Thank You Ma’am Excerpt The woman was sitting on the day-bed. After a while she said, "I were young once
and I wanted things I could not get."
There was another long pause. The boy’s mouth opened. Then he frowned, but not knowing he frowned.
The woman said, "Um-hum! You thought I was going to say but, didn’t you? You thought I was going to say, but I didn’t snatch people’s pocketbooks. Well, I wasn’t going to say that." Pause. Silence.
"I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son—neither tell God, if he didn’t already
know. So you set down while I fix us something to eat. You might run that comb through your hair so you will look presentable."
What does this speech tell you about Mrs. Jone’s reasons for helping Roger?