The story follows the Gessler brothers, German shoemakers known for their high-quality handcrafted shoes. As big firms rise, the brothers face increasing competition but refuse to compromise on quality. When one brother dies, the surviving brother continues their craft but ultimately starves as the money goes to materials and rent. The narrator is shocked to discover the shop closed after the second brother's death, symbolizing the defeat of human values against growing materialism. The brothers' tragic deaths highlight the themes of sacrificing quality for quantity and whether machine production can replace artisanal skill.

1. Kaushal Desai
kaushaldesai123@gmail.com
Assistant Professor Of English Language & Literature
“Quality”
By John Galsworthy

2. Index:
 About Author
 Pronunciation
 Title
 Theme
 Plot
 Exposition
 Conflict
 Climax
 Denouement
 Characters
 Symbols
 Conclusion

3. About Author
John Galsworthy (14 August
1867 –
31 January 1933)
He was an English novelist and
playwright. Notable works include
The Forsyte Saga (1906–1921)
and its sequels, A Modern
Comedy and End of the
Chapter. He won the Nobel Prize
in Literature in 1932.

4. Pronunciation in the text
 Id - it
 Dem - them
 Biece - piece
 Brudder - brother
 Fordnighd - for tonight
 Zend - send

5. Title: “Quality”
 “Quality” by John Galsworthy was first
published in “The Inn of Tranquility: Studies
and Essays” in 1912.
 Title itself is a “quality” of “Quality”
 It is short and simple but meaningful
 The short story “Quality” describe the value
of quality.
 Narrator see a perfectness in work which is
qualitative.

6. Theme
 The main theme is commitment; commitment to
one’s work, to one’s passion. Every worker is an
artist if he loves his work and is immersed in it.
 The Gessler Brothers’ commitment towards their
work is really touching. For them the struggles, the
hardships are nothing as long as they keep doing
their work.
 The tragedy of Gessler Brothers signifies a moral
decay in the search for material civilization. Human
values are threatened by material gain.

7. Plot
 The story starts with the
description of the boot shop;
on top was the name plate
‘Gessler Brothers’ and a few
shoes displayed on the
window. They make shoes on
order. The narrator then
narrates one of his meetings
with Mr. Gessler. He says it
has not been possible to go to
him much because the shoes
he made have lasted very
long and are the best of their
kind.

8.  One day the narrator goes to their shop to get a pair of Russian-
leather shoes. Mr. Gessler retreats upstairs and comes back after
some time holding a fine golden Russian leather piece. After the
narrator’s approval he says he’ll get his shoes tomorrow
fortnight.

9.  One day the narrator goes to their boot shop and tells him
that the last shoes he got from him creak. After a long pause
Mr. Gessler asks him to bring the shoes to him. He assures
that if he can’t repair them, he will give the money back.
 Another day he goes to Gessler Brothers to order a new pair,
wearing a pair of shoes which he bought due to some
emergency from a big firm. Mr. Gessler at once recognizes
that the shoes are not made by him. He touches a particular
spot on the narrator’s shoe where it isn’t comfortable for the
narrator and says that it hurts there. He expresses his
contempt that those large firms attract customers through
shiny impressive advertisements to sell their inferior quality
products. Then the author explains to him under what
circumstances he had to buy those shoes.

10.  The new shoes lasted nearly two years. And in his next
visit he receives quite a shock. When he enters the
shop, he sees the younger Gessler brother who informs
him of elder Gessler’s death. That day he orders several
pairs. It takes longer to make them but the quality is
even better than the previous ones.
 Soon after, the narrator leaves for abroad and returns
after over a year. The first shop he goes to is Mr.
Gessler’s. Mr. Gessler, now seventy-five, is unable to
recognize him at first. Narrator gives a huge order. The
wait is longer than ever but the quality only gets better.

11.  After a week, while passing the little street, the narrator
thinks to go in and tell Mr. Gessler that the boots are perfect.
But when he goes to the place where the shop was, the
name plate is no longer there.
 Disturbed, he goes into the shop and a young English face
greets him.

12.  The narrator enquires about Mr. Gessler and comes
to know of younger Gessler’s death. Upon hearing
this the narrator is quite shocked.
 The young man explains to him that Gessler died
from starvation; he used to devote himself to shoe
making so much that he used to forget about
everything else. All the money went in the rents
and leather. The fate was quite obvious from the
beginning. But both the narrator and the young
man agrees that the Gessler brothers made good
quality boots.

13. phases of plot:
Exposition
Conflict
Climax
Denouement

14. Exposition:
 It provides the reader with the knowledge of
Gessler Brothers, their shops, and their attitude
toward making boots.

15. Conflict:
The brothers are faced by the competition of the
big firm. When they lose one of the two shops, the
conflict between the big firm and handicraftsmen is
strengthened.

16. Climax:
The climax arrives when the surviving younger
brother can no longer make a living.

17. Denouement: Conclusion-resolution.
 The denouement comes with his death and the
success of big firm.

18. 2.Character:
 The main characters are the Gessler Brothers.
 We may infer that they are German immigrants or
Englishmen of German origin.
 They are poor, belonging to the lower social
stratum.
 They show integrity and complete dedication to
their work.

19.  The characters are revealed in conflict in both ways:
 1.Externally, between Gessler Brother and the big firm.
 2. Internally, within the younger brother himself.
 The brothers in a difficult situation and poses a moral choice before
them:
 Whether they should give up their ideal to meet the competition or…
 Stick to their ideal and face any consequences.
 The younger brother would rather die of starvation than cheapen his
products
His tragic death :
 His tragic death is an outcome thus greatly intensifies his noble
personality and heightens the theme of story.

20. Symbols:
 The basic symbols are the Gesslers, their boots
and the leather they use .They form a compound
symbol of an Uncompromising ideal.
 Their boots, made of the best leather and
incarnating the very spirit of all footgear, are their
ideal which stands for a supreme quality of human
nature.
 The Gessler Brothers stands for their type of
human beings.

21. Symbols:
 Their personal moral victory reveals is the richness
of human values.
 Their death symbolizes the defeat of something
larger than themselves.
 The Gessler brothers tragedy signifies a moral
decay in search for material civilization. Human
values are threatened by material gain.

22. Conclusion
Discussion for conclusion…
quality or quantity?
quality versus artificiality
Human values or materialistic world?
concept of industrialization and modernization
Does the art of artist is replaced by machine?

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