Short Questions
Part – 1
(a) Describe briefly the setting of the Story ‘Quality’.
Answer : The story is set against the backdrop of the industrial revolution, in the 20th century, London, where the two shoemakers struggle hard for their livelihood and survival. The action takes place at the two little shops let into one in a small by-street in the West End, London. The shop is owned by Gessler Brothers, known for making high quality shoes. It is named after the owners i.e., Gessler Brothers and does not have any elaborate display.
The interior of the shop is skillfully depicted. The shop is described as having a peaceful ambience as one encounters in a church. There is just one single chair for the customer to sit. The Gessler Brothers themselves have an area meant as their workplace. It is like an attic reached by wooden stairs. The stairs made a tip-top sound when the Gessler Brothers ascended or descended. The place smelled of leather. It was quite in conformity with a shoe shop.
(a) One of the major themes of the story ‘Quality’ is ‘commitment to excellence’. Discuss with reference to the story.
Answer : The story ‘Quality’ focuses on the idea that sincere hard work done for some high ideal is a reward in itself. It provides lasting satisfaction, if not comfort or material opulence. Those who work for excellence are really rare in our competitive world. The Gessler Brothers pursue for the profession of boot-making taking utmost care in providing full value to their customers who place an order with them.
In spite of losing his brother and a part of his shop Mr Gessler could not give up his commitment to excellence. For him shoe making was Sublime art. He did not work for money but for the love of his art. He was in fact, the personification of quality and excellence. He endured hardships and watched helplessly his business going down day by day. He resigned himself to his fate and continued to endure his hardships silently. His gradual decay and death are symbolic of the decay and death of the handicraft industry caused by the new factory system.
(c) The Gessler brothers are skilled shoemakers. What do you think , then, is the cause of their declining business and slow starvation?
Answer : Gessler Brothers are artists in the true sense of the world. They take genuine pride in their profession of bootmaking. They are skilled workers who earn their livelihood with the sweat of their brow. They own two small shops combined into one with a board Gessler Brothers. They are completely different from the other shoemakers in that they never make a shoe with inferior leather nor do they keep a shoe that is not made by them. Besides, they make shoes purely on order. Quality of the leather used for the shoes is never compromised. Each pair they make fits perfectly to the satisfaction of the customer. The shoes thus made are slim and elegant.
But though they pursue their trade devotedly and painstakingly, they remain starved or underfed for they do not resort to unfair means. They also fail to employ means of publicity and advertisement for lack of resources or their old-fashioned ideals. They sit day and night and work hard to deliver the shoes in time, yet the fast changing time of mass production in the industrial advancement plays the spoilsport to their labour. They fail to face the stiff competition and bow to the world of tough competition where artistic pursuits are never given their due share of gain and value. Evidently their business is blown away by the strong winds of advertisement.
Part – 2
(a) What , do you think, is the message that the story writer wants to convey through the story ‘Quality’?
Answer : ‘Quality’ is a very meaningful story. It conveys the message that we should value ideals of excellence and quality. It is our duty to see to it that those who are fully devoted to their work should not starve and fade away in oblivion, like the Gessler Brothers. It is a matter of concern for us all that there are thousands of excellent craftsmen who lose out to competition from big firms who thrive on mass production and advertisement.
In the story, the Gessler Brothers make excellent boots. They never compromise with their quality. They use the best leather. They do not seek outside help. They work themselves on each pair. They work hard but their customers continue to dwindle in number. The big firms are there to come out with more fashionable shoes, though of dubious quality, attracting more and more customers. The Gessler brothers die in poverty and their shop is overtaken by an Englishman.
(b) How did the loss of Sanctum Sanctorum affect the Gessler Brothers?
Answer : The Gessler brothers are artists in the true sense of the world. They give due respect to their trade. Their shop has a peaceful ambience as one encounters in a church. Here they work undisturbed. But they have to lose a part of their shop.
For a true artist his workplace is a sacred area. The Gessler brothers too loved their shop. They had two little shops to let into one. They worked from this place day and night, performing all activities from attending to customers, taking measurements and orders, working on the leather, designing shoes and turning out finished product. They had a work area in this shop. It was reached by wooden stairs. When they had to leave that area, they felt highly disturbed as if they had been woken up from their dream of boots. In fact, due to their dwindling business, it became difficult for them to afford the rent of two shops. It proved too expensive. So they had to do away with one part of the shop. The elder of the Gesslers could not get over the pain of losing a part of the shop. This evidently contributed to his sad demise. The artist in him felt the pain of having been driven out of his Sanctum Sanctorum. Thus deprived of the sap of life he choked to death. The younger brother also felt heart broken.
(c) “Mr Gessler was destroyed but not defeated.” Do you agree with this statement? Justify your answer.
Answer : ‘Quality’ written by Galsworthy is indeed the story of Mr Gessler’s triumph over adversities. The Gessler brothers are excellent shoemakers. For them shoemaking is a sublime art. They are known to be men of integrity and complete dedication. Due competition from big firms , they lost business. As a result of it they had to do away with one part of their shop. The elder of the Gesslers could not endure the pain of losing a part of the shop and died. But Mr Gessler, the younger brother continued with unstinting efforts to maintain excellence in business. For him what mattered more than monetary benefit was quality of his shoes and customer satisfaction.
Mr Gessler never compromised on quality. In spite of all the hardships caused by the Industrial revolution, he stuck to his principles. He tailor-made all the shoes with his hands, did not use any machines and never advertised his products.
Using the old methods of production. Mr Gessler could not compete with big firms. He lost business. But he continued with his style of shoemaking compromising on his own needs till the end. Mr Gessler worked day and night compromising his own food and sleep. Gradually, he died of slow starvation. We can say Mr Gessler sacrificed his life for the love of his work and work as worship for him. He was destroyed but not defeated. In his death lies his victory over crushing adversities.
Part – 3
(a) Do you agree that the title of the story ‘Quality’ is quite appropriate?
Answer : The title of the story is quite apt and suggestive . The very mention of the word ‘quality’ gives the impression that the author wants to say something about the degree of excellence achieved by someone or something. It is the ideal of quality which is in focus throughout the story. They use leather of quality. They ensure that their boots fit to the satisfaction of their customers. They are two brothers. Each of them works on the pairs of shoes meticulously as if an artist were at his masterpiece. Consequently, they are slow. They make little money. The elder brother dies of poverty. The younger brother, too, does not go on for long. He starves himself to death. Only a few customers, like the narrator , continue to come to the Gesslers for getting their shoes made, but to no avail. The plight of the Gesslers is indescribable.
Thus, the ideal of quality may be good but it is of no use in the present world of mass production and advertisement. The Gesslers who always keep in mind the durability of their product cannot survive in a world where production is overrunning consumption.
The title ‘Quality’ may have another connotation. It may mean the quality of Gessler brothers as human beings. They are men of quality-honest, sincere, hard working and above all committed to excellence. Thus the title is apt and suggestive.
(b) What impressed the narrator about the Gessler brothers?
Answer : The narrator is a kind hearted, sensitive person. He has a long association with the Gessler brothers. He first went to the shop of Gesslers when his father sent him. At the age of fourteen he started getting shoes from them It is from the narrator we come to know that the Gesslers made high quality shoes.
The narrator was impressed by the quality of the shoes made by the Gessler brothers. He noted how the two Gessler brothers worked day and night. Their principles were few but rigid. They would always use leather of very good quality. They would work on each pair themselves. They never tolerated shoes of any other make in their shop. Then they would make sure that each pair of shoes fitted well to the entire satisfaction of the customer. They made shoes only on order.
Once the narrator complained that one of his walking-boots creaked. Mr Gessler looked at him in disbelief, and then said:
“id shouldn’t’ave greaked,”
“It did, I’m afraid.”
On hearing this , he lowered his eyes and asked the narrator to send back the boots, and said that if he failed to do anything with them, he would pay him back.
The narrator was impressed by the Gesslers’ passion for quality shoes.
(c) The Gessler Brothers lost their business sue to short sightedness and tactlessness. Do you agree with this view?
Answer : It is an acknowledged fact that in the present age of materialism quality has been relegated to the background . Quantity has replaced quality. With the ever-growing population the supply of goods has to be quick and fast. The number of production units has increased. Things are being produced on mass scale. This has led to division of labour. Moreover, producers spend a lot of money on advertisements to sell their goods.
In this kind of atmosphere the Gessler brothers are badly hit. It goes to their credit that they try to maintain the quality of shoes. As they make each pair themselves and seek no help from others, they are slow. Moreover they do not believe in advertisement. Their skills are not known outside a limited circle. They fail to beat the new fashion. Slowly, they lose out. The elder brother dies due to the shock of losing a part of the shop. The younger one also dies due to starvation.
If we carefully examine their case, we feel that they are not entirely free from blame. They need to have farsightedness. They should have reposed faith in some workers or trained a few to learn the art of shoe-making. A few helpers in their shop would have accelerated the production. They could have, thus, controlled the quality of their boots, which was do dear to them. With some money to spare, they could have gone for some small-level advertisement. Thus, they could have expanded their business and saved themselves from fading away from the scene.
Part – 4
(a) Describe the emotional bond reflected between the Gessler Brothers and the narrator.
Answer : The narrator is a generous and sensitive person. He has long association with the Gessler Brothers. It reveals that he believes in high ideals of excellence and quality. He was first sent to the Gesslers for his boots by his father. As he grows up he is introduced to them at the age of fourteen when he himself gets his boots from them. The narrator finds the Gesslers different from the other shoemakers. Visiting Gesslers looks like entering a church to him. He feels that the Gesslers pursue bootmaking religiously with honesty and integrity.
The narrator is emotionally attached to the Gessler brothers. He feels concerned when he learns that the elder of the Gesslers has died and a part of the shop has gone to some other firm. Once the narrator orders Russian leather to be used for his boots. He is so generous that he orders more pairs of shoes made to help the Gessler brothers financially. He is sad to know that the Gesslers died one after the other, unable to stand the tough competition. He laments that their shop has been occupied by a new person catering to the Royal Family and Mr Gessler has died.
(b) It is possible to make one’s hobby one’s profession? Presuming that it is possible, does it always result in happiness?
Answer : It is quite describable if one is able to make one’s hobby one’s profession. But it is not always possible due to several factors. Sometimes the hobby is such that it is too expensive to turn into profession.
Sometimes the profession made out of a hobby may not be economically viable. But when a hobby is turned into profession it is sure to provide endless happiness and satisfaction.
The Gessler Brothers in the story ‘Quality’ seem to have made their hobby of making quality shoes a profession. They are not mere makers of shoes; they are rather artists who take meticulous care in the making of their product from start to finish. Their approach to the work is like that of a true artist.
It is important for them that they themselves make the shoes and so they never seek the help of any other shoemaker. The lure of advertisement and mass production take away a number of their customers. Due to almost no work and starvation the elder Gessler dies. The younger brother too fades away, and the shop closes one day.
In short, a hobby turned into a profession does not always provide happiness. It may provide satisfaction for some time.
(c) In a highly commercialised world where success is determined not by excellence by by advertisement, the artist and his art choke. Discuss with reference to the story ‘Quality’.
Answer : The Gessler brothers were artists in true sense of the world. They had qualities of dedication, honesty, hard work and sincerity. Mr Gessler valued his customers high and spared no pains to satisfy them with his work of quality and durable material of boots he made on order. He lived from hand to mouth but he never compromised with quality of leather that lasted longer and provided comfort to the wearer. But they are not worldly wise. They were traditional and orthodox in their approach. Little do they realize that quality or excellence have no value in fast-paced world of consumerism. In the modern world mass production of cheap quality goods is a posse and advertisements are a means to befool the customers. No wonder in the age of growing materialism and trendy fashions ‘quality’ has been pushed to the background. Big manufacturing units are now in action and they remain busy day and night one product is made jointly by a number of workers. Gone is the age of a worker making the whole product himself. Moreover the producers are in intense competition. They spend a lot on advertisement to sell their products. In this kind of atmosphere the Gessler brothers hardly fit in. Gradually their art gets chocked and quite miserably, they die on after the other.
Long Questions
Question 1 : Is it always possible to make one’s hobby one’s profession? Assuming that it is so, does it always result in happiness? Illustrate from the story ‘Quality’. What fate do the Gessler Brothers meet by pursuing their trade of shoemaking?
Answer : It is desirable and pleasurable if one is able to make one’s hobby one’s profession. But it is not always possible due to several factors. Sometimes a hobby is such that it is too expensive to turn into a profession. Sometimes the profession made out of a hobby may not be economically viable. But when a hobby is turned into a profession it is surely to provide endless happiness and satisfaction.
The Gessler Brothers in the story ‘Quality’ seem to have made their hobby of making quality shoes a profession. They are not mere makers of shoes; they are rather artists who take meticulous care in the making of their product from start to finish. Their approach to their work is like that of a true artist. The two brothers own a small shop with a board ‘Gessler Brothers’. They are, no doubt, completely different from other shoemakers. They never use leather of inferior quality in making shoes. Never do they touch a shoe that is not made by them. They never compromise with the quality of leather. Each pair they make fits perfectly to the satisfaction of the customer. The shoes made by them last excessively long. So a customer who has his shoes made by them visit them after a long time to place an order for the new pair. It is important for them that they themselves make the shoes , and so they never seek the help of any other shoemaker. They have no faith in any other workman. So their work is slow, rather very slow. So they work hard day and night and fail to make both ends meet. They remain starved and underfed.
By and by, they lose their business. The lure of advertisement and mass production take away a number of their customers. Gessler, the younger of the two brothers, rue the new fashionable trends:
‘dey get it by advertisement, nod by work. Dey dake it away from us, who lofe our boods……. I haf no work’
Due to almost no work and starvation the elderly Gessler dies. The younger brother too fades away, and the shop closes one day.
In short, a hobby turned into a profession does not always provide happiness. It may provide satisfaction for some time.
Question 2 : The Gessler Brothers are skilled and popular shoe-makers. What accounts for their declining business and slow starvation? Discuss with close reference to the text.
Answer : Gessler Brothers are artists in the true sense of the world. They take genuine pride in their profession of bootmaking and give due respect to their trade. They are skilled workers who earn their livelihood with the sweat of their brow. They work day and night and take all pains to come up to the entire expectations of their customers.
They own a small shop-two shops combined into one-with a board ‘Gessler Brothers’ outside the window and a few pairs of exotic leather shoes at the window. They are completely different from the other shoemakers in that they never make a shoe with inferior leather nor do they keep a shoe that is not made by them. Besides, they make shoes purely on order. Quality of the leather used for the shoes is never compromised. Each pair they make fits perfectly to the satisfaction of the customer. The shoes thus made are slim and elegant and their shape makes water come into one’s mouth.
Besides shopping at Gesslers is altogether a different experience. One cannot expect to be served at Gessler’s shop- it is more like a place of worship, a place where the shopkeeper worships the shoes he makes. They are so much experienced in their skill that they can easily spot the point where the shoe might hurt. Not only do they show concern for their customers, they can go out of the way to take out the bill if there is any incurable or irreparable problem in the shoes made by them. When the narrator complains that the shoe creaks, Gessler says, “Zend dem back! I will look at dem.” He adds , “Zome boots are bad from birdt. If I can do noding wid dem, I dake dem off your bill.” Such is the downright simplicity, integrity and honesty that marks the quality of their character.
But though they puruse their trade devotedly and painstakingly, they remain starved or underfed for they do not resort to unfair means. They also fail to employ means of publicity and advertisement for lack of resources or their old-fashioned ideals. They sit day and night and work hard to deliver the shoes in time, yet the fast changing times of mass production in the industrial advancement plays the spoilsport to their labour. They fail to face the stiff competition and bow to the world of tough competition where artistic pursuits are never given their due share of gain and value. Gessler, the younger of the two brothers, explains the harsh reality in the following words:
“Dey get it all, ” he said, “dey get id by advertisement, nod by work. Dey dake it away from us, who lofe our boods. Id gomes to thibresently I haf no work. Every year id gets less-you will see.”
It is evident here how his art of handmade boots is blown away by the strong winds of advertisements. They remain stubborn and resolute to practise their craft by paying for it with their breath and blood. The elder Gessler dies after his sanctum sanctorum is snatched from him. The youngster Gessler who has committed himself to this art has to fade away from this world of commercial materialism that takes a toll of sincere traders of art pursuing it as their profession. Though a victim to the harshness of mass production, Gessler will ever be remembered as one entirely devoted to preserving the art of handmade shoes.
Question 3 : the Gessler Brothers were excellent craftsmen but they lost their business due to short sightedness and tactlessness. Do you agree? Elaborate and illustrate.
Answer : In the age of growing materialism and trendy fashions ‘quality’ has certainly been pushed to the background. It is an age of mass production which means ‘quantity’ . With the ever growing population the supply of things have to be fast and quick. That is why, big manufacturing units are now in action, and they remain busy day and night. One product is made jointly by a number of workers. Gone is the age of a worker making the whole product himself. Moreover, the producers are in intense competition. They spend a lot on advertisements to sell their products. The outer glitter or shine of a product matters nowadays.
In this kind of atmosphere the Gessler Brothers, in the story ‘Quality’ , seem to hardly fit in. The credit goes to their passion to maintain quality of their product. They never compromise with the quality of their shoes. Some of their old customers, including the narrator, stick by them to the last. No one can deny that they are the best shoe-makers. As they make each pair themselves and seek no help from any other worker they are slow. They make less money. As they do not believe in advertisements, their skills are not known outside a limited circle of old customers. They are unable to bet the new fashion. They lose out slowly . The elder Gessler die of starvation. The younger has to sell the shop.
One wonders why Destiny is so hard on these two workers, rather real artists. If we carefully examine their case, we feel that they are not entirely free from blame. They need to have far sightedness. They need to have far sightedness. They should have reposed faith in some workers or train a few to learn the art of shoe-making. A few helpers in their shop would have accelerated the production. They could have, thus, controlled the quality of their boots, which was so dear to them. With some money to spare, they could have gone for some small-level advertisment. Thus, they could have expanded their business and saved themselves from fading away from the scene. The young shopkeeper who has taken over the shop of the Gesslers, rightly says about the young Gessler:
‘- I will say that for him – not a man in London made a better boot! But look at the competition! He never advertised! Would ‘ave the best leather, too, and do it all ‘imself. Well, there it is. What could you expect with his ideas?’
Question 4 : What impressed the narrator about the Gessler Brothers? How did he feel at the sad fate of the two brothers? Discuss and illustrate.
Answer : The narrator was quite impressed by the quality of the shoes made by the Gessler Brothers. He had been their customer since his youthful days. He noted how the two Gessler brothers would work day and night. Their principles were few but rigid. They would work on each pair themselves. They never tolerated shoes of any other make in their shop. Then they would make sure that each pair of shoes fit well to the entire satisfaction of the customer. They made shoes only on order.
Once the narrator complained that one of his walking-boots creaked. Mr Gessler looked at him in disbelief, and then said:
“Id shouldn’t’ave greaked,”
“It did, I’m afraid.”
On hearing this, he lowered his eyes and asked the narrator to send back the boots and said that if he failed to do anything with them, he would pay him back.
The narrator was impressed by the Gesslers’ passion for quality shoes. Once he entered their shop in a pair of boots bought in an emergency at some large firm’s. Mr Gessler looked at the shoes and, noting the inferior integument of his shoes, said:
‘Dose are nod my boods.’
He said it in a tone that only ‘froze the blood.’ He put his hand down and pressed a finger on the place where the left boot was not quite comfortable. Then he angrily expressed his views about the inferior quality of shoes made by big firms.
With the passage of time, the Gesslers continued to lose customers and came to the point of starvation. The narrator felt concerned about their plight. He gave orders for more pairs of shoes than the actually required to help them. But he knew it would not work. They were slow at work. The elder Gessler died in adversity. The younger brother, too, died of overwork and starvation.
The narrator was sorry at the close of an establishment known for the quality work. He wishes the Gesslers were more advanced and survived the harsh times of competition to keep their art alive.