summary of chapter 5 honeycomb class 7 English NCERT
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Answer:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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.
Answer:
Quality Introduction
The story starts with the author telling us about Mr. Gessler, a German shoemaker. The author tells us that he knew Mr. Gessler from his days of youth. The shoemaker used to make the author’s father’s boots. He lived with his elder brother in his shop, which was a small by-street shop in a fashionable or famous part of London.
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Quality Summary
This story is about a German shoemaker whose name is Mr. Gessler. He is acquainted with the author from his days of youth, when the shoemaker used to make boots for the author’s father. The shoemaker used to live with his elder brother in his shop. His shop was a small by-street shop which was located in the fashionable part of London. However, the shop was a bit different than the rest of the shops. There was no sign on the shop except for the name written on it and there were a few pairs of boots in the window. The shoemaker made only what was ordered by the customer and the shoemaker was so skilled that the boots he made always fit the customer perfectly. The author comments that the boots he made and how he made them seemed mysterious and wonderful. The author had even asked the shoemaker if it was hard to make such boots. The shoemaker smiled and replied, saying that it was an art. The author said that going to his store often was not possible because his shoes lasted longer than expected, such was the quality. The atmosphere inside the shop was different as well. It was like going inside a church. The customer had to wait by sitting on a single wooden chair. A guttural sound would come from upstairs and tip tap of the shoemaker’s slippers as he would descend the stairs. Mr. Gessler had an unprofessional look. He would stand a little bent towards the customer in his leather apron and the sleeves of his shirt turned back. He would blink as though he had just been awakened by some dream of boots. The author would then put forward his order and the shoemaker would bring a piece of leather. In his German accent, the shoemaker would admire the piece and the author would do so too. Then the shoemaker would ask the author when he would want his order and he would say as conveniently as he could. The shoemaker would keep the date as the next fortnight but if it were his elder brother who would be attending the author, he would say that he would ask his brother and then let him know. They would then bid each other goodbye and the shoemaker would go back to his dream of boots. One day, the author told Mr. Gessler that the last pair of shoes creaked. The shoemaker however said that they shouldn’t have creaked and became sorrowful. He then asked the author to bring that pair of boots back and he promised to look at it. He explained that there were some boots which were bad from the start and if those boots happened to be damaged beyond repair, he would take them off his bill. The author once went to Mr. Gessler’s store to complain about boots he bought at a large firm. He took his order and observed each and every part of his boots. He firmly said that he had not made those boots and even pointed where the boot was hurting the author’s feet. The shoemaker harshly commented on the big firms and how the advertisements had been taking away his customers. For the time, he talked of his hardships. The author felt so bad for the shoemaker that he ordered many pairs of boots which last him two years because of the good quality. After a few months when he visited Mr. Gessler’s store, he got to know that Mr. Gessler’s elder brother was dead. Again, out of sorrow, the author ordered many pairs. After that, the author spent over a year abroad. When he came back, he visited Mr. Gessler’s store and ordered boots of all kinds.
After receiving his orders, the author decided to visit Mr. Gessler and thank him for his service. However, when he reached the location, the name of the shoemaker was not written on the shop. Soon, he got to know from the new owner that Mr. Gessler had died of starvation. The owner went on saying that Mr. Gessler lost all his customers because of his slow speed and because he never advertised. Mr. Gessler would never stop working on boots and would never use a penny to feed himself. He said that Mr. Gessler had the best leather and made good boots. The author with a heavy heart also said that Mr. Gessler made good boots