The Last Lesson

1. What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day?
Ans. That day Franz was expected to be prepared with the lesson on rules governing
the use of participles. His teacher, M. Hamel, had announced on the previous day that
he would question the students on this topic. But Franz had failed to learn his lesson
and he feared punishment.
2. What did Franz notice that was unusual about the school that day? OR
How was the scene at the school on the morning of the last French lesson different
from that on other days?
Ans. Franz noticed the absence of usual din. Instead, he found everything to be quiet
as If on a Sunday morning. No opening and closing of desks, repetition of lessons as
rapping of the teacher’s ruler on table could be heard. Students were seated and the
elderly had occupied back- benches.
3. What had been put up on the bulletin- board? OR
What was the bulletin- board news that caused a change in the school?
Ans. The order of the Prussians that barred teaching of French and made compulsory
the teaching of Germany in the districts of Alsace and Lorraine had been put up on the
bulletin- board. This was a piece of shocking information that hit directly the national
pride of French people.
4. The people in this story suddenly realise how precious their language is to them.
What shows you this? Why does this happen?
Ans. The keen interest taken by the villagers, Franz’s regret at having ignored the study
of his mother tongue and M. Hamel’s emotionally charged ‘last lesson’ show the
sudden realization by all about their language being precious. This happened because
the order from Berlin barred the study of French.
5. Franz thinks, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?” What
could this mean?
Ans. Franz’s philosophical thought means that the Germans can never succeed in
destroying the inherent love of the French for their motherland just as they can never
succeed in changing the spontaneous singing of pigeons.
6. What thoughts ran across Franz’s mind as he walked towards the school? OR
What ideas tempted Franz as he moved towards the school?
Ans. Franz thought of spending the day outdoors and enjoying its warmth and
brightness. The sight of the chirping birds and the drill of Prussian soldiers were more
inviting options than the rules for participles that he was expected to learn at school.
7. What did Franz observe as he passed the town hall? Why did the sight trouble
him?
Ans. Franz observed a huge crowd in front of the bulletin- board as he passed the town
hall. This sight troubled him because all the ill- news from the battlefield had reached
the French people through this bulletin- board during the past two years.
8. What surprise awaited Franz as he entered his classroom? OR
What changes did Franz notice about the school that day?
Ans. Franz noticed a polite M. Hamel and a quiet class on that day. These were
surprising changes from the usual angry teacher and a noisy class. Besides, Hamel was
dressed in his best clothes, which he wore only on inspection and prize days. Another
astonishing change was the presence of village folk in the classroom.
9. What was the ‘thunderclap’ the narrator received as M. Hamel began the lesson?
OR
“What a thunderclap these words for me!” What were the words that shocked and
surprised the narrator? OR
What announcement did M. Hamel make? What was the impact of this on Franz?
Ans. M. Hamel’s announcement that t was to be the last French lesson, came as a
‘thunderclap’ to the narrator. Further elaboration that a new German teacher would
arrive shortly and Hamel would leave forever shocked the narrator.
10. Why had the villagers occupied the back benches of the class that day? OR
Who occupied the back benches in the classroom on that day of the last lesson?
Why?
Ans. The villagers occupied the back benches of the class that day as a mark of respect
and gratitude for forty years of meritorious service of their teacher and to exhibit
loyalty towards their mother tongue. They wanted to atone for their guilt at having
missed school earlier.
11. What does M. Hamel mean when he says, “We’ve all a great deal to reproach
ourselves with”? OR
“We’ve all a great deal to reproach ourselves with”, said M. Hamel. Comment. OR
Who did M. Hamel blame for the neglect of learning on the part of boys like Franz?
Ans. Through his remark, M. Hamel voices his repentance at the lost opportunity to
learn French. Adults were as much to be blamed as the children for preferring work at
farms and mills over school. Sometimes, even Hamel had sent children on errands
thereby making them miss lessons.
12. How did M. Hamel display his love for the French language?
Ans. M. Hamel displayed love for the French language by dedicating every single
minute of his last lesson to make his students love, appreciate and learn it. He not only
devoted time to grammar, writing and history but also made his students realise its
worth as their identity.
13. How does M. Hamel arouse patriotic feelings in the people of Alsace?
Ans. M. Hamel aroused patriotic feelings by making the people of Alsace understand
that their mother tongue is their identity and the key to freedom. By writing ‘Vive La
France!’ on the board, he made his countrymen realise that they must preserve their
national identity.
14. Why did M. Hamel write ‘Vive La France’ on the blackboard?
Ans. M. Hamel wanted to sign off the most important lesson of his life on a high
patriotic note. So, he wrote ‘Vive La France’ on the blackboard as the last reminder to
his students to uphold their nation in esteem, always.
15. ‘When a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language. It is as
if they had the key to their prison.’ Comment on the basis of the story ‘The Last
Lesson’.
Ans. This is a reference from the story ‘The Last Lesson’ written by Alphonse Daudet.
When any country dominates the other then political enslavement is a curse for such
nation as it deprives it of its identity. The rulers dictate their own terms. The natives
are forced to live a restrained and confined life within their own motherland.
At such times of enslavement, it is the mother tongue which keeps alive their identity
and stands as a symbol of national pride. It helps to preserve heritage and culture and
also unites people against the invaders. It becomes a common source of hope and thus
the key to their prison.
M. Hamel, the French teacher, therefore appealed to his countrymen to safeguard
their language. He knew that language had the immense ability to nurture positive
sentiment. He believed that if people give importance to their language, they would
be able to pass on the spirit of freedom and patriotism to their coming generation.
Then the war of freedom, would continue and one day they would be free.
16. The story ‘The Last Lesson’ is all about ‘linguistic chauvinism’. Comment.
Ans. This is a reference from the story ‘The Last Lesson; written by Alphonse Daudet.
‘Linguistic Chauvinism’ is a negative trait which grows out of excessive pride.
Acquisition of political power makes people resort, to methods like linguistic
chauvinism to assert themselves.
The story ‘The Last Lesson’ is an apt example about linguistic chauvinism and its
damaging effects.
Prussians occupied French territory during the 1870-71 war. They became so arrogant
that they barred the learning of French and imposed German language in the invaded
areas of Alsace and Lorraine. It was an attempt to dominate not only the land but even
the minds and hearts of the people whom they had defeated. On the other hand, the
identity of the French was under threat. The people of France tried to save their
position by utilising every minute of the last lesson. The teacher tried to pass on the
linguistic legacy to his students and they sincerely accepted every bit of it.
17. Franz thinks, ‘Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?’ How does
the expression evoke feelings of indiscriminate domination by man?
Ans. This is a reference from the story ‘The Last Lesson’ written by Alphonso Daudet.
The philosophical idea of Franz signals the irony of life. Men have strong desire for
power and unfortunately, they use it mercilessly when they achieve it. They believe in
absolute enslavement. The want to acquire not only the lands but also master of the
souls of the people overpowered by them. Franz comes to know about this aspect of
human behaviour and he wonders if such an ambition can be actually realised.
The Prussians passed orders compelling the study of German language because they
believed it to be the best in the world. They wanted to take away the identity of French
by stopping the study of French language. When Franz heard the cooing of pigeons,
he wondered if this sound could also be stopped. He thinks that the Prussians’
arrogance would be wasted and they cannot enslave the feeling of nationalism and
patriotism of people.