Roger claims that the
immediate reason for which he tried to steal Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones's purse is that
he wanted to buy himself a pair of blue suede shoes. However, she quickly ascertains the larger
issues that affect Roger's behavior. She says to him,
You
ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong. Least I can do right now is to wash your
face. Are you hungry?
Although the boy replies in the
negative, she makes Roger wash his face (giving him a clean towel and warm water with which to
do it), and she asks him again if he has had his dinner. Tellingly, he replies that there is
"'nobody home'" at his house. She tells him, then, that they are going to eat, no
longer offering him a chance to respond because, as she says,
I believe you're hungryor been hungryto try to snatch my pocketbook.
In other words, Mrs. Jones believes that Roger
really tried to steal her purse...
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