THE LAST LESSON

• Answer the following questions in 120-150 words:

1. What changes did the narrator find in the school when the order from
Berlin came?

Ans : The order from Berlin prohibited teaching of French in the schools of Alsace
and Lorraine. Instead, German was to be taught in the schools. Franz was late for
school that day. He noticed that the hustle and bustle in school was missing.
There was no opening or closing of desks, no repetition of lessons or rapping of
the teacher’s ruler on the table. Franz was further surprised because instead of
meeting an angry teacher, he was welcomed by a kind and polite teacher, who
was dressed in his best clothes, which he wore only on inspection and prize days.
Also, he observed that the back benches were occupied by the village people,
who never came to school because they were more concerned about their
livelihood. He was further astounded to know that Mr. M.Hamel was going to
deliver his last lesson that day.

2. “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?” What does Franz
mean when he thinks this?

Ans: Alphonse Daudet’s ‘The Last Lesson’ very prominently raises the question of
linguistic chauvinism. The Prussians acquired the districts of Alsace and Lorraine in
Franco-Prussian war, but they were not satisfied with the mere political
domination. They wanted to enforce their language on the people of the defeated
nation. They released an order that German would now be taught in these
provinces instead of French. Franz, a young student, wonders whether they would
now make even the pigeons sing in German. It means that the people of these
districts had grown up using French as their language, and now snatching away of
their language would be really unfair and unkind. The language was as natural to
them as cooing was to pigeons. So, compulsion to speak another language is like
dominating the force of Nature and enslaving it. As it is next to impossible to alter
the way pigeons sing, similarly it is difficult for people to accept a language which
is forcibly imposed on them. Hence these thoughts engulf his mind.

• Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:

1. What was Franz supposed to be prepared with for school that day?

Ans: That particular day Franz was expected to be prepared with participles as
Mr. Hamel, the French teacher, was going to question the students in school
and Franz didn’t know it all.

2. What had been put up on the bulletin board?

Ans: The crowd in front of the bulletin board indicated the presence of
important news. Later, Franz realized that the news was that the order had
come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine.

3. Why were the old men of the village present in the classroom?

Ans: The old men of the village were sitting in the classroom. Franz felt that
they too, like him, were sorry for not having gone to school often. It was their
way of thanking their master for his forty years of faithful service and showing
their respect for the country that was no longer theirs.

4. How was M.Hamel’s behavior contrary to how he would usually behave?

Ans: M.Hamel was solemn and gentle on his last day. He was no longer the
ruler-wielding teacher. He was wearing his best clothes. He explained
everything with a lot of patience. It seems that he wanted to put into the
students’ head at one stroke all that he knew.
• Extra short questions to be done in notebook:
(Answer in 30-40 words)

1. What was the unusual scene when Franz’s school began in the morning?
2. Why was Franz afraid of being scolded?
3. How had the teacher dressed on the day of the last lesson?
4. Who did Hamel blame for not knowing French?
5. What was Franz’s reaction when he learnt that he was attending his French
lesson for the last time?