There are a lot of great examples of different ways to use language. The two that stand out to me are as follows; “a large purse that had everything in it but hammer and nails” as well as "shook him until his teeth rattled. Obviously the purse did not have EVERYTHING but hammer and nails and obviously the boys teeth were not shaking but it helps give the reader a perspective of the situation.

I very much see a presence of a theme in this first paragraph. I think the theme is that you have to stick up for yourself. The women in the text had her purse snatched from her, and instead of just giving up and letting the thief take it, she beat him up and took her purse back. This can also represent a bigger meaning such as standing up for yourself in life. You have to be able to make people respect you and not push you around.

It’s is really necessary for him to try and steal a purse from her.

I think the woman was trying to hold the boy accountable for his actions. He failed to take her purse, so instead of leaving him, she held him accountable and wanted him to think about his actions.

The women was teaching him a lesson is not okay to steal from anyone.

I feel as it is a little ironic how the boy tried to steal the women’s purse, yet he felt bad for doing it. I feel that there could be a good reasoning behind his situation.

The characters here both have a very adamant accent and dialogue here. Paints a clearer picture of where/when this story takes place.

I think he feel guilty for getting caught and plus he should not steal , that not good to do that to anyone especially women.

The boy was scared, and seemed to not want to tell the truth. Why did Roger say he didn’t aim to, instead of just telling the truth right away? What was holding him back? Could he have been feeling guilty after trying to steal?

This metaphorical treatment of lie IS a judgement of the woman upon the boy. She is placing a blanket of judgement over the boy in calling him AND his action a “lie.”

The woman asks if the boy will run if let loose. If the answer is yes, more than a pocket book may have been lost. This might be important to the themes coming out of the work.

We love some good honesty.

This is a quick choice, the motivation not yet clear. There is still an inclination that she might turn the boy in. It would be well within her rights as the victim to do so.

Asking after the boy’s homelife seems a bit personal, but the woman is taking in surface details of the boy in coming to this question.

she is going to take the boy to her house to wash his face because he is dirty.

I’ve read this before, but I’m already picking up things that I didn’t really think at the time.

For the woman to have any sort of care for this boy who tried to snatch her purse, she would have to see a person behind it. In a situation of robbery, I wouldn’t necessarily be willing to take someone home to wash their face after they tried to steal my wallet.

It’s a big thing to be able to see a person in the moment. To see someone in need, not just a thief.

This suggestion of intimacy of moving into a maternal role is suggestive of a Domestic Intimacy theme. There is also a recognition of the woman’s responsibility to the boy even though he is not a son.

The boy tried stealing the purse and instead of the women getting mad or so, she is trying to teach him a lesson. She is bringing the boy home and having him clean himself up instead of turning him in.

As I continue to read this story, this woman and her actions completely shocked me. After the boy tries to steal from her, she still opens up her home and offers to do the right thing. This makes me think of the world we live in today. How many people would actually do this instead of immediately calling the cops?

I think the woman felt some guilt knowing that he probably doesn’t have the best home life or any at all. So she decides she wants to help him out and teach him right from wrong.

Mr. Hankins suggested this piece being a suggestion of intimacy. She shows a “soft” side in order to help this boy, whom she assumes is in need of help based on his actions and appearance.

Her physical prowess is evident in a woman who has a “handle” on a young boy who wants to run.

But, from where does Luella’s strength really come?

know we know that the boy name is roger and ms.Luella bates washington jones trying to help him

Roger carefully examines the room, suggestively looking for danger. This is another indicator of his state of mind, how his psychological state could fall into a negative category. The audience can infer he has been in danger before, so he is alert.

So like is the boy homeless or what cause his face is dirty and he was trying to steal her purse?

He got scared because he thought he was going to jail but he should be lucky that she not those people take him straight to jail but no she took it calm.

Isn’t the boy’s question here a logical consequence of his actions? He is asking about Luella’s intent.

roger ask Ms.Luella bates washington jones if she was going to take him to jail and she asnwer not with that face i would not take you nowhere the women said.

After deciding to take Roger into her home, Mrs’ Jones’ focus has almost completely been diverted from the original problem. Her motherly instincts force her into caring for this child who had tried to steal from her. All she is seeing is a hungry boy with a dirty face that just wants a pair of blue suede shoes.

Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones decides to help Roger, after learning that there is no one at his home to feed him, making “help those who cannot help themselves” as possible theme from the story.

Way more children are often fending for themselves on the streets due to poverty levels.

First, the boy tries to steal the woman’s purse. Then, she notices his unclean appearance. One can infer he comes from a lower class system, where society probably is not helping him better himself. Most people would probably send this boy to jail immediately instead of helping him clean up or get food.

In any piece of literature, the sharing of a meal becomes a form of “communion” between the two diners. It may not be an accident that this comment on morality and wrongdoing is anchored by a meal together.

Instead of turning the boy over to the police, she invites him in to wash his face and eat dinner. This is her way of serving justice, but also shows a different side of her. Mrs.Luella Bates Washington Jones is a large woman who drags this kid down the street but turns around and displays kindness. She even gives him money for shoes which would be uncommon if this were to happen today. She knows what it is like to want something you can’t have so she turns this into a lesson. She kind of plays a maternal figure as well when she tells him goodnight and that she wishes he would behave.

I wanted to use this section/ portion of the story to talk about why people want to reform/defund/or abolish the industrial prison complex. We see here this woman, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, show compassion to this young boy of whom most would write off as a young criminal. She feeds him. She is not obligated to do this. But she does anyway. When you show compassion, to others and you start teaching them compassion, self-care, and critical thinking at an early age, you create a person who may not feel obligated to do what they do, like Roger who we later learn, wants shoes.

I think that with the woman taking the boy to eat, especially after trying to steal her purse. I think that with the kindness she is presenting it can help teach the boy rather than the woman just scolding him.

The woman could have easily called the cops and got him in trouble or just left him there with no lessons learned. Instead she actually tries to help the boy even after he tried to steal from her. Its clear she has a good since of morality for helping him. I believe he has to feel guilty but grateful for how she treats him, because he is in need of affection.

I think that it’s sort of crazy how instead of calling the police or getting super angry with the boy, the woman tells him that he could have just asked her to buy him a pair of “blue suede shoes.” Even though the boy had wronged her, she showed him some compassion and sort of took the boy in for a bit.

The way that Mrs. Luella interacts with Roger is stern, and serious, but she is kind with him despite the force she uses. She seems like a woman to treat people she just met like family, as she did with Roger.

All Roger wanted to do was to get away from Mrs.Luella Bates Washington Jones. However, that changed most likely due to the kindness that Mr.s Luella had towards Roger. He no longer wanted to “run,run,run,run,run!” Instead, all he wanted to do was repay her back in whatever way possible. He felt a sense of regret ( connection to Tuesday’s with Morrie) trying to steal Mrs.Luella Bates’s pocketbook. Anybody can change in any way shape or form, you just have to be determined to change.

The woman reveals to the boy that she has known some element of wanting but lacking in her own life.

“Somebody wanted _________ but _________ so __________.”

Mrs. Luella seems to take a form of pity on Roger, and a sense of forgiveness.

Perhaps Mrs. Jones can relate to Roger in some way, she may have been poor like roger and tried to steal things when she was younger. Because of this she feels pity for Roger and wants to help him.

The woman tells the boy that she was just like him wanting things that she couldn’t get.

The boy is young and the woman understands that when she was young she wanted everything to. So she tries to explain to the boy that taking stuff is just not how life works.

The woman presents a confession to the boy without revealing the nature of her sins that are between her and her higher power.

I find the notion that Ms. Luella Bates Washington has done some things of her own in the past interesting, as she states, “I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son…” It helps bring to light that everyone in their life makes mistakes, but it is not those mistakes and transgressions that define us, but rather the lessons we learn from these experiences and how it helps us shape our future. For Washington, it seems to have helped her grow as a person, and so instead of thwarting the boy’s future, she took him in, assisted him, and made an impact on his life so that he may change for the better as well. It is always better to forgive, teach, and show compassion, all which comes about by learning from the past.

Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones doesn’t punish Roger like society’s “normal” would. She related to him, and didn’t think of herself as above him in any way, most likely because she had done the same things and more when she was his age. She didn’t attack him over this mistake, instead teaching him why it was wrong with kindness. Some people don’t learn from aggression or violence, especially those who are used to violent reactions.

The boy is now more conscious of his place within the apartment. Not running impulsively. Sitting. Measuring.

In this paragraph we see that Mrs. Jones is more trusting of Roger and likewise Roger now wants to have that trust and would not want to lose it. I think this also shows a change of character in Roger because in the beginning, he did not necessarily have good intentions but we learn the real reason behind why he acted in the way he did and instead of turning him into the police, Mrs. Jones shows kindness by teaching him a much needed lesson and in return he is now more respective of others.

The boy who might have stolen is now suggesting an act of service.

I just like how the women is clam after he was trying to steal from her and she being a good lady.

Not digging into what might be hurtful to the boy, the woman reveals more of herself, perhaps to frame herself as the would-be victim. She is building in familiarity here.

The story really comes full circle when the woman says “eat some more son.” The story starts with this young boy trying to rob a lady and ends with that same boy being called son while being fed by that same lady.

She treats him like if he was her kid.

I found it interesting to read that even though Roger tried to steal Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones’s purse, she still found it in her heart to give him the money that he needed to buy the blue suede shoes that he wanted.

The women seemed to be attempting to teach the child a lesson. She never punishes the boy for attempting to rob her and does not even seem to panic which makes me wonder if this sort of interaction might have happened previously.

The Woman mentions the devil when explaining trying to steal to get want you wanted which is a great way of conveying the lesson.

When I first read this I was surprised that Mrs. Washington gave ten dollars to Roger even after he tried to steal her purse. I like how even though he tried to steal from her she took him home, cleaned him up, feed him, and gave him money for new blue suede shoes

You can see she a amazing lady toward the young kid by giving him money and telling don’t every do it again.

i hope this little boy learn his lesson and he should be lucky the lady didn’t call on the cops on him.

While the boy was leaving the house after Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones made him dinner, gave him a place to rest and wash his face, he was left speechless at the front door. With all the thankfulness and gratitude left in his body from this one woman, he could only manage to say “Thank you, ma’am,” but never got the chance. The boy was only able to let out “Thank you” before Mrs. Jones closed the door.

The more learned a valuable lesson from Mrs.Jones. He needed shoes, so he thought stealing was the best option for him. She taught him different as we can see.

how come he didn’t say thank you before she left?