Quality

The author felt that Mr. Gessler was a remarkable bootmaker whose boots not only looked beautiful but also lasted terribly long. He was an honest and hard working man who loved his work and took it seriously. The author had a lot of respect for his craft and grew up admiring the perfection of his boots.

At first the author didn’t visit the shop frequently because every pair of Mr. Gessler’s boots lasted for long. He simply had no need to go to him for a new pair every now and then. Later, the author moved out of London and did not come back for about fifteen years, visiting the boot shop only upon his return to order many pairs of boots at once.

Mr. Gessler was upset on the author’s remark about a certain pair of boots and being a self respecting craftsman, offered to replace the boots for a new pair without any charges.

Mr. Gessler complained that the big firms had no self respect. They sold cheap pairs of boots that pinched the toe and did not feel ashamed of cheating the customer. He was upset that the big firms were taking away his customers because they could advertise better even if their quality was not up to the mark.

The author ordered so many pairs of boots because he felt bad for Mr. Gessler. He did not really need them but he ordered them anyway to help Mr. Gessler make a decent living with his trade which he was losing slowly to big firm.

(i) After a very long spell of heat, the weather is looking up at last.

(ii) We have no right to look down upon people who do small jobs.

(iii) Nitin has always looked up to his uncle, who is a self-made man.

(iv) The police are looking into The matter thoroughly.

(v) If you want to go out, I will look after the children for you.

(vi) I promise to look in On your brother when I visit Lucknow next.

(vii) Look out when you are crossing the main road.

Students do it yourself.

(i) feature (iv) reaching (vii) riches

(ii) archery (v) nature (viii) batch

(iii) picture (vi) matches (ix) church

I think Mr. Gesseler was a failure as a competitive business man. As an owner of a small handmade boots shop, he was not in a position to compete with big brands that mass produce cheap machine made boots and spend a large sum of money on advertising.

The title of the story ‘Quality’ is significant in reference to the central character, Mr Gessler’s, commitment to perfection. Mr Gessler was a perfectionist in his own ways: he used the best leather that lasted long, would labour for long hours and wouldn’t let anybody else touch the boots to maintain the upmost standard of perfection in style and quality.

In the tone of Mr. Gessler, “Id comez and navar stops. Does id bodher me? Nod ad all. Azk my brudder, blease”.

No, it does not bother me at all.

(i) All five of them buy their provisions in plastic packets at a big store since they all work five days a week and go to the mall to buy provisions once a month on a Saturday or a Sunday.

(ii) They buy usually branded footwear because it is more durable but they sometimes buy handmade footwear if it is ethnic and pretty.

(iii) They buy both ready-made clothes as well as buy cloth and get their clothes stitched by a tailor. I thinking buying ready-made clothes is better because one can wear it the same day as they buy and do not have to wait to get them stitched to fit.

● If I leave this country, I’ll miss the food.

● There are some things which you can get only here, for example pickled lemons.

● There are some special days I’ll miss, particularly Holi.

● Most of all I’ll miss my home because I grew up there.

● I think it’s impossible for me to leave my country because I cannot live without my family.

● How can you leave your own country except when there is threat to one’s life?

● Depends on one’s intention. I can’t leave for good because I belong here.

● Maybe for a couple of years I will go abroad to study and then come back here to work.

My aunt is an adorable person. She is short & plum and smiles all the time. She was a teacher but gave up teaching in school because standing for too long would make her back hurt. Now she teaches neighbourhood kids at home after school and does all the cooking and cleaning for my uncle who is a absent minded Mathematics professor at the University. One day, my aunt had gone to her mother’s place for a short visit when my uncle decided to make lunch for himself. He put on some chopped vegetables on the stove and went out to clean his bicycle in the yard in the meanwhile. It was only when the neighbour, passing by the his yard, shouted to him that something was burning that he remembered the vegetables. He rushed in and panicked observing the smoke rising from the pan. He quickly poured some oil into the pan to salvage what was left of the vegetables. Unfortunately, it was machine oil for his bicycle, and not cooking oil. That afternoon my uncle had only bread for lunch.

The human activities that include trees are making tree houses, putting on swings, children playing ‘Hide and Seek’ around them and people enjoying tea parties in the cool summer shade.

“Tress are to make no shade in winter” mean that people do not need the shade of trees in winters and enjoy basking in the sun since it is cold and damp. The poet here contrasts summer when the shade of the tress is a welcome relief from the hot sun to winters when the shade is dispensable.

No, bearing fruits is one of the many purposes of a tree. Trees give shade, shelter birds, purify air, prevent soil erosion, cause rain etc. This line is not humorous since humans are highly dependent on trees for a comfortable living.

Trees are for birds to build nests in.

Trees are for people to sit under.

Trees are for holding soil together

Trees are for bringing rain clouds

Now the similar poem is

Water is to drink

Water is to clean

Water is for fishes to swim

Water is to make paper boats float.