The Last Lesson

- Alphonse Daudet
Q1. What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day?
Ans: That day Franz was expected to be prepared with participles because M. Hamel had
said that he would question them on participles. Franz did not know anything about
participles.
Q2. What did Franz notice that was unusual about the school that day?
Ans: Usually, when school began, there was a great bustle, which could be heard out in the
street. But it was all very still that day. Everything was as quiet as Sunday morning. There
was no opening or closing of desks. His classmates were already in their places. The
teacher’s great ruler instead of rapping on the table, was under M. Hamel’s arm.
Q3. What had been put up on the bulletin-board?
Ans: For the last two years all the bad news had come from the bulletin-board. An order had
come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The Germans
had put up this notice on the bulletin-board.
Q4. What changes did the order from Berlin cause in school that day?
Ans: M. Hamel had put on his best dress—his beautiful green coat, his frilled shirt and the
little black silk cap, all embroidered. The whole school seemed so strange and solemn. On
the back benches that were always empty, the elderly village people were sitting quietly like
the kids.
Q5. How did Franz’s feelings about M. Hamel and school change?
Ans: Franz came to know that it was the last lesson in French that M. Hamel would give
them. From the next day they will be taught only German. Then he felt sorry for not learning
his lessons properly. His books, which seemed a nuisance and a burden earlier were now old
friends. His feelings about M. Hamel also changed. He forgot all about his ruler and how
cranky he was.
Q6.The people in this story suddenly realise how precious their language is to them? What
shows you this? Why does this happen?
Answer:
The people in this story didn’t take the study of their language seriously. They always used
to think that they have ample time to learn their language. But in the Franco-Prussian war in
1870, the French districts of Alsace and Lorraine came into the hands of Prussians. They
imposed a ban on the teaching and studying of French. They ordered all the teachers of the
French languages to leave these districts. They wanted that the people there study only the
German language.
Now the people in the story realise how precious their language is to them. Now they regret
that they haven’t learnt their language well. They realise that they can’t no more learn their
language. M.Hamel is a teacher of the French language in of the villages of Alsace. He is
delivering his last lesson of the French language. Not only the students but also the elders of
the village come there to attend his class. It shows the people’s love for their language.
Q7.Give a brief character-sketch of M.Hamel.
Answer:
M.Hamel was a teacher of the French language in a village of Alsace district of France. He
had been teaching French for the last forty years in that village. Everyone in the village had a
great respect for him. His students thought he was cranky, but we didn’t find him cranky in
any part of this story.
He was very honest. When Franz failed to recite the rule for participles, he blamed himself
for giving children unnecessary holidays.
He had great passion for his subject. He knew that it was now the last day of his school and
he had to leave the district the next day for good. Even then he taught his students so well
that they understood everything he had taught.
He had great love for the French language. He called it the most beautiful, the clearest and
the most logical language of the world. Indeed M.Hamel was a. great patriot.

Q8. Franz thinks, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons!!’ What could this
mean?(There could be more than one answer.)
Ans: This comment of Franz shows a Frenchman’s typical reaction to the imposition of
learning German, the language of the conquerors. Being deprived of the learning of mother
tongue would mean cutting off all bonds with the motherland. Teaching the pigeons to sing
in German indicates how far the Germans would go in their attempts of linguistic
chauvinism.

Q9.Our native language is part of our culture and we are proud of it. How does the presence
of village elders in the classroom and M.Hamel’s last lesson show their love for French? (All
India 2016)
Answer:
Acquiring power over the French made the Prussians so dominating that they decided to
impose even their language on them. So on the day of the last French lesson the village
elders were seated on the back seats of the classroom. They felt sad and sorry for not having
gone to school more often. Their presence was also their way of thanking their master,
M.Hamel for his forty years of faithful service. M.Hamel himself had put on his fine Sunday
clothes in honour of the last French lesson. Assuming the role of mentor he advised the class
to safeguard and preserve their language among themselves and never forget it. He called
French the most beautiful and logical language in the world. By the end of the class
M.Hamel was so choked with emotion and could not speak so he took a piece of chalk and
wrote on the blackboard “Vive la France!” (Long Live France) and then dismissed the class.
Q 10.What is ‘linguistic chauvinism’? Analyse the order from Berlin in this light. How do
you justify M. Hamel’s views about French and the new-found love of the people towards
their language?
Answer:
Carrying pride in one’s language too far leads to ‘linguistic chauvinism’. We can analyse the
order from Berlin in this light. It is nothing but a pure example of linguistic chauvinism. The
imposition of German language over the French-speaking population can’t be justified at all.
It is the worst kind of colonialism.
M. Hamel’s love for French is genuine. The shocking order from Berlin arouses patriotic
feelings in him. He loves French and feels it to be the most beautiful language in the world.
He calls it the clearest and the most logical language too. He regrets that the people of Alsace
did not pay much heed to the learning of this great language. He asks the people to safeguard
it among themselves.
It is the key to their unity and freedom. The people of Alsace, particularly the village elders,
suddenly realise how precious their language is to them. Students like Franz too are not
immune to patriotic feelings. Franz feels sorry for neglecting the learning of French. He
hates the idea of German language being imposed on them. He remarks sarcastically, “Will
they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?” The last lesson was so impactful that it
helped to revive the love for the language among the people of Alsace.