Trust
Trust is a major theme in "Thank You Ma'am." Although Roger's attempt at stealing Mrs. Jones's purse establishes a dynamic between the characters in which there is no trust, by the time Mrs. Jones drags Roger to her home, she has gained enough trust to let him loose to wash his face. In a crucial moment, Roger knows he could run away from her, as he is still uncertain whether she will bring him to the police. However, he does as she instructs and washes his face, disarmed by the trust she has shown him. Gradually, he relaxes in her presence, no longer believing she wants to punish him for his crime. Mrs. Jones even leaves him alone in the main room with the purse he tried to steal. But rather than take advantage of her trust, Roger sits where she can see him from behind the kitchen-divider screen. In that moment, Roger realizes he wants to prove himself worthy of the trust she shows him. With these ironic reversals of expectations, Hughes shows how trust is a mutually exchanged and mutually beneficial virtue.
Generosity
Expressed primarily through Mrs. Jones's kind and understanding treatment of Roger, generosity is another of the story's major themes. Even though Roger attempts to steal her purse, Mrs. Jones does not resort to punitive action. She may treat Roger sternly and make him worry about what she is going to do to him, but ultimately she brings him to her home in order to learn what circumstances drove him to snatch her purse. Having found out that he comes from an impoverished home and lives with little or no parental supervision, Mrs. Jones generously feeds him and gives him the money he needs to buy suede shoes. Perhaps seeing a younger version of herself in him, Mrs. Jones understands the life-changing impact her generosity could have on Roger, whose life until then has been characterized by a need to fend for himself.
Poverty
With both of the story's central characters living in low- or no-income circumstances, poverty is one of the dominant themes in "Thank You Ma'am." While Roger's poverty is overt, driving him to attempt to steal Mrs. Jones's purse in order to buy himself a pair of shoes, Hughes shows Mrs. Jones's poverty in more subtle ways, such as with the details concerning the multi-tenant rooming house in which she lives, her meager kitchen setup, and the fact her service-industry job requires her to work late into the evening. Mrs. Jones addresses her poverty most directly when she reveals to Roger she too once wanted things she couldn't afford. Although Mrs. Jones lives comfortably enough that she can afford to give Roger food and money, her once having been as poor as him makes her sympathetic to the desperation that drove him to rob her.
Dignity
Dignity—a sense of pride in oneself and the state of being worthy of respect—is another dominant theme in "Thank You Ma'am." The theme of dignity first enters the story when Mrs. Jones holds Roger up by the front of his shirt and notices that his face is dirty. Mrs. Jones finds this lack of hygiene undignified, telling Roger that if he were her son, she would "teach him right from wrong." Knowing that he has no parental authority at home, Mrs. Jones takes Roger to her own home and teaches him how to wash his face in order to look more dignified in society. She also tells him to run a comb through his hair so he "will look presentable." After they eat dinner, Mrs. Jones continues to impart lessons on being more dignified, warning Roger not to steal other purses because of the remorse he will feel afterward. Ultimately, Mrs. Jones's wisdom bears authenticity because she was once in a similarly desperate situation in her life—a situation that led her to do undignified things she would rather not tell Roger or God. Having been through her own struggle with poverty and wanting things she couldn't afford, Mrs. Jones can speak credibly about the importance of living with honesty and pride.
