Thank You Maam by Langston Hughes, Essay Example

The narrative “Thank You Teacher” by Langston Hughes provides a distinct picture on how stereotyping could be eliminated through educated ways of living. The teacher shows a young boy how he must face life through being an example herself.  Probably coming from the Black American background, the characters in the story, although they come from different generations, were portrayed to be somewhat feeling short of how they are recognized by their communities. Nevertheless, the teacher, the one seemingly older, takes on the challenge in a more positive manner; presenting herself much stronger and much capable of facing the stressful assumptions of being stereotyped.

As a teacher, the woman portrayed in the narrative, is expected to have the capacity to influence others accordingly, hence affecting the thinking and perception of the people and the way they do things. Noticeably, Langston wants to point out that her power to influence is much stronger or much more valuable than all the judgmental assumptions people place upon her shoulders. She is much more capable of handling the situation instead of simply succumbing to the pressure of being set aside and stereotyped as someone who cannot do as much as needed. What makes the condition of the woman powerful is not just her position, but that of her determination to go against the flow of social status quo.

The boy, being the younger person, is shown in the story as somewhat easier to put under pressure. Noticeably, his inexperience makes him an easier prey to the stereotyping pressure. As the teacher offers the young boy some food that she has made, she never stopped giving him some vital teachings that she knows he might need as he grows older into maturity. Knowing where he comes from and knowing what else could happen in the future, it could be analyzed how the teacher wanted to make sure that he would face life better and stronger as he tries to avoid the snares of simply going with the flow to which the assumptions of personal identity is being covered under the dictation of social norms and common practices related to stereotyping. Hoping to empower the boy, she presents him with good options to living; through her actions, she intends to send him messages that he could easily relate to, pointing out how belonging to a particular race should not keep him from embracing his gift and his capacity to be involved in purposeful social works.

This narrative challenges the capacity of individuals to go against the norms and embrace better versions of themselves. Looking through their own strengths and weaknesses with the full beauty of knowing what else they can do and contribute to the community as a mark of their being and their legacy to the society amidst being stereotyped. Establishing the fact that stereotyping is but a mere course of defense by some other races to put themselves at a higher stance than the others, this narrative gives a distinct presentation on how the modern society, and the people living in it could determine who they are, what they are and what they are made of as they face the challenge of establishing social status quo as part of their daily living and their search for personal and social identity. When it comes to the different essences of being stereotyped, this presentation by Langston Hughes shows how using others as an inspiration to one’s development of life perceptions and beliefs would help a lot in making an individual much stronger in facing such points of challenges.