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On Saying Please Summary

Gardiner discusses the importance of courtesy in society. He uses the example of a lift operator who threw a passenger out for not saying "please" to illustrate that while courtesy is desirable, lack of courtesy alone should not be considered an legal offense. Gardiner also provides examples of a good-natured bus conductor who helped passengers to demonstrate how polite individuals can positively impact others' experiences, even those who tend to be unfriendly. Overall, the essay examines the distinction between what is legally punishable versus socially desirable, and emphasizes cultivating civility through leading by positive example.

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2K views

On Saying Please Summary

Gardiner discusses the importance of courtesy in society. He uses the example of a lift operator who threw a passenger out for not saying "please" to illustrate that while courtesy is desirable, lack of courtesy alone should not be considered an legal offense. Gardiner also provides examples of a good-natured bus conductor who helped passengers to demonstrate how polite individuals can positively impact others' experiences, even those who tend to be unfriendly. Overall, the essay examines the distinction between what is legally punishable versus socially desirable, and emphasizes cultivating civility through leading by positive example.

Uploaded by

sathish
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction

Alfred George Gardiner (2 June 1865 – 3 March 1946) was an English journalist, editor and author.  He was a delightful
essayist of the first half of the twentieth century. He often wrote under the pseudonym, "ALPHA of the POUGH." His essays
reveal his sturdy common sense, his keen observance of life and his sense of humour. The essay "On Saying Please" is an
essay that talks about socially important issues that we come across in our daily life. 'Please', ' Sorry' and 'Thank
You' are the little courtesies by which we keep the machine of life oiled and running smoothly. The polite man will always have
the spiritual victory.

The Angry Liftman incident

Gardiner begins his essay with the example of a lift-man who threw a passenger out of the lift for not saying
‘please.’ While agreeing that courtesy is a desirable characteristic, Gardiner rightly points out that courtesy
cannot be legally clamped upon people who are discourteous. The legal system, despite its shortcomings, is
reasonable in not considering impoliteness an offence. Impoliteness is what is perceived as impolite and hence
is subjective. Hence, punishment is not possible. At the most, we may brand the impolite person ill-mannered.
But in the case of physical brutality the law gives us the right to self-defense. The truth also remains that quite
often impoliteness is more hurtful than physical abuse.

Bad manners and bad tempers are infectious

A scene from The Rivals

When Sir Anthony Absolute bullied Captain Absolute, the latter went out and bullied his man,
Fag, whereupon Fag went out downstairs and kicked the page boy.

The Good natured Bus conductor

Gardiner depicts the importance and value of social practices that promote civility. He offers the example of a
good-natured conductor to show how such people can bring about positivity. He points out that the example of
a genial conductor is not chosen under the assumption that conductors are by and large ill-tempered. He makes
it clear that if here and there we have rude conductors, it is the outcome of their demanding job. However, the
friendly conductor made the author feel pleasantly surprised by buying a ticket for him as the author had
forgotten his purse at home. Though the author later found a shilling in his pocket to pay the conductor, the
boisterous behavior of the conductor left him with a pleasant feeling.

On another occasion, it was the conductor who had trodden on the toe of the author. But he was so genuine in
his apology that the author forgave him easily. It also became the habit of the author to notice the well-
mannered conductor who took on different roles in helping his passengers. He was like a son to the old, father
to the children, friend to the young and helper to the handicapped. The author is especially impressed by the
fact that the conductor would get out of the bus, asking the driver to wait for him so as to take the blind across
the road or round the comer.

Conclusion

Gardiner adds that just as good weather uplifts our spirit, good-natured people to bring about positivity. Their
charm cannot be resisted by even unfriendly people. He earnestly appeals to his readers to bring back civility
to social behaviour. Thus, this essay clearly shows the distinction between what is punishable by law and what
is desirable though not punishable by law. While the law is very definite about how individuals should act, it
does not have much to say about the issues of courtesy and kindness/politeness to others.

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