Thank You Ma'Am

Indirect characterization is when the author makes the reader use his own judgment to decide what a character is like. In “Thank You, M’am”, by Langston Hughes, Mrs Jones was described as a large black women with a large purse. She was decoded as very stern by holding him tightly and saying “Pick up my pocketbook”(Hughes 86 ). Also an example from the short story was when “Mrs Jones stopped, jerked him around in front of her, put a half nelson about his neck, and continued to drag him up the street”(Hughes 86). In “Thank You, M’am”, by Langston Hughes, the author uses indirect characterization to show Mrs Jones’ attitude and personality in the short story.

Mrs Jones appearance and personality is revealed by using indirect characterization. For example, “She was a large women with a large purse that had everything in it but a hammer and nails”(Hughes 86 ). This quote describes the appearance of Mrs Jones by saying she was a large women. This means that she was a very prepared and was very organized. “Now here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes”(Hughes 86). This shows that she is very kind hearted even thou she appeared mean. She actually had trust in him not to steal anything and then gave him ten dollars, almost like a reward. By using indirect characterization, you are able to find Mrs Jones appearance and personality in the story without the author directly telling