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THE PRICE OF FLOWERS, CHARACTER SKETCH OF MAGGIE, Alice Margaret Clifford ,called Maggie was an English girl of 13 years old.Her clothes betrayed her poverty.Her long hair hung in a heavy streamdown her back. She had large eyeswith a sad expression.She lived with her widowed mother and her only brother Frank was a soldier in British India., Maggie was a girl who fell on the thorns of life at an early age. She worked as a typist in civil service stores. She was polite ,humble and hardworking.She was optimistic and realistic in her life.Maggie was sensitive to her situation and responsibilities and singlehandedly took care of her mother by working hard. She gave due respect to elderly people. She was honest and open in her behaviour towards Mr Gupta. She was practical in her life and ready to face the hard realities of life., Maggie’s love for her brother was selfless and priceless.The shilling which she handed over to Mr Gupta was not a mere shilling,but the love of a sister to her brother.Maggie’s presence makes the story very touching and she lives in the mind of the readers as an exemplary girl or a sister ., MR.GUPTA, One of the key characters of the story “The price of flowers”., well educated Indian gentleman., befriended Maggie, a teen from low income home., sincere and compassionate, assisted Maggie and her mother in their time of need., humanitarian attitude – visited Maggie’s ill mother, visited India House and enquired about Frank., willingness to visit Frank’s grave., sensitive and caring person., Mrs clifford, Widowed mother of Frank and Maggie., Well mannered lady, Made her living by selling cakes, Superstitious and anxious about her son, Was disturbed as there was no news of her son, Urged by her,Mr Gupta went to Indian House to inquire about Frank, Symbol of eternal love of a mother, SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE, The title The price of flowers is very apt to the story.Flowers express our emotional variations.In our happy moments, they bring us joy and in our sad moments, they bring us consolation.So, we can say that, flowers have no price tags.They express our emotional attachment., In the story , Maggie’s brother Frank was killed while fighting on the North West Frontier.He was buried at Fort Monroe near Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab.Maggie wished to place some flowers on the grave of her dead brother.So, she gave Mr Gupta a shilling of her hard earned money to buy flowers.Mr Gupta knew that as Maggie was a poor girl, she could not afford a shilling to buy flowers.So he decided to give back the shilling to her.In India, flowers grow profusely and do not need to be purchased.At the same time, he realised that the girl would experience a great relief if flowers bought by her money were placed on her brother’s grave. H e therefore accepted the shilling and let the girl have the consolation of placing flowers at her brother’s grave as a token of a sister’s love for her brother. The price she paid for the flowers symbolises sisterly love and affection., LETTER WRITING, Dera Ghazi Khan, North West Frontier, 2 April 1946, Dear Maggie,, How are you? Hope you are fine. I am sorry that I could’nt write to you earlier .I was caught up with some training sessions.Iam okay here. I am trying to adjust with my new responsibilities., Last day, I visited Frank’s grave and as desired by you,and I placed some beautiful flowers on his grave. When I was standing there, I thought of you and your mother and imagined how you might have felt when you heard about Frank’s untimely death. I really prayed forhim on your behalf. On the way back, I met Frank’s friends from the Regiment and they told me that Frank was such a brave and smart lad.They also told me that he had often talked to them about his mother and sister.Infact he had bought some Indian clothes for both of you when he returned home., Please convey my regards to your mother.The cake which she gave me was delicious. When I visit England next time, I will surely meet you., With love, Gupta, ADVERSITIES SHOULD MAKE US BETTER NOT BITTER, Respected dignitaries on and off the dias and my dear friends,, Today ,on this auspicious occasion,Iwould like to speak about (topic-------), Adversities should make us better and not bitter. We all know that we have to face different kinds of situations in our life. Some may be light and some others very hard.Sometimes we lose our faith in ourselves just because we feel that we are not equipped to face such situations.There are no problems without a solution. We have to face the problems with strong mind and self confidence., Only a person who is capable of facing all adversities will succeed in life. In history, we have many examples of such persons who excelled in their lives just because of their determination and willpower. (eg Stephen Hawking –profile), Just like a coin with two sides, our life will also have many ups and downs. We should not become depressed or try to escape rom our adversities,but face them light heartedly with our strong will power., So let me conclude by asserting that there will be adverse situations in our life, but we have to face them courageously and let our adversities mould us into a better human being and not into a bitter human being., Thank you
