her purse unattended on the table near the boy?
Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
6. Why did the boy try to snatch the purse ?
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7. What did Mrs Jones tell the boy about herself?
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8. How did the woman treat Roger at her house ?
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Long Answer Questions :
1. Describe the way Roger tried to snatch the purse of Mrs. Jones.
Answer :- Roger was a boy of about fourteen or fifteen years. He wanted to buy a pair of suede shoes but he had no money. He thought of committing a theft to arrange money for the shoes. He saw a woman walking in the street with a purse hung on her shoulder with a long strap. It was at about eleven at night and the woman was all alone. He walked behind her and tried to take away the purse. The woman carrying the purse was Mrs. Bates Washington Jones. She was a strong and powerful lady and the purse she had was very heavy. The moment Roger gave a tug to the strap of the purse, it broke down. He lost his balance because the purse was very heavy and it fell on him. He could not bear the weight of the purse and failed to take it away. When Roger fell down with the purse, Mrs Jones caught him, kicked him and dragged him through the street. She overpowered him completely. He could not run away with the purse and his attempt to take it away failed.
2. How does the woman get hold of the boy and is what manner does she take him home ?
Answer :- Mrs. Jones in a well-built and strong woman. As the boy named Roger tried to snatch her purse she turned round and kicked him hard. The boy fails to run away and falls down on the ground. Mrs. Jones catches him by his shirt and gives him a violent jolt. She drags him through the street. He proves quite helpless before her might. She grips him tightly and moves on towards her home. She does not let him go and keeps on asking different questions. The boy feels sorry and tries to assure her that he does not intend to repeat his mistake. The woman keeps on walking. She admonishes him on the way and takes him to her house.
3. What does Roger find in the women’s house and what is he made to do ?
Answer :- Mrs Bates Washington Jones took the boy to her house. She had failed his attempt to snatch her purse. The moment she reached her house she asked the boy to wash his face. He went to the sink and washed his face there. The woman made him to do so as he looked dirty and shabby.
After washing his face, Roger sits in the house near a table. The woman talks to him about his family. Roger tells that there was not one at his house. The woman offers him milk and food. Roger offers to run an errand for her. But the woman does not want him to do so. They eat together and Roger is happy to receive the womans love and hospitality. He tells the woman about the reason of his trying to snatch the purse. Once the woman even tests him. But he does not lose her trust and wins her confidence. In the end, he comes out of the house and goes without getting a chance to express his gratefulness to her.
4. Summarise the conversation between the boy and the woman before she enters her house with him.
Answer :- Mrs Jones held the boy firmly by the shirt and started moving towards her house with the boy. She asked him if he would run away if she released him. When the boy tells that he really wanted to run away, she does not release him. After a brief pause, she looks at his dirty face. She asks him if there was no one at his house to ask him to remain neat and tidy. She expressed her intention to get his face washed. She tells the boy that his face will be washed that evening. While still dragging him by his shirt, she starts talking affectionately like a mother. She says that she would tell him the difference between right and wrong if were her son. But at that moment she can only get his face washed. The boy again expresses his desire to be set free. The women explains to him that it was he who had first come in contact with her while trying to snatch her purse. At this time she also tells him that when she has treated him in her own way, he will remember her for a long time. These ideas indicate that the woman intends to treat the boy with dignity and affection.
5. Why did the woman leave the purse on the table ? Why did Roger not run away with the purse?
Answer :- [ For Full Workbook Answers , Get The Full E-Book Access – View ]
6. Comment on the ending of the story.
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7. Did the woman in the story behave with the boy in the expected usual way ? How ?
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