THE LAST LESSON

Extract based questions:

A. Usually, when school began, there was a great bustle, which could be heard out in the street, the opening
and closing of desks, lessons repeated in unison, very loud, with our hands over our ears to understand better,
and the teacher’s great ruler rapping on the table. But now it was all so still! I had counted on the commotion
to get to my desk without being seen; but, of course, that day everything had to be as quiet as Sunday morning.
Through the window I saw my classmates, already in their places, and M. Hamel walking up and down with his
terrible iron ruler under his arm. I had to open the door and go in before everybody. You can imagine how I
blushed and how frightened I was.

i. List the three sensory details present in this extract. ______________________________________________

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ii. Why does the protagonist feel anxious about entering the classroom on this particular day?
A. The classmates have started the lesson
B. The teacher is in a bad mood
C. The classroom is too quiet
D. The protagonist is running late

iii. Complete the sentence appropriately.

The phrase “as quiet as Sunday morning” suggests that _____________________________________________.

iv. Pick evidence from the extract that helps one infer that this was not the protagonist’s first time being late to
school. ___________________________________________________________________________________

v. What does the term ‘terrible iron ruler’ indicate about M. Hamel? __________________________________

vi. Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract?
A. The Fears of a Latecomer
B. The Importance of Punctuality
C. The Rigidity of the School System
D. The Anxiety of a Young Student

Vii. Which of the following has the same literary device as shown in ‘As quiet as a Sunday morning” ?
a. He walked as slow as he could.
b. As soon as he crossed the road, a car ran over him.
c. The paper looked as black as charcoal.
d. The child was crying as he could not find his mother.

Viii. Complete the analogy: unison:together :: counted on:___________

B. My last French lesson! Why, I hardly knew how to write! I should never learn any more! I must stop there,
then! Oh, how sorry I was for not learning my lessons, for seeking birds’ eggs, or going sliding on the Saar! My
books, that had seemed such a nuisance a while ago, so heavy to carry, my grammar, and my history of the
saints, were old friends now that I couldn’t give up. And M. Hamel, too; the idea that he was going away, that I
should never see him again, made me forget all about his ruler and how cranky he was.
Poor man! It was in honour of this last lesson that he had put on his fine Sunday clothes, and now I understood
why the old men of the village were sitting there in the back of the room. It was because they were sorry, too,
that they had not gone to school more. It was their way of thanking our master for his forty years of faithful
service and of showing their respect for the country that was theirs no more.
i. How is the protagonist’s emotional state at the beginning of the extract different from the end? / In what way
is the ending of the extract ironic?
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ii. What does the protagonist regret doing instead of studying?

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iii. What is the significance of M. Hamel wearing his fine Sunday clothes?
a) His casual approach b) he wanted to make the day memorable
c) he wanted to relax d) he liked the dress.

iv. What is the significance of the old men sitting at the back of the room? ____________________________

v. Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract?
A. The Importance of Education B. The Regrets of a Student
C. The Appreciation of a Teacher D. The Nostalgia of Old Age

C. Whenever I looked up from my writing I saw M. Hamel sitting motionless in his chair and gazing first at one
thing, then at another, as if he wanted to fix in his mind just how everything looked in that little school-room.
Fancy! For forty years he had been there in the same place, with his garden outside the window and his class in
front of him, just like that. Only the desks and benches had been worn smooth; the walnut-trees in the garden
were taller, and the hopvine that he had planted himself twined about the windows to the roof. How it must
have broken his heart to leave it all, poor man; to hear his sister moving about in the room above, packing their
trunks! For they must leave the country the next day.

i. What does the phrase “worn smooth” suggest about the desks and benches in the classroom?
_________________________________________________________________________________________

ii. Why do you think M. Hamel is staring at everything in the classroom so intently?
A. He is lost in thoughts
B. He is reminiscing about the past
C. He is preparing to teach his class
D. He is admiring the decor

iii. What does the phrase “it must have broken his heart” suggest about M. Hamel’s feelings towards leaving the
school? ___________________________________________________________________________________

iv. Pick out two changes that have taken place in the school over the forty years that M. Hamel has been
teaching there. _____________________________________________________________________________

v. What is the tone of the narrator towards M. Hamel. ______________________________________________

vi. Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract?
A. The Permanence of Time
B. The Tragedy of Forced Departure
C. The Nostalgia of a Teacher
D. The Beauty of the Simple Life

Vii. Which line shows that M. Hamel’s residence was perhaps above the school building only?
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D. All at once the church-clock struck twelve. Then the Angelus. At the same moment the trumpets of the
Prussians, returning from drill, sounded under our windows. M. Hamel stood up, very pale, in his chair. I never
saw him look so tall.
“My friends,” said he, “I—I—” But something choked him. He could not go on.
Then he turned to the blackboard, took a piece of chalk, and, bearing on with all his might, he wrote as large as
he could —
“Vive La France!” Then he stopped and leaned his head against the wall, and, without a word, he made a
gesture to us with his hand — “School is dismissed — you may go.”

i. What is the significance of the sounds of the church-clock, Angelus and the Prussian soldiers drilling? What
effect do these sounds have on M. Hamel?________________________________________________________

ii. From the extract, what can you infer about the setting and time period?
A. It takes place in a church during a religious ceremony
B. It takes place in a school during a historical event
C. It takes place in a warzone during a battle
D. It takes place in a courtroom during a trial

iii. Writing of the words ‘Vive la France’ shows M. Hamel’s ________________________________________.

iv. Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract?
A. The Emotional Impact of War on Educators B. The Importance of Nationalism in Education
C. The Heroism of French Teachers D. The Consequences of Political Conflict on Schools

E. While I was thinking of all this, I heard my name called. It was my turn to recite. What would I not have
given to be able to say that dreadful rule for the participle all through, very loud and clear, and without one
mistake? But I got mixed up on the first words and stood there, holding on to my desk, my heart beating, and
not daring to look up
I heard M. Hamel say to me, “I won’t scold you, little Franz; you must feel bad enough. See how it is! Every
day we have said to ourselves, ‘Bah! I’ve plenty of time. I’ll learn it tomorrow.’ And now you see where we’ve
come out. Ah, that’s the great trouble with Alsace; she puts off learning till tomorrow. Now those fellows out
there will have the right to say to you, ‘How is it; you pretend to be Frenchmen, and yet you can neither speak
nor write your own language?’ But you are not the worst, poor little Franz. We’ve all a great deal to reproach
ourselves with.”

i. What is the protagonist supposed to recite in this extract? __________________________________________

ii. Why does the protagonist feel anxious about reciting them?
A. It is a difficult rule B. The protagonist is not good at French
C. The protagonist is afraid of making a mistake D. M. Hamel is a strict teacher

iii. Explain the meaning of the phrase “we’ve all a great deal to reproach ourselves with” in the context of the
extract.

iv. Based on the extract, what can be inferred about the protagonist’s attitude towards learning French? Which
lines display this attitude? ____________________________________________________________________

v. Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract?
A. The Importance of Learning a Second Language B. Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking
C. The Consequences of Procrastination D. The Support of a Caring Teacher