Become a Better Person

Authors Note: This response is a Text Structure Cause/Effect based off of the story “Thank You, Ma’am”.

As Mrs. Luella Jones was on her way home from the grocery store on a casual night, she was attacked by a young teenage boy trying to steal money out of her pocketbook. Because the strap of the purse broke loose, the boy landed right on his back with his sticking up in the air. She looked down at him, took him by the ear, and dragged him back to her house. She let him clean his face, provided him food for him, and talked to him as if he was her own son. After he left Mrs. Luella's house that night, he learned a lesson that no one had ever taught him before: you don't need to commit crimes and give up on life if you don't have money or loving parents. The climax in the story "Thank You, Ma'am" is when Mrs. Luella Jones takes Roger home just after he tried stealing money from her because it affects the entire story beyond that point.

Before the climax occurred, Roger planned on stealing money from an elderly lady on the street. As his plan failed, he found himself on the lying on the ground, hit by the woman's purse. If he never had attempted to steal Mrs. Jones’s pocketbook, he would most likely have never learned his lesson from her to be a better person.

“It was about eleven o’clock at night, and she was walking alone, when a boy ran up behind her and tried to snatch her purse” is a line from the story that specifically describes what happened before the main event or climax. Moments later the climax occurred: Mrs. Jones taking Roger home with her, making sure he'll remember her once she's through with him.

Rather than Mrs. Jones calling the police and take the young boy to jail, she takes him home, lets him wash the filth off of his face, and feeds him. After he learned his lesson, he wanted to gain the woman’s trust back, and wanting her to know that he is extremely ashamed of his actions earlier that night. If Mrs. Jones just would have called the cops on him, he would have never learned his valuable lesson from Mrs. Jones, and would most likely have kept on committing crimes.