Question

Read this excerpt from Langston Hughes's story "Thank you, M'am." This exchange takes place after the boy has unsuccessfully tried to steal the woman's purse, and she has grabbed him and brought him back to her home.

"You gonna take me to jail?" asked the boy, bending over the sink.

"Not with that face, I would not take you nowhere," said the woman. "Here I am trying to get home to cook me a bite to eat, and you snatch my pocketbook! Maybe you ain't been to your supper either, late as it be. Have you?"

"There's nobody home at my house," said the boy.

“Then we’ll eat,” said the woman, “I believe you’re hungry—or been hungry—to try to snatch my pockekbook.”

“I wanted a pair of blue suede shoes,” said the boy.

“Well, you didn’t have to snatch my pocketbook to get some suede shoes,” said Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. “You could of asked me.”

What do readers learn about the woman from her interaction with the boy?

Responses

The woman is optimistic, thinking that the boy will learn that stealing is wrong if she simply cleans him up and feeds him.
The woman is optimistic, thinking that the boy will learn that stealing is wrong if she simply cleans him up and feeds him.

The woman is dishonest, pretending that she has so much money that she's willing to give it away so the boy can buy some shoes.
The woman is dishonest, pretending that she has so much money that she's willing to give it away so the boy can buy some shoes.

The woman is confused, believing the boy to be hungry when, in fact, he's not hungry at all.
The woman is confused, believing the boy to be hungry when, in fact, he's not hungry at all.

The woman is kind and generous, offering to feed the boy and suggesting that she would have given him the money for the shoes if he'd asked.

Answer 1

The correct answer is:
The woman is kind and generous, offering to feed the boy and suggesting that she would have given him the money for the shoes if he'd asked.

Evidence: she brings him home, says “Then we’ll eat,” cleans him up, and tells him “You could of asked me,” which shows compassion and generosity rather than dishonesty, confusion, or only naïve optimism.