On Saying ‘Please’

Question: 1 – Why does the writer call the law reasonable with reference to the  lift-man in the story?

Answer: The lift-man was fined for pushing a passenger out of the lift. The law is reasonable because people cannot be allowed to punish any person. Discourtesy is not a legal offense and it does excuse assault and battery.

Question: 2 – What compels us to be civil in our social behavior?

Answer: There is an old social practice which compels us to be civil in our social behavior. To make social life easy, it is necessary.

Question: 3 – In what sense is courtesy an investment?

Answer: Courtesy is a good investment because in lightening other people’s spirits by being courteous, he is Lightening his own task.

Question: 4 – What penalty does one have to pay for being discourteous?

Answer: Law prescribes no penalty for a discourteous man, but he is considered an ill-mannered fellow.

Question: 5 – What are small courtesies, according to A.G. Gardiner? How do they help us in our day to day life?

Answer: According to A.G. Gardiner, saying ‘please’, ‘thank you’, ‘excuse me’, ‘much obliged’ etc. are small courtesies. They lighten our work and sweeten our life.

Question: 6 – What better way of taking revenge does the writer suggest to the angry lift man?

Answer: The writer suggests to the angry lift-man that he should have treated the gentleman who would not say ‘please’ with elaborate politeness.

Question: 7 – How do good and bad manners affect the people around according to A.G. Gardiner?

Answer: Good and bad manners affect our daily life very much. Good manners help the machine of our life oiled and running sweetly. Bad manners infect the world by poisoning the stream of life.

Question: 8 – Why was the young lift-man in a city office fined?

Answer: The young liftman threw the passenger out of his lift because the passenger had refused to say, “Top please”. That is why the young liftman was fined.