Unit 9 — The Fantastic Shoemaker

Complete Solved Exercises

Textbook: English 9, KP Textbook Board — Unit 9, pp.84–93
Theme: Dignity of labour
Grammar: Sentence structure — simple, compound and complex sentences
Writing: Summary of the story, story writing, personal narrative / autobiography

COMPREHENSION (pp.89–90)

A. Answer the following questions

1. Why is Zarin Gul different from other businessmen?
Zarin Gul was different from other businessmen because for him shoe-making was an art, not a trade. When the narrator asked whether it was not awfully hard to make shoes in such tough conditions, he simply answered, "It is an art." He never compromised on quality — his shoes never failed to fit and lasted extraordinarily longer than usual, and it would not be wrong to say that durability was stitched into them. He made only those pairs that were ordered, so the rest of his shop was as barren as a desert. He refused to take advance payment even when he badly needed money, saying, "Pay it when the shoes are ready to deliver." When invited to join the big firms he replied, "I am an artist, not a machine who will blindly follow their irrational and stupid dictations." Ordinary businessmen work for profit; Zarin Gul worked for perfection and self-respect, and he died of slow starvation rather than give up his art.

2. How did the author come in touch with the Zarin Gul Brothers?
The author first met Zarin Gul in his youthful days, in the holy month of Ramazan, when his father took him to the shop to order a pair of new shoes for the coming Eid. The shop stood in a small but busy street of Qisa Khawani Bazar in Peshawar, and a small signboard at the far end of the wall showed the name Zarin Gul & Brothers.

3. Describe the shoemaker and his shop.
The shop: It was in a small but busy street of Qisa Khawani Bazar. A monstrous-size black Peshawari Chappal hung over the faint-coloured wooden door. The inside was as quiet and serene as a sacred holy place. There were some old wooden stools, and a few pairs of shoes were visible in the window. On the right side could be seen a big smooth square-shaped stone, a heavy wooden mallet, an awl and a three-legged anvil. The rest of the shop was as barren as a desert, because he made only those pairs that were ordered. A small signboard showed Zarin Gul & Brothers.

The shoemaker: When the author first met him he was a man of about fifty. He had a smiling face on which serpentine wrinkles wriggled. His remarks about shoe-making were so authoritative and final that nobody dared reject them; even the author's father, though chieftain of the area, accepted his views with a brisk nod. Years later the author found him aged sixty-five, worn and torn like an overused pair of shoes, with a bony hand, a crumpled leathered face and brooded eyes — yet the grip of his hand was as tight as ever.

4. What were Zarin Gul's priorities in making shoes?
His priorities were quality, perfect fitting and durability — never money. His shoes never failed to fit the feet and lasted far longer than usual; durability was, as the author says, stitched into them. He made only ordered pairs, so that each pair received his full attention. He treated a creaking shoe as a serious and grave matter and offered to take the pair back and even refund the amount, saying, "Some shoes are bad from birth." He refused advance payment though he badly needed money. In short, his priority was his art and his self-respect, not profit.

5. What is the setting of the story?
The setting is a small but busy street of Qisa Khawani Bazar in Peshawar, and chiefly the little shop of Zarin Gul with its overhanging black Peshawari Chappal, its wooden stools, its stone, mallet, awl and three-legged anvil. In time, the story stretches over many years — from the narrator's youth, during a month of Ramazan, through the years he spent abroad for higher studies and career, to his return to Peshawar and finally to his visit a week later, when he learns of Zarin Gul's death.

6. What is the conflict about in the story?
The conflict is between the traditional craftsman and the modern commercial world — between art and mass production. Zarin Gul represents skill, honesty, patience and self-respect; the big multinational shoe companies represent advertisement, machinery and profit. As he bitterly says, the big firms "get it all by advertisement, not by work", they have "extended their tentacles to the shoe-making trade", and they hire craftsmen who "use their hands, not their brain or experience." They took the work away from honest craftsmen, and "presently we have no work." There is also an inner conflict in Zarin Gul himself: he could have joined those firms and eaten well, but he refused, saying, "I am an artist, not a machine." In this unequal struggle the craftsman is defeated — he dies of slow starvation and a famous brand takes over his shop.

7. What was the author's opinion about Zarin Gul as a shoemaker?
The author had the highest admiration for him. To make such shoes as Zarin Gul made "seemed to me then and seems to me now, mysterious and wonderful." He calls him "the fantastic shoe-maker" and "my old friend." He tells us that Zarin Gul's remarks on shoes were so authoritative that nobody dared reject them. When he saw the old man's crumpled leathered face and heard his voice, he saw "things I had not noticed before, bitter thing and bitter struggle," and the impression was so deep that he at once ordered many pairs of shoes. Even after Zarin Gul's death his words kept "tinkling" in the author's mind.

8. Why did the author visit the shop after a long time?
Because he had gone abroad to pursue his higher studies and career and so could not have the opportunity to meet Zarin Gul for several years. When he at last returned to Peshawar, the very first shop he went to was that of his old friend Zarin Gul. There were two further reasons why he had never needed to come often: Zarin Gul's shoes were so durable that "there was something in his shoes that was beyond the temporary" — a new pair was rarely needed.

9. What was Zarin Gul's complaint against 'big firms'?
His complaints were these:

• They have extended their tentacles into the shoe-making trade and destroyed the small craftsman.
• They hire the craftsmen of the trade but use only "their hands, not their brain or experience."
• They succeed "by advertisement, not by work."
• They took the work away from honest craftsmen — "They took it away from us and presently we have no work."
• Their products lack quality and comfort. Pressing a finger on the narrator's branded shoe he said, "It hurts you there… Do the big shoe-making companies have no self-respect?"
• They issue "irrational and stupid dictations" which a real artist cannot follow.

10. Retell the story in the form of a dialogue.

Father: Zarin Gul Kaka, my son needs a new pair of shoes for Eid.
Zarin Gul: Let me see his foot. (measures it) They will be ready before the moon is sighted.
Boy: Isn't it awfully hard to make shoes in such tough conditions?
Zarin Gul: (smiling, the wrinkles wriggling on his face) It is an art.

(Some years later)
Boy: Zarin Gul Kaka, my last pair of shoes makes a creaking sound, you know.
Zarin Gul: (looking at him strangely) It shouldn't have creaked.
Boy: It did, I am afraid.
Zarin Gul: Send them back, I will look at them. Some shoes are bad from birth. If I can do nothing with them, I will give back the amount you paid for them.

(Many years later, after the narrator returns from abroad)
Zarin Gul: Do you want any shoes? I can make them quickly, because I have plenty of free time. (looking down) Those are not my shoes.
Narrator: No, I bought them abroad.
Zarin Gul: (pressing a finger on the shoe) It hurts you there. Do the big shoe-making companies have no self-respect? They get it all by advertisement, not by work. They took it away from us, and presently we have no work.
Narrator: Then why don't you join these big firms?
Zarin Gul: I am an artist, not a machine who will blindly follow their irrational and stupid dictations.
Narrator: Please order me many pairs — and take an advance payment.
Zarin Gul: Pay it when the shoes are ready to deliver.

(A week later, in the same shop, now under a famous brand's signboard)
Narrator: Zarin Gul Kaka?
Young man: No sir, but we can attend to anything with pleasure; we've taken the shop over.
Narrator: Yes, yes — but where is Zarin Gul Kaka?
Young man: Oh! Dead.
Narrator: Dead! But I have to receive the shoes that I ordered last week.
Young man: Ah! Poor old man starved himself. Slow starvation, the doctor called it. He never gave himself time to eat; never had a penny in the house. All went in rent and leather.

B. Choose the best option

VOCABULARY (p.90)

A. Find and underline the direct quotations enclosed in quotation marks

Rules of direct quotation to revise: the exact words go inside quotation marks; a comma comes before the quotation; the quotation begins with a capital letter; and the end punctuation is placed inside the quotation marks.

B. Rewrite five sentences from the story which have adverbs

C. Find the meaning of the following phrases and use them in sentences

WRITING (pp.90–91)

A. Write down the summary of the story "The Fantastic Shoemaker"

Summary

The narrator first met Zarin Gul in his youth, during the month of Ramazan, when his father took him to the shop in Qisa Khawani Bazar to order shoes for Eid. A monstrous black Peshawari Chappal hung over the door; inside, the shop was as quiet as a holy place, containing only a few stools, a stone, a mallet, an awl and a three-legged anvil, for Zarin Gul made only the pairs that were ordered. His shoes never failed to fit and lasted extraordinarily long — durability was stitched into them — and when the boy asked whether such work was not awfully hard, he answered simply, "It is an art." His opinions on shoes were so authoritative that even the narrator's father, the chieftain of the area, accepted them with a brisk nod. Once the narrator complained that a pair creaked; Zarin Gul took the complaint gravely and offered either to repair the shoes or to refund the money.

The narrator then went abroad for higher studies and did not see him for several years. On his return he found the shoemaker aged from fifty to sixty-five, worn and torn like an overused pair of shoes. Zarin Gul at once noticed the narrator's branded shoes, pressed a finger where they pinched and asked bitterly whether the big shoe-making companies had no self-respect. He complained that the multinationals had extended their tentacles into the trade, hired craftsmen merely for their hands, and succeeded by advertisement rather than work, leaving honest craftsmen with no work at all. Asked why he did not join them, he replied, "I am an artist, not a machine." Moved by his bitter struggle, the narrator ordered many pairs, but Zarin Gul refused an advance, saying, "Pay it when the shoes are ready to deliver."

A week later the narrator returned to find the black chappal gone and the signboard of a famous brand in its place. A smartly dressed young man told him that they had taken over the shop and that Zarin Gul was dead — of slow starvation, for he never gave himself time to eat and never had a penny in the house, since all went in rent and leather. As the narrator walked back with a heavy heart, Zarin Gul's words kept tinkling in his mind: "Do the big shoe-making companies have no self-respect?"

B. Write a story of at least 100 words with the help of the following beginning

It was a stormy night. Saad was sleeping in his bedroom. All of a sudden, a loud crash woke him. The wind was howling like a wounded animal, and the rain beat against the window as fiercely as drums. Saad sat up, his heart pounding like a hammer on an anvil. He switched on the lamp, but the electricity had gone; the darkness was a thick black blanket around him.

He took a torch and stepped into the corridor. Whereas the rest of the house was silent, a strange scratching sound came from the kitchen. Saad's courage was as thin as paper, yet he moved forward. On the other hand, curiosity was stronger than fear.

He pushed the door open and shone the torch. There, shivering like a leaf, sat a small brown kitten, soaked to the skin. It had come in through the broken window pane. Saad laughed aloud with relief. In contrast to his terror of a moment before, he now felt only pity. He dried the kitten with a towel, gave it warm milk and made a bed for it in a basket.

Similarly, the storm outside began to soften. Saad went back to bed with a new friend curled at his feet, and he learnt that night that most of our fears, like shadows, are far bigger than the things that cast them.

(Note the similes and metaphors — like a wounded animal, as fiercely as drums, a thick black blanket, like a leaf — and the connectives of comparison and contrast — whereas, on the other hand, in contrast to, similarly.)

C. Write a personal narrative / autobiography

The Autobiography of a Pair of Shoes

I was born in a small, quiet shop in Qisa Khawani Bazar, under the hands of an old craftsman named Zarin Gul. I still remember the day. A big smooth stone lay on one side, a heavy wooden mallet and an awl beside it. My master cut me out of the finest leather he had, and he stitched me slowly, as though he were writing a poem. He never hurried. When at last he held me up to the light, the serpentine wrinkles wriggled on his smiling face, and he said one word: "Art."

A boy came with his father to collect me before Eid. I remember the pride I felt as he slipped his foot into me and found that I fitted perfectly. For years I walked with him — to school, to the mosque, to the fields. I was never proud, but I confess I was durable. Durability, my master used to say, was stitched into us.

In time I grew old. My sole thinned and I began to creak, and I was ashamed, because my master had promised that I should never creak. But he did not blame me. "Some shoes are bad from birth," he said kindly, and he mended me with his own hands.

Then the world changed. Shining shoes with famous names came from big factories, made by machines that had never known an awl. My young master went abroad and returned wearing them. One day I heard my old maker press a finger on those foreign shoes and ask, "Do the big shoe-making companies have no self-respect?"

I lie now in a corner of an old cupboard, cracked and forgotten. Yet I am not bitter. I was made by an artist who starved rather than betray his craft, and the mark of his hands is still upon me. That is more than any factory shoe can say.

How to write an autobiography (the book's seven steps):

1. Choose a story you really want to tell.
2. Generate ideas through brainstorming or a mind map and write an outline.
3. Use vivid details to describe the setting.
4. Include a clear statement of personality traits at that time.
5. Include significant details and an incident used to portray yourself.
6. Use the first person perspective (I, me, my, mine).
7. Organise your story in chronological order.

LISTENING & SPEAKING (p.91)

Task: Share your point of view about the 'contribution of labourers'.

In my view, labourers are the real builders of every nation, and yet they are the least respected. Every road we travel on, every brick of our school, every shoe on our feet and every grain of wheat on our table has passed through the hands of a labourer. Zarin Gul in our lesson was such a man: he gave his whole life to his craft, made shoes that never failed to fit, refused to take money in advance, and finally died of slow starvation because all his earnings went in rent and leather. His death is a shame not on him but on a society that valued advertisement more than workmanship.

I feel strongly that we must change our attitude. We should never look down on anyone who works with his hands, because Islam teaches that the man who eats from the labour of his own hands is beloved to Allah, and the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) himself worked with his hands. What labourers need is a fair wage, safe conditions, medical care, and above all respect. I would prefer a society in which a skilled craftsman can live with dignity to one in which only brand names prosper.

GRAMMAR — SENTENCE STRUCTURE (pp.91–93)

Key definitions (from the book)

Identify each of the following sentences as simple, compound or complex

Quick test: find the joining word. If it is a FANBOYS word (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) joining two complete ideas → compound. If it is a subordinating conjunction (although, because, if, when, while, since, unless, after, before) → complex. If there is no joining word and only one verb group → simple.

Sentence types drawn from the lesson itself

GLOSSARY (p.88 — as given in the book)

THE MORAL OF THE STORY

The moral is not explicitly stated; it must be inferred (as the Teacher's Guideline says). The story teaches that:

• All honest labour is honourable — a craftsman who works with his hands is an artist, not a servant.
• Quality and self-respect are worth more than profit. Zarin Gul chose starvation over surrendering his art.
• Modern commercialism can crush genuine skill. The big firms win "by advertisement, not by work."
• Society is guilty of neglecting its craftsmen. Zarin Gul's question — "Do the big shoe-making companies have no self-respect?" — is really addressed to all of us.

LIKELY EXAM QUESTIONS

1. Why is Zarin Gul different from other businessmen?
2. Describe the shoemaker and his shop.
3. What were Zarin Gul's priorities in making shoes?
4. What was Zarin Gul's complaint against the big firms?
5. What is the conflict of the story? What is its moral?
6. How did Zarin Gul die, and who is responsible for his death?
7. Write the summary of the story "The Fantastic Shoemaker".
8. Write an autobiography of a pair of shoes.
9. Write the rules for punctuating direct quotations, with examples from the lesson.
10. Define simple, compound and complex sentences with examples.