My Tailor By Stephen Leacock- BA Modern English Essays
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- A Selection of Modern English Essays
- A New Anthology of English Poetry
- A Selection of Short Stories and One-Act Plays
- The Old Man and the Sea
My Tailor By Stephen Leacock- BA Modern English Essays
Q. Explain the moral of the essay ‘My Tailor.
Ans. Stephen Leacock’s ‘My Tailor’ a half-humorous, half-serious essay has a moral. The author, however, does not leach in so many words. He only hints at it and lets the reader find if he wishes so.
Leacock had known the tailor for thirty years but only as a tailor, not as a man. He had always found him in the back of his shop, his tape around his neck and a smile welcome on his race.
Leacock ordered a suit. They chose the material, a dark blue serge as they had done year after year. The tailor knew the questions Leacock would ask. Leacock knew the answers, the tailor would give. But they always went through the drill’ as a necessary part of their relationship.
They never found time to know each other as human beings. Leacock never thought of him as a man who could have a family, who could have a personal life with ordinary human pleasures and problems.
It was only after the tailor’s death that Leacock came to know that the tailor was not a just tailor, he was also a human being. He realizes with sadness that we do no! care to escape from our roles and knew one another as human beings. This is the moral
Q. Why does Leacock regard the Tailor as immortal?
Ans. Leacock always found the tailor standing there in the back of his shop, his tap around his neck, a smile on his face. He looked almost like a statue, unchangeable and permanent.
The tailor would always suggest a dark blue serge or tweed for the suit Leacock ordered. Then without waiting for his response he would ask his assistant to take down some of those dark blues. When this matter of choosing the material was settled to his satisfaction, he would measure Leacock’s round chest, and tell his assistant to add half an inch to the chest. After this exchanged remark about the weather which was always pleasant.
They went through the same procedure when selecting the material. There never was even a slight change in the tailor’s attitude and behaviour during the thirty years that Leacock had his suits him. Leacock had become accustomed to seeing the tailor in his usual place and posture. He never imagined that anything, even death, could take him away from the back of his shop.
Q. Explain how Leacock tries to make the reader sympathizes with the tailor.
Ans. In the first part of the essay, Leacock describes the tailor as he has seen him for thirty years. He stood there in the back part of his shop, his tape around his neck, a smile on his face wailing to welcome his customers. He appeared very sure of
Himself. He did not talk much with his customers. He was polite. even a little flattering at tires. But he seemed somewhat formal, impersonal, and a little ridiculous. His attitude did not encourage customers to develop even a slightly personal relationship with him. Thus, we do not see the man behind the tailor. The reader is amused by his attitude and behaviour.
The second half of the essay shows us the man behind the tailor. This man is something more than the impersonal, confident, ridiculous tailor. Here we see a man who has a daughter and a wife. His business has not been very successful. When his debts are paid, his wife would not inherit much. Now we see a man facing the hardships of life like other ordinary human beings. The reader recognizes the common bond between the tailor and himself and sympathizes with the tailor.
