40 pages 1 hour read

Langston Hughes

Thank You, M'am

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1958

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Story Analysis

Analysis: “Thank You, M’am”

“Thank You, M’am” is a 1958 short story by African American writer Langston Hughes, the figure perhaps most strongly associated with the Harlem Renaissance. This movement, which developed in 1920s and ’30s New York, witnessed the rise of a new generation of artists and intellectuals rooted in and speaking about black culture, identity, and history. For Hughes, who rose to prominence as a poet, this often meant working to capture the rhythms and patterns of traditionally black musical genres (e.g., the blues, spirituals, jazz). At other times, Hughes hearkened back to the mostly white literary tradition exemplified by writers like Walt Whitman, seeking to adapt their celebration of the American ethos to the black experience.

“Thank You, M’am” belongs to a different genre and era than Hughes’ best-known work but nevertheless has much in common with his earlier writings. Although Hughes never explicitly states that the characters are black, certain elements of the story are unique to the African American experience. The unnamed neighborhood in which the story takes place is most likely Harlem, which provides important historical context for Roger’s implied poverty; the neighborhood was devastated by the Great Depression and struggled to fully recover even in the prosperous years following World War II.

Related Titles

By Langston Hughes

Study Guide

logo

Children’s Rhymes

Langston Hughes

Children’s Rhymes

Langston Hughes

Study Guide

logo

Cora Unashamed

Langston Hughes

Cora Unashamed

Langston Hughes

Study Guide

logo

I look at the world

Langston Hughes

I look at the world

Langston Hughes

Study Guide

logo

Let America Be America Again

Langston Hughes

Let America Be America Again

Langston Hughes

Study Guide

logo

Me and the Mule

Langston Hughes

Me and the Mule

Langston Hughes

Plot Summary

logo

Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life

Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston

Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life

Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston

Study Guide

logo

Not Without Laughter

Langston Hughes

Not Without Laughter

Langston Hughes

Study Guide

logo

Slave on the Block

Langston Hughes

Slave on the Block

Langston Hughes

Plot Summary

logo

The Big Sea

Langston Hughes

The Big Sea

Langston Hughes

Study Guide

logo

Theme for English B

Langston Hughes

Theme for English B

Langston Hughes

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain

Langston Hughes

The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain

Langston Hughes

Study Guide

logo

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

Langston Hughes

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

Langston Hughes

Study Guide

logo

The Ways of White Folks

Langston Hughes

The Ways of White Folks

Langston Hughes

Study Guide

logo

The Weary Blues

Langston Hughes

The Weary Blues

Langston Hughes