The Price of Flowers: Notes

                                            

1. Why was the narrator’s attention drawn to the English girl?

Mr. Gupta, an Indian, visiting England, once went to a Vegetarian restaurant. He saw an English girl of 13 or 14, sitting opposite to him, watching him with interested surprise. But she turned her eyes away as soon as he looked at her. The girl’s interest in him drew his attention.

2. What is your impression of the girl?

The girl, Maggie, is a teenager from a poor family. Her clothes betray her poverty. Her large eyes with a sorrowful expression move our minds. When she saw the narrator, her belief that an Indian, who is a yogi, can find something about her brother through the crystal ring and   that is why she watches him so closely. Then she asks the cashier to find out if he is an Indian and if he comes to that particular restaurant all the time.

3. How do you know that the girl was interested in knowing the identity of the narrator?

The girl was interested in knowing the identity of the narrator because she watched Mr. Gupta with interested surprise. Later she asks the cashier whether the narrator was an Indian and whether he came to the restaurant often.

 4. What do you understand about the probable financial condition of the girl?

The girl is from a low-income family and her the dress betrays her poverty. The waitress says that she comes to the restaurant only on Saturdays for lunch because Saturday is the pay day. On the other days she does not take lunch because she can’t afford it. She is working in a nearby shop, and earns little payment.

5. Why was the narrator curious about the girl? What did he do to meet her?

The narrator was curious about the girl, because he found that she watched him with interested surprise and enquired about him to the cashier. She asked the cashier if he was an Indian and if he came to the restaurant every day. From the waitress he had come to know that the girl works in a nearby shop. So, to meet her he looked into the shops on the streets near St. Martin’s Lane, and the shops in the Strand (a major thoroughfare in Westminster, Central London). But he could not find her in any of them. He then decided to go to the same restaurant on Saturday where he met her during the lunch time.

6. Why did the narrator go to the restaurant again?

The narrator went to the restaurant again with the hope of meeting the young English girl. The waitress had told him that the girl came to the restaurant on Saturdays for lunch. He was very much in interested in knowing more about the girl.

7. What impression did the girl have about India?

Maggie believed that India was a dangerous country to live in because it was full of tigers, snake and fevers.

8. Was Maggie satisfied with her job? If not why?

Maggie was not satisfied with her job because felt that it is a mechanical job. She wanted to have job to make her brain work. She wanted to become a secretary.

9. What do you understand by ‘brain work’?

‘Brain work’ means those types of works which need some thinking. Something that is nor mechanical like typewriting.

10.Why did Maggie ask the narrator whether he was a vegetarian?

Maggie asked the narrator whether the he was a vegetarian, to find out, if he was an Indian and a yogi. She had heard that yogis do not eat meat and they have occult powers like seeing into someone’s past and future.

11. Why did Mr. Gupta go to Maggie’s house?

Mr. Gupta went to Maggie’s house because, her mother was anxious about her son, who is in India, a land full of tigers, snakes and fevers. She wanted to introduce him to her mother, who wanted to meet an Indian, who can interpret the signs on the ring, a gift from Frank. He had sent it form India, saying that it has occult powers. She believed that an Indian can see past and future. Moreover, Mr. Gupta had developed some kind of liking and sympathy towards Maggie, and was willing to help her in all possible ways.

 12.  What do you understand about the living conditions of Maggie and her mother?

The living conditions of Maggie and her mother was pathetic. They lived in a small house in the Lambeth, area where poor peopled lived. Kitchens are below street level. They had very cheap furniture, and that was very little. The carpet was very old and torn in many places. Maggie’s mother baked cakes and sold them for a living on Saturday nights

13. Why is Saturday special to Maggie and her mother?

Saturday nights are special to Maggie, her mother and all others in Lambeth, because it is a day, they can spend a few shillings out of their earnings. Saturday night is a time of festivity in poor neighborhood like Lambeth. It is a day when the poor are able to spend a little as they receive their wages. Maggie’s mother bakes cake and sells them on Saturdays and that is how they make a living. So, Saturday is special to both of them.

14. How did Mr. Gupta describe India to Mrs. Clifford?

Mr. Gupta said that India was a beautiful country. It is not cold like England, but is somewhat hot. Of course, there are tigers and snakes in India but they live in the jungles. If the animals come into the places where people live, they would surely get killed. There are fevers in some places in India but not everywhere.

15. Who is Francis? What do you know about him?

Francis (Frank), is the brother of Maggie and son of Mrs. Clifford, and we know about him from the narrations of Maggie and her mother. He is a soldier and is in India. They both love him dearly. He is in the Punjab Province of British India, in the regiment fighting on the Northwest Frontier. He loves his mother and sister. He had sent her sister a book of pictures of Shimla, and the surrounding mountain country. He appears superstitious and sends his family a crystal ring, saying that it was given to him by a yogi. The yogi had told him it has magical powers. If somebody looked into the crystal, thinking of a person who is far away, one can see the person and what one is doing. Maggie and Mrs. Clifford often looked into the crystal ring but they never saw Francis. They look for and Indian Yogi who can interpret the ring. Finally, we come to know that Francis was killed in war and was buried at Fort Monroe, near Dera- Ghazi-Khan. Maggie wants the narrator to place some flowers on her brother’s grave, when he goes to India, and she pays him a shilling for that. It is from this sacrificial act of hers that the story gets its title.

16. What is your opinion about superstitions? Do you believe in any?

All Superstitions are not bad but some are. But they exist in our society. Superstitions are often connected with religious and social beliefs and some bad people exploit the believers by feeding them with superstitions. It is stupid to believe in superstitions. I don’t/ believe in any/ some superstitions.

17. Describe the incident that touched the narrator deeply.

Maggie had a violin and she learned to play some songs with her own efforts. She could not go to any teacher to learn violin because of the lack of money. Her mother knows that Maggie has talent for playing violin. She tells the narrator that if ever their circumstances improved, she would send Maggie to have violin lessons. This incident deeply touched the narrator’s heart.

18. Why was Maggie unable to go to work?

Maggie was unable to go to work because her mother was seriously sick. Since there was nobody in the house to look after her sick mother, she could not go for work.

19. Why did Mr. Gupta take some money with him, when he went to see Mrs. Clifford?

Mr. Gupta took some money with him when he went to see Mrs. Clifford, because his hostess told him that, since Maggie had not gone for work for a week, and had not received any pay, it was possible they were in financial trouble. In the letter Maggie wrote to him, she had mentioned that her mother was very ill, and she was not able to go to work for a week. She had not asked for any financial help, but the hostess to whom the narrator spoke about the letter, thought that Maggie and her mother might need financial assistance.

20. Why did Mr. Gupta and Maggie tiptoe into the sitting room?

Mr. Gupta and Maggie tiptoed into the sitting room, because Maggie wanted to talk to him in private. They did not want to disturb the sick mother with their talk.

21. What request did Maggie make to Mr. Gupta?

Maggie wanted Mr. Gupta to gaze into the crystal and tell her mother that Franks was alive and well even if he did not see anything in the crystal. Her mother was seriously sick and her sickness is aggravated by her worries about Frank from whom she hasn’t heard for long. If Mr.’ Gupta tells her that Frank is alive and well, it will help her to recover.

22. Why was the crystal ring so special to Mrs. Clifford?

The crystal ring was so special to Mrs. Clifford because it was sent by her son Frank from India. Frank had written that the crystal ring was given to him by a yogi. The yogi had told him that the crystal ring was a magical one. If somebody looked into the crystal thinking of a person who was even far away, he could see the person and what he was doing. Mrs. Clifford believed her son’s words.

23. What made Mrs. Clifford recover?

Mrs. Clifford’s illness was aggravated because of her worries about her son Frank, from whom she had not heard for long. She did not know if he was alive and well. Maggie requested Mr. Gupta to look into the crystal ring and tell her mother that Frank was alive and well, even if he saw nothing in the crystal ring. Mr. Gupta, following Maggie’s wishes told Mrs. Clifford that Frank was alive and well, and this made Mrs. Clifford recover from her illness.

24.  Why was Mr. Gupta ashamed to face Mrs. Clifford?

Mr. Gupta was ashamed to face Mrs. Clifford because Frank had been dead some days when he told her that he was alive and well. Since he had told her a lie, he was ashamed to face her.

 25. What was the promise given to Maggie?

Mr. Gupta was posted in Punjab Province of India and it was near Dera- Ghazi- Khan. He promised Maggie that he would visit the grave of her brother at Mort Monroe, near Dera-Ghazi-Khan, when he goes to India.

 26. Why did Maggie give a shilling to Mr. Gupta?

Maggie wanted to pay a homage to her brother Frank. She gave a shilling to Mr. Gupta, to buy flowers, and place them on her brother’s grave at Mort Monroe, near Dera-Ghazi-Khan, when he goes to India. It is a memoir from her to a loving brother.

27. Explain the reason why Mr. Gupta accepted the shilling?

Mr. Gupta wanted to give back the Shilling to Maggie, and telling her that flowers grew in profusion (plenty) in India, and he could get some flowers free to place them on her brother’s grave. But this would take away from the girl of the joy of sacrifice, she was making for her dead brother. So, Mr. Gupta accepted the shilling. The grief in her heart would lessen with the sacrifice she was making. She earned a shilling with a lot of hard work.

                             Activity -1 (Read and respond)

1. ’It is neither the same everywhere nor the same all the year round in India.’ Why?

The British India is a vast nation with different climate zones and seasons. “It” refers to “Fevers” in India. According to the seasonal changes and regions the fevers differs.

2. Why did the narrator decide to take the shilling given by Maggie?

The narrator decided to take the shilling from Maggie just to make her happy. She has sacrificed a lot to give him the shilling, to buy flowers for her brother’s grave. She earned the money with hard work. She will feel consoled when she has done something nice for the memory of her brother.

3. What is the role of faith in the story?

Faith plays an important role in the story. Mrs. Clifford believes that Indians can see past and future through crystal gazing. Frank had sent them a crystal ring from India. When Mr. Gupta tells her that he can see her son alive and well in the crystal she recovers from her illness.

                                                  Activity – II (Discussion)

4. Discuss the significance of the title ‘The Price of Flowers’.

The title The Price of Flowers is an apt one for the story. A young girl, Maggie, impoverished and miserable, sacrifices a shilling she had earned through hard work, for flowers to be placed on her brother’s grave. The narrator does not want to destroy the happiness of the girl for he knows it would bring her a lot of consolation. The price of flowers is invaluable.