"There was a long pause. A very long pause."-Bring out the significance of pause'. | "The woman did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run now."

“There was a long pause. A very long pause.”-Bring out the significance of pause’.

When Mrs Jones asked Roger why he had tried to snatch her pocketbook, Roger replied that he wanted a pair of blue suede shoes. Mrs Jones told Roger that he could have asked her for the money needed to buy the thing he so longed for. Such kind and affectionate behaviour of Mrs Jones stunned Roger and he could not say anything for a few moments. Mrs Jones dealt with the matter very sensitively. The humane side of Mrs Jones moved Roger so much that he was dumbfounded not knowing what to say or do.

“The woman did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run now.”-Why didn’t the woman watch the boy anymore?

Mrs Jones was a reformed sinner herself hence she knew that it was not possible to prove honesty if not trusted. All she wanted was to help Roger to gain some integrity. She gave Roger a perfect opportunity to flee with the purse. The purse was left behind and the door was open too. But her lesson made quite an impact on Roger. Seeing that she trusted him so much, Roger, instead of running away from the house, stayed back and also offered to help Mrs Jones. That was her way of reforming Roger.

“Do you need somebody to go to the store,… ?”-Who is the speaker? To whom did the speaker say this? Why did the speaker want to go to the store? What did they have in supper?

“And he did not want to be mistrusted now.” Who is referred to as ‘he” here? Whose trust did he want to win? Why didn’t he want to be mistrusted?

“Now, here, take this ten dollars…”-Who said this? Why did the speaker offer ten dollars? How did the speaker advise the person spoken to? What was the reaction of the person spoken to?

“Eat some more, son,…”-Who is the speaker? What is offered by the speaker to the listener? What picture of the speaker’s character is revealed in this line?

“…. because shoes come by devilish like that will burn your feet.”—Who is the speaker here? Whom was it spoken to? When did the speaker say this? What attitude of the speaker has been enlightened here?

“Goodnight! Behave yourself, boy!”-Who said this and to whom? What did the speaker mean by saying “Behave yourself”? How did the boy react at last?

“He barely managed to say “Thank you” before she shut the door-How does the ending appear to be in contrast to the way in which the story begins?

Describe the bag snatching incident. | What do you know about Mrs Luella’s home?

Retrace the course of action from the moment Mrs Jones caught the boy to the time they reached the middle of the room.

Bring forward the discussion that Mrs Jones had with Roger in her house. | Why did Roger try to snatch the purse of the lady?

Why did Roger not try to run away later although he had an opportunity to do so ?

What did Mrs Jones and Roger talk about while eating supper? What did Mrs Jones not ask Roger and why? What amount was offered by Mrs Jones to Roger?

Why did Mrs Jones not send the boy to jail for his attempt to steal?

Do you think Roger will try to steal again? Give reasons and use details from the story to support your answer.

At the end of the story, it says that the boy wanted to say something else other than ‘Thank You’ to Mrs Jones, but he could not-What were the circumstances that led him to thank Mrs Jones?

Who do you think is the central character of the story-Mrs Jones or Roger? Give reasons for your analysis.

Do you think a chance encounter between people can sometimes change their lives? Write about such an instance in your own words.

What lessons can we learn from the story “Thank You Ma’am”?