Lesson 4: Thank you, M’am
This chapter is from the 11th class English book 1 and it has been written by the Langston Hughes. we have presented the important questions of this chapter for the intermediate (part 1) FSc FA first year students.
Questions Answers
Q: Why did the woman not ask about the boy’s family background?
Ans: She did not want to depress him any more. She wanted him to relax a bit.
Q: What was the nature of the woman’s job?
Ans: She told him that she was a beautician and worked in a hotel beauty shop. That shop was visited by all types of women. It stayed open till late at night.
Q: What did the woman say to the boy after the supper Was Over?
Ans: She gave him ten dollars to buy blue Suede shoes. She advised him to use fair means to meet his requirements.
Q: Why did the boy want to say something other than, “Thank you, m’am”?
Ans: The boy was so impressed by the kind behaviour of the woman that he was short of Words. He wanted to say more than simply expressing thanks. But he could not do so.
Q: Why did the large woman treat the boy nicely at her home after punishing him in the street?
Ans: The woman became rash at the time of the incident. But then she realized that the boy was very young. So she thought that he might be hungry. This is why she became nice to him.
Q: Write the incident in a hundred words.
Ans: Once a heavily built woman was returning home from her job that a boy tried to Snatch her purse. In this attempt, the boy fell down whom the lady overpowered. She brought him to her home. Instead of handing him over to the police, she tried to correct his manners herself. She dealt with him quite lovingly and asked him to wash his face. Then she cooked food. Both of them ate together. She told him about her job. After the meal was over, she gave him ten dollars to buy a pair of fine shoes. This act had a great effect on the boy. In this way, she saved a young boy from getting spoiled.
Q: What was the effect of the behaviour of the woman with the boy?
Ans: The effect of the woman’s behaviour with the boy was extremely positive. The boy was not a habitual criminal. He had committed a mistake. He tried to snatch the woman’s purse to meet his need. The woman gave him a psychological treatment that he required at that time. She called him her son and offered him meal at her dining tabie. She did not hand him over to the police because she thoửght in this way he was sure to be spoiled. Her loving behaviour brought a positive change in him. The effect of this change could be seen when he was departing from her.
Q: Why did she treat the boy with love in her home after punishing him in the Street?
Ans: She punished him in the street because that was her natural reaction. That rash 3 act did not mean that the lady was unkind. On the way, she thought of so many ways to teach him good manners. This is why she talked to him softly when she reached home. As he was of tender age, she called him her son and treated him lovingly She asked him to wash his face and prepare for meal.
Q: What was the conduct of the people who watched the incident?
Ans: There weren’t many people around. By that time two or three people passed. They stopped and turned to look. But no one came near them.
Q: Why did the woman not take the boy to police?
Ans: He woman realized that the boy was not a habitual criminal. She thought that he would have done so under some pressure. So to teach him a lesson, she brought him with her.
Q: How did the boy look physically?
Ans: The boy was fourtee; ; or fifteen years old. Physically he was very lean. He was in tennis shoes and blue jeans. His face was dirty. He was not a neat fellow.
Q: What was the condition of the boy when the woman gave him a few jerks?
Ans: When the woman gave him a few jerks, his teeth began to rattle. He got frightened. He was sure that the woman would hand him over to the police.
Q: Why did the woman ask the boy to wash his face first of all?
Ans: The woman actually felt sorry for him. She was of the view that love and kindness would make him a new person. So she wanted to be kind to him.
Q: Describe how the woman and the boy entered the former’s apartment.
Ans: When she got to her door, she dragged him inside, down a hall. Then she dragged him further to a large kitchenette-furnished room at the back of the house. She switched on the light and kept the door open.
Q: Why did the boy not run away when he was let free?
Ans: He was in two minds. First he thought of running away. He looked at the door and then looked at the woman. Then he realized that the woman was not going to punish him. So he got relaxed a bit and kept sitting there.
Q: What was, according to the large woman, the motive behind the boy’s guilt?
Ans: The woman thought that the boy had been hungry for a long time, so his hunger might have forced him to commit such an act.
Q: What reason did the boy offer for snatching the woman’s purse?
Ans: He said that he wanted to get a pair of blue suede shoes. This was the reason that he tried to snatch her purse. In this way, he wanted to get some money to by these shoes.
Q: What were the names of the boy and the woman?
Ans: The boy’s name was Roger, and the woman’s name was Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones (or Mrs. Jones).
Q: What was the effect of the behaviour of the woman on the boy?
Ans: First he got nervous, but then he realized that the woman was not going to give him to the police. So he felt relaxed. Though the door was open, he did not run away.
Q: Describe the food that the woman prepared on reaching home.
Ans: She heated some lima beans and beef she had in the icebox, made cocoa, and set the table.
Q: Why did the large woman not watch, the boy while preparing food?
Ans: The woman wanted to be kind to the boy. She wanted to treat him as her own son. She wanted to correct him with love his is why she did not watch him.
Q: Why did the boy not like to be mistrusted when he was in the woman’s home?
Ans: He was not a criminal-minded person. The woman’s kind behaviour gave him a Sense of morality. He wanted to make amends. So he decided not to breach the woman’s trust.
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