The document introduces the short story "Thank You, M'am" by Langston Hughes. It discusses how readers meet Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones on the night a boy tries to steal her purse. It encourages readers to pay close attention to the dialogue between characters to get to know them and make inferences about what they are like based on what they say and do, not just what the author directly tells the reader.

1. Introducing the Selection Literary Focus: Dialogue Reading Skills: Making Inferences Feature Menu

3. “ She was a large woman with a large purse that had everything in it but a hammer and nails. . . .” from “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes From “Thank You, M’am” from Short Stories by Langston Hughes. Copyright © 1996 by Ramona Bass and Arnold Rampersad. Reproduced by permission of Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.

4. In “Thank You, M’am,” readers meet Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones on the night a boy tries to steal her purse. How this woman reacts to the attempted theft might surprise you. A Slice of Life What makes Hughes’s characters seem so real? [End of Section] Click here to find out.

5. In fiction, as in real life, what characters say can reveal a lot about them. To get to know the characters in a story, pay close attention to the dialogue, or conversation between characters.

6. As you read “Thank You, M’am,” notice what the characters say to each other—and what they don’t say. Then, decide what you think of them. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones Roger [End of Section] From “Thank You, M’am” from Short Stories by Langston Hughes. Copyright © 1996 by Ramona Bass and Arnold Rampersad. Reproduced by permission of Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC. “ Your face is dirty. I got a great mind to wash your face for you.” “ You gonna take me to jail?”

7. Most good writers don’t tell you directly what their characters are like. Instead, you have to make inferences about characters based on what they say and do. Prior experience with people and situations Inference about a character Observations of characters’ speech and actions

9. Make the Connection There’s a saying “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” In very difficult circumstances, some people do indeed get going. They have a spirit that moves them ahead—pushing them to do heroic deeds. What makes these people so tough, so strong in spirit? Why do they turn out to be good? Why do others go so wrong? Jot down your thoughts about these hard questions. [End of Section]

10. Meet the Writer

11. Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. His father felt that writing was “impractical” and wanted his son to be an engineer, but Hughes didn’t cooperate with his father’s plans. He worked at a variety of jobs to support his writing—cook, sailor, beachcomber, launderer, doorman, and busboy. More About the Writer [End of Section]