ENGLISH NOTES

THE LAST LESSON

MIND MAP

EXRACT BASED QUESTIONS:

Q1. 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.

Based on the above passage answer the following questions.

1. ‘Counted on’ means___________

a. To count numbers
b. To depend on
c. To borrow
d. To think

2. Find a synonym of disturbance.

3. Why did the narrator want to reach his desk without being seen?

a. He was afraid of his classmates.

b. He was afraid of being caught by the teacher.
c. He was afraid of the enemy soldiers.
d. He was afraid of villagers

4. Why was everything quiet on a Sunday morning?

5. State true or False

The statement “M. Hamel walking up and down” means that he was walking on the wall
of the classroom.

Q2. 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.”

Based on the above passage answer the following questions.

1. what is Alsace?

a. A girl
b. A district
c. not mentioned
d. Both a and b

2. Who are ‘those fellows’?

3. Why does he call Franz poor?

4. Find a synonym of scold.

5. ‘A Great deal’ means

a. A big issue
b. A big business deal
c. both a and b
d. None of these

Q3. Then, from one thing to another, M. Hamel went on to talk of the French language,
saying that it was the most beautiful language in the world — the clearest, the most
logical; that we must guard it among us and never forget it, because 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. Then he opened a grammar and read us our lesson. I was amazed to see how well I
understood it. All he said seemed so easy, so easy! I think, too, that I had never listened so
carefully, and that he had never explained everything with so much patience.

Based on the above passage answer the following questions.

1. How can we guard a language?

2. How is our language the key to the prison of enslavement?

3. Why on that day Franz understood the lesson?

a. It was easy
b. He listened carefully
c. Teacher had taught with patience
d. b and c

4. Find a synonym of surprised.

Q4. I started for school very late that morning and was in great dread of a scolding,
especially because M. Hamel had said that he would question us on participles, and I did
not know the first word about them. For a moment I thought of running away and
spending the day out of doors. It was so warm, so bright! The birds were chirping at the
edge of the woods; and in the open field back of the sawmill the Prussian soldiers were
drilling. It was all much more tempting than the rule for participles, but I had the strength
to resist, and hurried off to school.

1.What are two things the protagonist notices in the environment on the way to school?

2. Why does the protagonist consider skipping school that day?

A. They are afraid of being scolded for being late
B. They do not want to learn about participles
C. They are tempted by the pleasant weather and outdoor activities
D. They do not want to see the Prussian soldiers drilling
3. What does the protagonist’s observation about the bulletin-board reveal about their
past experiences?

4. How does the protagonist feel about going to school on this particular day? Provide
evidence from the extract to support your answer.

5. In what way is the setting of the story relevant to the protagonist’s decision to attend
school despite their reluctance?

6. Which of the following headlines best reflects the central idea of the extract?
A. The Temptation of Skipping School
B. The Significance of Town Hall
C. The Impact of War on Education
D. The Pressure to Succeed in School

Q5. But nothing happened. M. Hamel saw me and said very kindly, “Go to your place
quickly, little Franz. We were beginning without you.”

I jumped over the bench and sat down at my desk. Not till then, when I had got a little
over my fright, did I see that our teacher had on his beautiful green coat, his frilled shirt,
and the little black silk cap, all embroidered, that he never wore except on inspection and
prize days. Besides, the whole school seemed so strange and solemn. But the thing that
surprised me most was to see, on the back benches that were always empty, the village
people sitting quietly like ourselves; old Hauser, with his three-cornered hat, the former
mayor, the former postmaster, and several others besides. Everybody looked sad; and
Hauser had brought an old primer, thumbed at the edges, and he held it open on his knees
with his great spectacles lying across the pages.

i. Identify two details from the extract that describe M. Hamel’s appearance on inspection
and prize days.

ii. Why does Franz initially feel anxious upon entering the classroom?
A. M. Hamel scolds him for being late.
B. The classroom is too quiet and solemn.
C. Franz is not wearing his uniform.
D. His classmates have already begun the lesson.

iii. What surprises Franz the most upon entering the classroom?

iv. What can we infer about the village people from their behaviour in the classroom?

v. Explain the significance of Hauser’s old primer and spectacles in the context of the story.

vi. Which of the following headlines best captures the main idea of the extract?
A. Franz’s Late Arrival to School
B. The Pomp and Ceremony of Inspection Day
C. The Significance of Education to a Community
D. The Importance of Appearance in Society

Q6. My last French lesson! Why, I hardly knew how to write! I should never learn
anymore! 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. What is the protagonist’s emotional state at the beginning of the extract, and how does
it change by the end?

ii. What does the protagonist regret not doing instead of studying?

iii. What is the significance of M. Hamel wearing his fine Sunday clothes?

iv. What do the old men sitting in the back of the room represent?

v. In what way is the ending of the extract an example of irony?

vi. 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

Q7. 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 the rule for the participle?
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. According to M. Hamel, what is the great trouble with Alsace?

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

v. Based on the extract, what can be inferred about the protagonist’s attitude towards
learning French?

vi. 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

Q8. “Your parents were not anxious enough to have you learn. They preferred to put you
to work on a farm or at the mills, so as to have a little more money. And I? I’ve been to
blame also. Have I not often sent you to water my flowers instead of learning your
lessons? And when I wanted to go fishing, did I not just give you a holiday?”

Then, from one thing to another, M. Hamel went on to talk of the French language, saying
that it was the most beautiful language in the world — the clearest, the most logical; that
we must guard it among us and never forget it, because 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. Then he
opened a grammar and read us our lesson. I was amazed to see how well I understood it.
All he said seemed so easy, so easy! I think, too, that I had never listened so carefully, and
that he had never explained everything with so much patience. It seemed almost as if the
poor man wanted to give us all he knew before going away, and to put it all into our
heads at one stroke.

i. According to M. Hamel, what is the importance of holding onto one’s language when a
people are enslaved?
ii. Why does the protagonist feel amazed during the French lesson?
A. The grammar was too difficult
B. The teacher was too strict
C. The lesson was too easy
D. The protagonist had never learned French before

iii. Why does M. Hamel blame himself for the protagonist’s lack of education?

iv. What does the phrase “to put it all into our heads at one stroke” suggest about M.
Hamel’s teaching approach?

v. In what ways does M. Hamel express his passion for the French language during the
lesson?

vi. Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract?
A. The Importance of Language in Cultural Preservation
B. The Consequences of Poor Education
C. The Role of a Passionate Teacher
D. The Benefits of Learning French

Q9. 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 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 thought
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. In your own words, describe 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

Q10. 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 church-clock striking twelve in the extract?

ii. What event causes M. Hamel to become emotional and stop mid-sentence?
A. The sound of the Prussian trumpets
B. The end of the school day
C. The start of a French victory parade
D. The news of a family member’s death

iii. What does M. Hamel write on the blackboard with chalk, and why is this significant?

iv. 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

v. How does M. Hamel’s gesture to the students demonstrate his patriotism and love for
his country?

vi. 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
SHORT ANSWERS BASED QUESTIONS:

Q1. Why did Franz not go to school that day?

Answer:
Franz had started very late for school on that day. He had also not learnt the rules for the
participles and M.Hamel was going to ask questions on participles. He was dread of
M.Hamel’s scolding. Therefore, Franz didn’t want to go to school on that day.

Q2. What sights did Franz see on his way to school?

Answer:
On his way to school, Franz found that the day was warm and bright. The birds were
chirping at the edge of woods; and in the open woods, the Prussian soldiers were drilling.
When he passed the town hall there was a crowd in front of the bulletin board. Franz
wondered what the matter could be. But he didn’t stop to read it.

Q3. What tempted Franz to stay away from school?

Answer:
The day was bright and warm. The Prussian soldiers were drilling in the woods. The birds
were chirping and M.Hamel was going to ask questions on participles and Franz had not
learnt anything about it. Franz was dreaded of his scolding. All this tempted Franz to stay
away from school.

Q4. What had been put up on the bulletin board?

Answer:
A war was going on between France and Prussia. The French districts of Alsace and
Lorraine had fallen into the hands of Prussia. The teaching and studying of French had
been banned in these districts. The notice for the same had been put up on the bulletin
board.

Q5. What did Franz wonder about when he entered the class that day?
Answer:
On that day there was no noise outside the class. Then he saw that M.Hamel was wearing
his beautiful green coat, his frilled shirt and the little black coat. He wore this dress on
inspection and prize distribution days. Then he saw the elderly people sitting on the back
desks. All these sights wondered Franz.
Q6. What usual noises could be heard in the street when the school began? How was the
scene in the school in the morning of the last lesson different from that on other days?
Answer:
Usually, when school began, there was a great bustle, which could be heard in the street.
There would be noise of opening and closing of desks and the lessons repeated in a loud
voice. But on that particular day it was all very quiet. It was as quiet as Sunday morning.

Q7. Why were some elderly persons occupying the back benches that day? (2017 Delhi)
Answer:
The French districts of Alsace and Lorraine had-fallen into the hands of Prussians. The
studying and teaching of French had been banned there. M.Hamel was a teacher of the
French language. He had been teaching in that school for the last forty years. Next
morning he was leaving the school for good. Therefore, the old men were sitting on the
back benches. It was their way of thanking M.Hamel for his faithful service.

Q8. “What a thunderclap these words were to me!” What were those words and what
was their effect on Franz?
Answer:
M.Hamel announced in the class that was his last class. The orders from Berlin had come
to teach the German language in Alsace and Lorraine. These words came as a thunderclap
to Franz. Now he started liking his books and M.Hamel in spite of his cranky nature.

Q9. How did Franz react to the declaration that it was their last lesson?
Answer:
These words were like a thunderclap to Franz. He hardly knew reading and writing French.
He used to waste his time on useless activities. He always considered his books a nuisance.
Now he thought they were his best friends whom he couldn’t leave.

Q10. What was the mood in the classroom when M.Hamel gave his last French lesson?
Answer:
The mood in the classroom was that of sadness. There was a pin drop silence in the class.
Even the old people of the village had come to attend the class. They had come there to
thank M.Hamel for his forty years of service.

Q11. How were the parents and M.Hamel responsible for the children’s neglect of the
French language?
Answer:
Not only the children themselves but also their par-ents and M.Hamel were to some
extent responsible for the children’s neglect of the French language. The parents would
send their children to work on a farm or at a mill so that they could get some extra money.
M. Hamel would often ask them to water his plants instead of teaching them. And when
he wanted to go fishing, he would give them a holiday.

Q12. What did M.Hamel ask Franz to recite and how did Franz fare in it?
Answer:
M. Hamel asked Franz to recite the rules on participles. He wanted to recite it without any
mistakes. But he mixed up on the very first words and stood there, holding on to his desk.
His heart was beating and he didn’t dare to look up.

Q13. What was the trouble with the people of Alsace according to M. Hamel? Now what,
he thought, would give the Germans to mock at them?
Answer:
According to M.Hamel, the people of Alsace used to shirk work. They often thought they
had plenty of time. But now due to this attitude, they couldn’t learn their language any
more. He said now the Germans would mock at them saying that they pretended to be the
French. They couldn’t even speak or write their language.

Q14. What does M.Hamel say about the French language?

Answer:
M.Hamel says that French is the most beautiful language in the world the clearest, the
most logical. He asks his students to guard their language and never forget it. According to
him when people are enslaved, they have the key to their prison as long as they hold fast
to their language.

Q15. The people in this story suddenly realise how precious their language is to them.
What shows you this? Why does this happen?
Answer:
This story is set in the year 1870 in Alsace district of France. In the Franco-Prussian war
(1870-71) France was defeated by Prussia and the French districts of Alsace and Lorraine
went into the hands of Prussia. The Prussians there banned the teaching and studying of
the French language. The people of the village came to attend the Last lesson by M.Hamel
who had been teaching French there for the last forty years. In this way they pay their
respect to their language French and also to their teacher M.Hamel.
LONG ANSWERS BASED QUESTIONS:

Q1. What values do we learn from this lesson?

Answer:
This lesson teaches us two very important values of life. First, a person should have
knowledge of his language and culture and second, he should never shirk his work. Franz
is a young school going boy. But he hates his school and teacher. He doesn’t have.
knowledge of even his mother tongue-French. His teacher M.Hamel would often scold him
and punish him for not doing his homework, but all in vain.

And when the Prussians invade their country and ban the teaching and studying of the
French language, Franz comes to know the value of his language. He curses himself for not
learning his language. M.Hamel thinks most of the people of his village shirk work. They
think they have plenty of time to do any work. The students often put off learning till
tomorrow. According to M.Hamel when people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to
their language it is as if they have the key to their prison. In this way it is M.Hamel brings
to light the values of life that this story teaches us.

Q2. What changes did Franz find in school when the orders from Berlin came?
Answer:
The teaching and studying of the French language was banned in Alsace and Lorraine
districts of France according to the orders from Berlin. Now Franz found that the whole
atmosphere of the school was changed. Usually, when the school began, there was a great
bustle, which could be heard out in the street. The opening and closing of the desks could
be heard.

The children would repeat their lessons loudly in unison, and the teacher could be seen
rapping his ruler on the table. But now it was quite still. That day everything was as quiet
as on Sunday morning. M.Hamel was wearing his best dress that he never wore except on
inspection and prize days. But the most surprising thing for Franz was that the old people
of village were sitting on back benches.

Q3. 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.

Q4. Our native language is a part of 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?
Answer:
According to Hindi poet Methlisharan Gupt , the person who does not take pride in his
language, culture and nation is like an animal and he is like a dead person. Every
community has a natural attachment to its culture and language. It is our native language
that we naturally learn from the lap of our mother. We can communicate in our native
language more effectively and proficiently than in some other foreign language.

In this story, the Prussians invaded the French districts of Alsace and Lorraine. They
banned the teaching and studying of the French language in these districts. All the
teachers of the French language were asked to leave the districts of Alsace and Lorraine.
M.Hamel is a teacher of the French language in a village in the district of Alsace. He had
been teaching in a school the French language for the last forty years. The next day, he
was leaving the village and school for good.

The elderly persons sitting at the back benches were the old Hauser who was wearing his
three-cornered hat, the former mayor, the former postmaster, and several others.
Everybody was looking sad. Hauser had brought an old primer and he held it open on his
knees with his spectacles lying across the pages. All these elderly persons had come to the
school to pay their tribute to the selfless service of M.Hamel for forty years.

Q5. Everybody during the last lesson is filled with regret. Comment.
Answer:
In the year 1870, during the Franco-Prussian war the French districts of Alsace and
Lorraine fell into the hands of Prussians. They harmed the teaching and studying of the
French language in these districts. All the teachers of the French language were ordered to
leave these districts. M.Hamel is one such teacher who teaches French in one of the
villages of Alsace district. He has to leave his village the next day for good. Now he is
delivering his last lesson of the French language.
Not only the students but also the village elders have come to attend the last class of
French. Everybody in the class is full of regret. M.Hamel blames himself for giving too
much holidays to his students and in this way not teaching them properly. The students
like Franz blames themselves not learning their language properly. The village elders are
also full of regret. They have not learnt their language prop¬erly when they were young.
Now they have come there to pay their tribute to M.Hamel’s for forty years of selfless
service.

Q6. What do you think is the theme of the story ‘The Last Lesson’? What is the reason
behind its universal appeal?
Answer:
Though the story discussed is located in a particular village of Alsace district of France
which had passed into Prussian hands; the story definitely has a universal appeal. It
highlights the invader’s desire to thrust forcefully his language and culture on the
subjugated community and taking away their language and their identity. Taking away
mother tongue and forcing others to accept a foreign tongue is the first step of any
colonial aggression.

To resist any such advancement, one needs to embrace his own language firmly. M.
Hamel, the French teacher of the school while giving his last lesson to the class advises
them to love their language and keep it alive. He says that when the people are enslaved,
as long as they hold fast to language it is as if they had the key to their prison.

The Prussians has banned the teaching and studying of French but they can never take
away the love for the French language from the people. In this way the French people can
retain their identity even before such constant pressure from new rulers. The theme
definitely does not remain confined to the classroom of a school in Alsace district; rather it
gathers a universal significance; as a roadmap to counter foreign aggression.