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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 a French 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 a
great 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 a look 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 unitedly and 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 Sunita Bal Niketan Sr. Sec. School, Magra Punjala, Jodhpur
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(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?
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 been put 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 be
taught in the school of Alsace and Lorraine .
(4) What changes did the order from Berlin cause in school that day?
Ans. The order from Berlin caused many changes in school that day . Students like Franz who had never been
serious towards their study, suddenly developed a respect for their language , when Franz came to know that
Prepared by- S.S.K (9784355842) For Sunita Bal Niketan Sr. Sec. School, Magra Punjala, Jodhpur
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he wouldn’t see M. Hamel any more, he forgot about his crankiness and began to respect him. 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) The people in this story suddenly realize how precious their language is to them. What shows you this?
Why does this happen?
Ans. The story is about a teacher and his school. He had passed forty years teaching French. Now orders came
from Berlin that only German would be taught in the school. The teacher was bout to leave the school. It was
his last lesson. So far, no body was bothered to learn French. Children like Franz were not doing well in French.
Their presence in class and their attention to M. Hamel’s lesson shows that they were keen to learn French.
(7) 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 Franz 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.
Additional Questions
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
Why was Franz frightened?
Why did Franz think of running away and spending the day out of the doors?
What did Franz see when he passed in front of the town hall on the way to school?
Why was there a crowd in front of the bulletin-board at the town hall? (CBSC 2008)
Why didn’t M. Hamel get angry with Franz for being late?
Why had M. Hamel put on his finest clothes? Why were the old men of the village sitting there in the back
of the classroom?
(7) What was more fascinating to Franz than the rules for Participles?
(8) How was the scene in the school in the morning of the last lesson different from that
on other days?
(9) How did Franz come to know that it was his last lesson in French?
(10)What was the condition of Franz when his name was called in the class?
(11)How did M. Hamel say farewell to his school?
Prepared by- S.S.K (9784355842) For Sunita Bal Niketan Sr. Sec. School, Magra Punjala, Jodhpur
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Prepared by- S.S.K (9784355842) For Sunita Bal Niketan Sr. Sec. School, Magra Punjala, Jodhpur