Introducing the Selection

Literary Focus: Dialogue

Reading Skills: Making Inferences

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“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 HughesFrom “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.

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?

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Click here to find out.

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.

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.

“Your face is dirty. I got a great mind to wash your face for

you.”

“You gonna take me to jail?”

Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones Roger

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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.

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

After you read “Thank You, M’am,” skim through it again and jot down clues that you think reveal something important about the characters.

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• Pay close attention to character’s actions and the dialogue.

• Discuss the subtext—what characters don’t say aloud but may be thinking, feeling, or communicating without words.