Prepared by- S.S.K (9784355842) For those who want to get above 90% marks in English.

1 Lesson-1 The Last Lesson

(by Alphonse Daudet)

The last lesson is a beautiful story which depicts how people realize that their own language is precious to them .It

is a general human tendency that people don’t realize the value of something as long as they have it .But when

they lose it, they begin to feel sorry for it and grieve for it .

Franz who is the narrator of the story, reads in a school .The school is situated in aFrench district,Alsace. The

French districts –Alsace and Lorraine have been conquered by Prussia .An order arrives from Berlin according to

which instead of French ,only German will be taught in the school of Alsace and Lorraine .This order causes agreat

change in the attitude of the students and their parents.

Main points of the lesson

(1) Franz who is the narrator of the story is scared of being scolded by his teacher M.Hamel because he starts

for his school very late and he hasn’t prepared himself with the rules of participles which his teacher

M.Hamel has asked him to do.

(2) He thinks of spending the day out of doors because the day is warm and sunny ,birds are chirping at the

edge of woods and the Prussian soldiers are drilling in an open field behind the saw-mill . All these things

are much more attracting than rules for participle.

(3) On his way to school , he sees a crowd in front of the bulletin –board at the town hall . It doesn’t want to

stop and have alook at the bulletin board as all gloomy news regarding the war have come from the same

spot .

(4) Mr. wachter , the black –smith who is reading news at the bulletin board with his apprentice ,calls after

him and advises him not to go so fast . But Franz thinks that Mr.wachter is making a fun of him and

reaches his school out of breath .

(5) Usually when the school began , there was a great hustle and bustle . The sound of the opening and

closing of desks , lesson repeated loudly by the students unitedlyand the teacher ‘s great ruler rapping on

the table could be heard out in the street. Franz notices that some villagers are also sitting in the back of

the class room.

(6) Franz depended on this commotion [noise] to enter his class room without being noticed whenever he

reached his school late.

(7) Today the scene is quite different .Every thing is peaceful and quiet . All of Franz’s classmates are already

in their place and M.Hamel is walking up and down in his classroom with his terrible iron ruler. He is

wearing his ceremonial dress with an embroidered hat. Franz notices that some villagers are also sitting in

the back of the classroom. He wonders why?

(8) Franz is scared of being scolded for being late but to his surprise, M. Hamel allows him to take his seat

very kindly .

(9) M. Hamel calmly declares that it is his last French lesson due to the order from Berlin not to teach French.

His words are like a thunderclap for Franz. He is unable to understand how the German can snatch their

own language from them.

Prepared by- S.S.K (9784355842) For those who want to get above 90% marks in English.

2 (10) The declaration by M. Hamel changes his attitude. He begins to respect M.Hamel. All of a sudden his

books which appeared to him such a nuisance, heavy to carry, begin to appear important friends to him

which he can’t give up.

(11) Some of the villagers are also sitting in the class to thank M.Hamel for his forty years of faithful service

and to show their respect for the country.

(12) Then M.Hamel asks Franz to speak rules for participle. He is ready to pay any price to be able to speak it

but as he hasn’t prepared it, feels very ashamed .

(13) But surprisingly M.Hamel doesn’t scold him. According to M.Hamel besides Franz, his parents are also

responsible for his poor progress in study. He blames himself also as he has often sent him to water his

flowers and granted him a holiday when he wanted to go for fishing.

(14) Franz hears some pigeons making a low sound in the class room. He thinks whether the Germans would

impose German on these pigeons also. It is a childish reaction but it shows the miserable state of Franz’s

mind.

(15) According to M. Hamel, French is the most logical and clearest language in the world. He advises his

students to guard it. According to M.hamel,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.

(16) Today Franz understands every thing M. Hamel teaches because he is fully attentive and M. Hamel wants

to teach them everything he knows.

(17) It is extremely difficult for M. Hamel to leave the school as he has been here for forty years. He has

developed a beautiful garden just outside the class room. He feels pained to listen to his sister packing

their trunks in the room above.

(18) Finally the church clock strikes twelve and M. Hamel stands up to say final good bye to his students. He

tries to say some thing but his throat is chocked due to his emotions. He gathers all his strength and writes

on the black board as big as he can “vive, la France “ which means “Long live France”. Then he makes a

gesture to his students “school is dismissed, you may go”

Important Questions and Answers

(1) What was Franz expected to be prepared with for that day?

Ans. Franz was expected to be prepared with the rules for participles for school that day .

(2) What did Franz notice that was unusual about the school that day?(RBSE 2015)

Ans. Franz noticed that there was no noise in the school that day which usually could be heard out in the

street .His teacher M. Hamel was wearing his ceremonial dress which he used to wear only on special

occasions . Some villagers were also sitting on the rear benches in the class .

(3) What had beenput up on the bulletin-board?

Ans. A notice had been put up on the bulletin board according to which instead of French only German would

betaught in the school of Alsace and Lorraine .

Prepared by- S.S.K (9784355842) For those who want to get above 90% marks in English.

3 (4) What changes did the order from Berlin cause in school that day?

Ans.Due to the order from Berlin, it was all quiet in the school. All the usual sound were missing from the

school that day. The whole school seemed grave and strange. Everybody looked sad. Some villagers also came

and attended the class to thank M. Hamel for his forty years of faithful service and to show their respect for

the country .

(5) How did Franz’s feeling about M.Hamel and school change?

Ans. When Franz came to know that French wouldn’t be taught and M. Hamel was going away for ever, his

feelings about M. Hamel and his school changed. He began to respect M. Hamel and his school.

(6) Franz thinks,Will they make them sing in German,over the pigeons?”

What could this mean?(There could be more than one answer)

Ans.In the story French districts of Alsace and Lorraine have passed into Prussian hands.It was ordered that only

German language would be taught in the school. Franz was a child in the school of M.Hamel.He was giving his last

lesson of French that day. Franz could not understand why he would have to learn German instead of

French.Some one’s language is natural to him. Franz noticed pigeons over the roof.He realized that the German

would want even these pigeons to sing in German.He realized that the German have imposed their language on

them forcibly.But pigeons are independent and they cannot impose their language on them.

Q. (7) Write a character sketch of M. Hamel.

AnsIn the last lesson’s Alphonse Daudet has presented M. Hamel’s character with all sympathy and respect. He is

very strict teacher who always keeps a ruler under his arm. He is a hard task-master. He realizes that it is last

lesson in French and the next day a new teacher will replace him. He will teach them in German. Patriotic feelings

are aroused in him. He becomes extra soft and gentle towards his students. He does not scold Franz for coming

late nor did he use his ruler when Franz gets mixed up and confused.He tells his students and the villagers about

French language that it is the most beautiful language in the world. He advises them to guard it among them and

forget it. He teaches even his last lesson with great patience. He declares that it is the last French lesson. The

order has come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine.

Additional Questions

(1) Why was Franz frightened?/ Why was Franz scared of going to school that day?

(2) Why did Franz think of running away and spending the day out of the doors?

(3) Why was there a crowd in front of the bulletin-board at the town hall? (CBSC 2008)

(4) Why didn’t M. Hamel get angry with Franz for being late?

(5) Why were the old men of the village sitting there in the back of the classroom?

(6) What was more tempting to Franz than the rules for Participles?

(7) What did Mr. Hamel tell the people about French language? (RBSE 2014)

Or

(8) How does M. Hamel pay a tribute to the French language?