How would other people normally behave in Mrs. Jones's place in Langston Hughes's short story "Thank You, M'am"? What would others have done?

Human nature is very complex. Studies show that humans and animals have very compassionate natures, which means they have the ability to empathize with others--feel what others feel--and behave altruistically--behave in ways that benefit others (Seppaia, E., "The Compassionate Mind"). Yet, other studies show that most people ignore the homeless they pass on the street and refuse handouts (Figueroa, A., "Do You Ignore Homeless People?"). While Roger in Langston Hughes' short story is not necessarily homeless, he is so severely neglected that he is as good as homeless and must resort to whatever means he has to fulfill his basic needs and wants, and Mrs. Jones does not treat him in the same way many others would have treated him when faced with her same situation. Langston Hughes uses the actions of Mrs. Jones in his short story "Thank You, Ma'am" to show society what true compassion looks like and to remind us of the need for compassion.

When faced with being robbed by a homeless or near homeless person, like Mrs. Jones was robbed by Roger, most people would behave hatefully by calling the cops or taking revenge in some other way. In contrast, Mrs. Jones quickly recognizes Roger as a person in need, drags him to her rented room, makes him wash his face, shares his dinner with him, and even ends by giving him the 10 dollars he tried to steal so that he can buy his blue suede shoes. Due to the small size of her rented room, we know that she is a poor woman living off of what must be her minimum-wage income earned from her job at a "hotel beauty-shop," so we know that everything she gives him is a major sacrifice to herself. Yet, she willingly does it because, as she explains, she too was once young and in need and "wanted things [she] could not get." She further makes the following confession to him:

I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son--neither tell God, if he didn't already know.

Her actions and her confessions show us that she is able to feel empathy for Roger, which stirs her to compassion, something many people do not feel when faced with people in Roger's situation, as statistics concerning treatment of the homeless show.

Hence, in creating Mrs. Jones, Hughes creates a character who behaves contrarily to how the rest of society would normally behave in order to remind us of the need for compassion.