The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and critic. He
is regarded as one of the greatest playwrights of the Victorian Era. In his lifetime he
wrote nine plays, one novel, and numerous poems, short stories, and essays.

Poet Name Oscar Wilde

Born 16 October 1854, Westland Row, Dublin, Ireland
Died 30 November 1900, Paris, France
Spouse Constance Lloyd (m. 1884–1898)
Movies Wilde, Dorian Gray, An Ideal Husband, A Good Woman

Introduction

The Happy Prince is a story by Oscar Wilde. It is about the story of a statue, the
Happy Prince, covered with gold and many fine jewels. It sits overlooking the city.
One day a swallow bird seeks shelter under the statue and discovers the prince not
happy, but sad.

The bird becomes friendly with the prince and tries to make him happy by assisting
him in his desire to ease the suffering of others. It plucks out the ruby, the sapphire
and other fine jewels from the statue and delivers them to those who are poor and
needy.

Summary
The story of the Happy Prince dwells upon the themes like social injustice,
redemptive power of love and the loss of innocence. In this story, we come across a
statue, who, at one time, a real Prince. When the Prince was alive, he was a happy
person. He lived in the palace and did not know about human suffering. His life was
full of joys. Upon his death, his statue was built at the top of a tall column in the city.

The statue was covered all over with thin leaves of fine gold, for eyes he had two
bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed on his sword-hilt. The statue of the
Happy Prince looked beautiful and everyone in the city loved to see their Prince.
Since he was placed high above the city, on a tall column, the Prince was able to
witness all the sorrows and sufferings which the common people faced in their daily
life.

But the Prince remained ignorant of them during his lifetime. This made the Prince,
once happy, very sad. His eyes got watered and large drops of tears began to run
down his golden cheeks. A little swallow, who had alighted between the feet of the
Happy Prince to spend the night there, became curious to know where did the drops
of water fall from. He looked up and saw the eyes of the Happy Prince full of tears.

The bird took pity on the Prince and became ready to assist him in his desire to ease
the sufferings of the common people. He became the messenger of the Prince and
agreed to remove the fine gold and jewels from his statue to distribute them among
the poor and the needy.

He started with plucking the ruby from the Prince’s sword and giving it to the
seamstress who had no money to feed her ailing child. Then he plucked a sapphire
from one of the eyes of the statue and gave it to the playwright who was too poor to
make fire in the winter to continue his writing. He was also very hungry and feeling
weak.

One day, the Prince saw a match girl who was being beaten by her father for letting
her matches fall in the gutter. The Prince’s heart filled with pity for the girl. He
immediately commanded the swallow to pluck out his other eye and help the girl.

But the swallow was not ready to do so because this would make the Prince
completely blind. On being insisted, he plucked out the Prince’s other eye, swooped
past the match girl, and slipped the jewel ‘ into the palm of her hand. The little bird
decided not to leave the company of the Happy Prince who had gone blind now.
Although the Prince was not able to see the sorrows or sufferings any more, he knew
it was there. So he instructed the bird to take off the fine gold he was covered with
and give it to the poor.

The bird followed his words and picked off leaf after leaf of the gold, till the Happy
Prince looked quite dull and grey. Then the snow came and the poor little swallow
grew older and colder. But he did not leave the Prince. Eventually, he grew weak and
died from exposure and exhaustion. Just at that moment a curious crack sounded
inside the statue, as if something had broken.

It was, in fact, the leaden heart that had snapped right in two at the loss of the sweet
and kind swallow. The statue was no more beautiful and useful. It stood deserted.
So, the Town Councillors and the Mayor pulled it down. Then they melted the statue
in a furnace but the broken heart did not melt. So, they threw it on a dust-heap where
the dead swallow was lying.

When God asked one of His Angels to bring the two most precious things in the city,
the Angel brought him the leaden heart and the dead bird. God welcomed the two in
His garden of Paradise and deemed them beautiful creations.
Themes

Affection

The central theme of the story is affection. The affection that the Prince feels for his
people is taken forward by the Swallow. The affection between Swallow and the
Prince develops into a full-blown romance.

Even though the Swallow wants to leave the place, it is bound by this love and the
growing warmth toward the needy people of the city. It also has a brief love spell with
a colorful Reed, a misadventure that ends in heartbreak. Though platonic in nature
there love is romanticized in the story.

Appearance

The central object of the story is the statue of Prince which is bejeweled and
decorated with the most expensive of objects. This wealth is equated with happiness
but is a form of shallow and deceitful existence.

The Prince himself feels appalled at the state of the poor in his city. The story is full
of examples where a person is suffering at the hands of the greed of rich and entitled
people like young girls or old seamstress.

For people in abject poverty, even gemstones are not as valuable as ration or food.
Beauty in itself is valued differently by people in different circumstances. The statue
itself is discarded once it loses its gems, a sign of the importance that is put on the
appearance of beauty.

Inequality

The story juxtaposes the lavish wealth of the kings with the abject poverty of the
subjects. It highlights the sheer difference in the quality of life and opportunities to
improve them between the privileged and the unfortunate.
Communication

Introduction :-

The word communication’ comes from the Latin word ‘Communis’ that means to
impart,or to share. Hence, it means sharing of information, messages, ideas plans,
thoughts, feelings, etc from one person to the other person. It refers to two way
process of conveying information , ideas or opinions from one person to another
either verbally or non - verbally through a medium.

Definitions :-

According to Newman and Summer, “ Communication is an exchange facts, ideas,

opinions or emotions by two or more persons”.

According to Keith Davis, “ Communication is defined as the process of passing

information and understanding from one person to another”.

According to Leland Brown, “Communication is the transmission and interchange of

facts, ideas, feelings or course of action.”

Features of Communication :-
1. It Involves Atleast Two Persons:

Communication involves at least two persons, a sender and a receiver. The sender
is called communicator and the receiver of the message is known as communicate.
A person who speaks, writes or issues some instructions is the sender and the
person for whom the communication is meant or who receives the message is the
receiver or communicate.

2. Message is a Must:

A message is the subject matter of communication, e.g., the contents of the letter or
speech, order, instructions or the suggestions. A communication must convey some
message. If there is no message there is no communication.

3. Communication may be Written, Oral or Gestural:

Communication is generally understood as spoken or written words. But in reality, it
is more than that. It includes everything that may be used to convey meanings from
one person to another, e.g., movement of lips, or the wink of an eye or the wave of
hands may convey more meaning than even written or spoken word.

4. Communication is a Two Way Process:

It involves both information and understanding. Communication is not complete

unless the receiver has understood the message properly and his reaction or
response is known to the sender. Understanding is the end result of communication
but it does not imply agreement.

5. Its Primary Purpose is to Motivate a Response:

The primary purpose of communication is to motivate response or influence human

behaviour. There is no doubt that motivation comes from within but communicator
can also motivate people by good drafting of message, proper timing of
communication etc. To create understanding, communication should be relevant to
the situation. It must always be remembered that communication is a means of
motivating and not an end itself.

6. Communication may be Formal or Informal:

Formal communication follows the formal channels provided in the organization

structure. For example, the Managing Director communicates with the departmental
heads, say finance manager, finance manager communicates to deputy finance
manager, the deputy finance manager with accounts officer and so on. In simple
words, in informal communication, there is no direct communication between the
Managing Director and the accounts clerks.

Informal communication flows from informal channels of communication which are

not provided in the organization structure. These channels develop among members
because of personal contacts through working with each other.

7. It Flows Up and Down and Also from Side to Side:

Communication flows downward from a superior to subordinate and upward from

subordinate to a superior. It also flows between two or more persons operating at the
same level of authority.

8. It is an Integral Part of the Process of Exchange:

It refers to the exchange of ideas, feelings, emotions and knowledge and information
between two or more persons.

Importance of Communication in Business

Social Communication:

In the changing Business environment, every Organization is to keep close touch

with different social organizations and citizen action groups in order to run the
Business activities smoothly and Business Communication helps the organizations in
establishing social relationships with various quarters.

Development of Managerial Efficiency:

Management is to depend on Communication to perform its functions, such as

planning, organizing, directing, controlling, motivating and co-coordinating. The
success of Management largely depends upon its capacity to get the things done
properly by the employees. Management uses motivational tools through
communication to influence the performance of employees. Thus the efficiency of
Management is upgraded by Business Communication.
Achievement of Targets:

Every Business Organization accumulates its efforts to carry out certain goals or
targets. Proper Communication system encourages the employees of every level by
providing relevant information, instructions and directions. It helps the Management
to make the employees committed towards the attainment of organizational
objectives.

Co-ordination:

In this age of specialization, there are various departments in an organization like

planning, production, marketing, administration etc. If these departments do not
communicate with one another as well as with the Management, there will be no
co-ordination among them. For example, when production is fully geared up, the
storage department may report shortage of raw materials due to lack of
co-ordination. So, Business Communication is inevitable in the organization for
brining co-ordination among the various departments.

Linking between Central and Branch Offices:

Large organizations have a number of branches within the country or even abroad.
The central or head office is considered as the nerve center of the company. The
center office must be informed about the activities of branch offices and the branch
offices must be well acquainted with the activities at the center and only an efficient
and Effective Communication network can manage the link between the center and
the branches.

Preparing and Execution of Plans:

Plans are made to perform the Business activities efficiently and planning requires
gathering necessary information. Business Communication helps collecting the
relevant data from different sources. After the plan has been prepared, it requires
implementation and communication plays vital role in the execution of plans by
circulating them among the officers and employees and by giving them necessary
directions.
Making Decision:

In the volatile business world, businessmen are to take decisions in different areas
and proper decision making requires exact information. Business Communication
helps the business people to take proper decision by supplying right information to
the right people at the right time.

Mutual Understanding and Co-operation:

Effective Communication between the Management and the employees helps to

bring about an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence. If the employees know
exactly what is expected from them and if the Management is aware of the
potentialities and limitations of the employees both sides will get better returns. So,
Effective Business Communication is a must for promoting a spirit of understanding
and co-operation.

Raising Employee Morale:

Morale is the individual and collective spirit and moral condition of employees with
regard to discipline and confidence. Low morale makes the employees idle and
frustrated. Management always tries to raise the morale of employees through
Business Communication so that they think that they are important for the
organization.

Publicizing Goods and Services:

Communication helps any organization in publicizing its products and services

among the actual and potential customers. Newspapers, Radio, Cinema Slides, Neo
Sign, and Television etc carry out the information of products and services as
Business Communication media.

Exchange of Information:

Exchange of information between and among various parties is an important function

of Business Communication. A business organization links with its partners and with
other groups active in the society through effective Communication. Communication
also facilitates the exchange of news and views between Management and
employees. So its importance in the organization is essential.

Elimination of Rumors:

In an organization there are different types of people. Sometimes there may be

rumors or fake information may be leaked out that creates unrest among employees.
If there is well-established Business Communication system, Management can
always keep in touch with the employees about every modify in the organization that
reduces the rumors.

On or after the above discussion, If can be said that no Business Organization can
run its behavior effectively and efficiently without a proper communication system. It
is considered as the nervous system of organization, with which organization can
never reach at its desired goals. So, the importance of communication in business is
undoubtedly inevitable.

Process of Communication

1. Sender: The person who conceptualised the idea and wants it delivered to
the recipient.
2. Encoding: The way the information is described or translated into a message.
3. Message: The idea, fact or opinion that the sender wants to communicate.
4. Communication channel: The method of delivering the message.
5. Receiver: The target audience of the message.
6. Decoding: The interpretation of the message.
7. Feedback: The response or action a receiver takes after decoding a message

1. Sender

The sender or the communicator generates the message and conveys it to the
receiver. He is the source and the one who starts the communication

2. Message

It is the idea, information, view, fact, feeling, etc. that is generated by the sender and
is then intended to be communicated further.

3. Encoding

The message generated by the sender is encoded symbolically such as in the form
of words, pictures, gestures, etc. before it is being conveyed.
4. Channel

It is the manner in which the encoded message is transmitted. The message may be
transmitted orally or in writing. The medium of communication includes telephone,
internet, post, fax, e-mail, etc. The choice of medium is decided by the sender.

Decoding

It is the process of converting the symbols encoded by the sender. After decoding
the message is received by the receiver.

6. Receiver

He is the person who is last in the chain and for whom the message was sent by the
sender. Once the receiver receives the message and understands it in proper
perspective and acts according to the message, only then the purpose of
communication is successful.

7. Feedback

Once the receiver confirms to the sender that he has received the message and
understood it, the process of communication is complete.

Importance of Feedback in Communication

1. Basis of problem-solving:
In two-way communication, feedback is compulsory. The sender can only justify the
attitude of the receiver if the feedback is provided. So, feedback ‘ ensures the basis
of problem-solving and this is one of the importance of feedback.

2. Democratic approach:

It is a democratic approach to communication. It involves the participation of the

receiver and therefore provides scope to express an opinion. It is another advantage
of feedback.

3. Effective communication:

Two-way communication gets confirmed that the message is rightly sent and can
understand the success or failure of communication.

4. Identification of Improvement Area:

Feedback gives input to the sender regarding the message provided by him. This
helps to improve the communication problem.

5. Better understanding:

Feedback helps to understand the view and opinion of the receiver. With better
understanding, the sender decides on the next step.

6. Creating healthy relations:

One-way communication cannot create healthy relationships in the case of labor

management. Hence two-way communications are effective and therefore
lower-level employees can depend on feedback to raise their voice.

7. Effective coordination:

Feedback enables effective coordination in an organization. All concerned

departments can share the work-in-progress through the means of feedback. It
supports the successful completion of a job or transaction.