Overall perception
Students should be familiar with this style of novel. A general novel is nothing more than describing a typical environment, telling stories and shaping characters, thus reflecting a certain ideological theme. The novel also tells the story of a shoemaker Godzilla. What happened to Godzilla the shoemaker? Ask a classmate to summarize this simple story in two or three sentences.
Clear: Godzilla is a very good shoemaker. He can make very good boots, but his business is getting slower and slower. The poor old man later starved to death.
3 text analysis
(1) This is another tragic story. The death and cause of death of the shoemaker Godzilla are told to the readers through the dialogue between the two characters at the end of this story. I asked two students to act out a dialogue in different roles. Let's see what deep-seated reasons led to Godzilla's death. What did people think of Godzilla's death at that time?
Summary: geissler starved to death because he couldn't run a business. Without customers, he spent all his money on rent and leather. He makes boots all day and never gives himself time to eat. At that time, people thought Godzilla was a "freak" and his death was "really strange".
(2) Mr Godzilla is really strange. Aside from what the young man said, in the narrative in front of the novel, we can also fully appreciate the shoemaker's "strangeness" and his uniqueness. Please find out some details of the "eccentricity" written in the article, and tell me what you think of his "eccentricity", and try to summarize his distinctive characteristics in more specific words according to your understanding.
-Section 5: He is a bit like a man made of leather: his face is yellow, his face is wrinkled, his hair and beard are reddish and curly, and some neat wrinkles hang obliquely between his cheeks and corners of his mouth, his voice is monotonous and his throat is heavy; Because leather is a rigid object, it is a bit stiff and dull. This is the feature of his face, and only his blue-gray eyes imply a simple and serious expression, as if obsessed with ideals.
Mr. Godzilla's appearance is also very strange, like "made of leather", a little stiff and inflexible, but his eyes are shining with the light of "infatuation with ideals" (stiff, inflexible, simple, serious and persistent in ideals)
-Section 8- 1 1: there is never anyone in his shop. When the customer came, Mr Godzilla slowly came down from the second floor, "just like waking up from a dream of boots". For the boots he sells, he always looks at them with "critical and caressing eyes, as if remembering his enthusiasm when he created these boots, as if blaming me for wearing his masterpiece like this". His concern for leather and enthusiasm for boots far exceeded his concern for customers. "He put my foot on a piece of paper, scratched it outside two or three times with a pencil, and then touched my toes back and forth with his sensitive fingers, trying to find out the main points I asked." I put all my enthusiasm and efforts into making boots, and I am meticulous. )
-Section 12-2 1 "Some boots are worn when they are finished. If I can't fix them, I won't charge you for these boots.
-Verses 25 and 26: "These big companies are really disrespectful and shameful! They monopolize everything through advertising, not work. We like boots, but they take away our business. Now-I'm going to lose my job. Business is getting slower every year-you will understand later. " Great contempt and hatred for big companies that don't care about decency and dishonesty. )
Note: Mr Godzilla is a shoemaker. He is definitely an excellent shoemaker with superb skills. He can make good boots, which is one of his most remarkable characteristics. The boots he made, in the words of the article, are "only those who have seen the soul of boots can make those boots-these boots embody the essence of various boots and are indeed model products". At the beginning of the novel, the author describes several pairs of boots close to the artworks displayed in Mr Godzilla's window. Please read these five lines in the second section and enjoy Mr. Godzilla's masterpiece of exquisite craftsmanship.
(3) These beautiful boots representing Mr. Godzilla's exquisite craftsmanship appear three times in the novel. Under what circumstances were the other two written? What do you think about before and after reading?
Qing: In the 28th section, another storefront was lost in Godzilla's shop. "Those ordinary old boots have lost their noble style and are packed in a separate window." Compared with the first time, it feels a little bleak, and it also makes people vaguely worried about the fate of Mr. Godzilla.
In Area 54, Mr. Godzilla is dead and the shop has been transferred to someone else. "There are also slender dancing boots, cloth patent leather boots and long riding boots on display in the window." The shoemaker who could make top boots died sadly, leaving only the boots he made with his hard work and life. Mr Godzilla's masterpiece has become a sample of others. Probably no one can make better boots than these boots-it's amazing.
4 thematic discussion:
(1) Such a skillful, simple, earnest and honest shoemaker finally starved to death. Is this an incredible strange thing or an inevitable tragedy in society at that time? Talk about your understanding of this problem by referring to the background information of the work before class.
Clear: This is an inevitable tragedy, because the principle that Mr. geissler abides by is the legacy of this hypocritical society that pursues interests and pays attention to superficial vanity. Mr geissler knew that he was going to lose his job, and he didn't want to cut corners. Instead, he made his boots stronger and stronger. Mr geissler doesn't know how to be flexible, how to operate and how to advertise. All his practices are out of step with this society. His death is an inevitable tragedy.
(2) Is the writer telling such a tragedy and shaping such a character just to let us shed a bitter tear for Mr. Godzilla? Mr Godzilla often didn't cook, and then he starved to death, because in the end he lost all his customers. People no longer order Mr. Godzilla's boots because "customers don't want to wait", which is the reason that young people tell them. Is this the most fundamental reason? From the novel, we can find how people used to treat Mr Godzilla and his boots. Find out the basis of the original text and read it out loud.
Later, people stopped customizing Godzilla boots. What do you think is the reason? What role did these people play in Godzilla's tragedy?
Clear: Besides being unwilling to wait, people pay less attention to the quality of boots. "It seems that they don't want to strengthen their boots." Under the temptation of big company advertisements, people's values began to change, people adapted to it, and further promoted the development of this society. People can no longer understand Mr Godzilla, a stubborn and weird old man. In a sense, people abandoned Godzilla, actively adapted to the development of this material society, and unconsciously pushed this "leather-like" and "rigid" old shoemaker to an irreversible tragic fate.
* * * Judging from our reading today, what is John Galsworthy's intention in writing this novel?
Abstract: As the famous philosopher Kant pointed out, the progress of material and the retrogression of civilization are contradictory. In the process of rapid development of capitalist economy, some beautiful spiritual qualities are disappearing. With the spirit of critical reflection, John Galsworthy created an image of a shoemaker who adhered to traditional virtues with infinite sadness, awakened the world with the tragedy of being eliminated and destroyed in the helpless real society, and called for quality in the retrogression of civilization. The regrets and sighs left by this short story are as unforgettable as the flash quality of the protagonist.
*5 Discussion: At present, our society is also in a period of high economic development. For material benefits, some people abandon the truth, goodness and beauty in human nature. How should we face them, or how should we deal with ourselves?
6 Abstract:
Craftsman spirit is the life of a shoemaker, and the persistence of craftsman spirit is actually the persistence of traditional virtues. Even in the face of survival crisis, geissler, a conscientious shoemaker, still sticks to his "boots ideal". "He made a good boot", and he melted his life into the boots. He is regarded as an eccentric in the material society, but his body shines with simple and gentle brilliance. In the material society, people still need a little spirit.
Quality John john galsworthy foreign website information
Quality-John Galsworthy
Fatigue, pain and misery are the feelings of many people when they get up in the morning to prepare for work. Even the thought of work will make some people feel bad. Others may not mind working, but they still don't expect to go. It is difficult to find a person who is completely satisfied with his career. However, for a man, work is happy. In john galsworthy's book "Quality", geissler, a shoemaker, is described as an upright person, who is totally dedicated to his work.
Mr. geissler has his own shoemaking enterprise, which produces leather boots. His professionalism is manifested in, "He only makes things on the order and never takes ready-made shoes from the shelf." ("quality" pg. 2 13.) He hopes that every pair of boots is tailored for everyone, and every pair of boots he makes is designed according to the customer's foot shape. One day, the narrator of the story walked into Mr. john galsworthy's shop wearing a pair of boots from a big company. Mr geissler noticed them at once, and after a while he said, "They all got their identities through advertisements, and they all got their identities through work. They took it away from us. Who loves our boots? " ("Quality" page 2 15) At the back of the story, the reader found that Mr. geissler was forced to sacrifice half of his shop to a big enterprise. This didn't bother him. He continued to make his boots, the same price and the same amount of hard work. In order to love his career unconditionally, he must really give.
In order to make shoes as perfect as possible, Mr. geissler spent a lot of time preparing shoes, and never tried to make up for this process. That's why he supported all his work. The commentator forgot how much Mr. geissler loved his boots and once said to him, "You know, Mr. geissler, the last pair of boots squeaked." Enraged by the boy's words, Mr geissler said, "Come back! I will look at dem. " He went on to say, "Zome boods, it's bad from Bird. If I can do it, I can deduct it from your bill. " ("quality" pg. This not only shows his dedication, but also shows his integrity, because he is honest about his work and wants to satisfy his customers.
At the end of the story, the narrator returns to Mr. geissler's shop after a long interruption, only to find that Mr. geissler is dead. When he asked the workers about the cause of his death, he said, "Doctors call it chronic hunger. Look, he just went to work! ... never give yourself time to eat; There is never a penny at home. He often puts out his fire … but he makes a good pair of boots. " ("Quality" pg.2 19) That last sentence is the meaning of the whole story. Mr geissler has been making boots almost all his life. No matter what he has to sacrifice, including his life, he is willing to do it for the love of his work. Even in the last few days of his life, he never stopped making boots. He even finished the narrator's boots before he died.
Mr geissler is really an upright and dedicated man. His dedication is shown by trying to please every customer, and his integrity is shown by his honest lifestyle and credibility in his work. In his view, the needs of customers far exceed his own needs, and when he stops doing business, he has no reason to continue to live.