The Last Lesson

Extra Question & Answers

NCERT Class – 12th English

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 Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. Why do you think was little Franz afraid of being scolded?

Ans: Franz was afraid of being scolded that day especially because M. Hamel, the teacher, had said that
he would question them on participles. Franz frankly admits that he was totally ignorant about the topic.
His exact words are: “I did not know the first word about them.” Secondly, he had started for school
very late that morning.

Q2. “It was all much more tempting than the rule for participles.” What did Franz find ‘much more
tempting’? How did he finally react?

Ans: Franz found that it was a very warm and bright day. The birds were chirping at the edge of woods.
The Prussian soldiers were drilling in the open field at the back of sawmill. He could gladly spend life out
of doors. However, he had the strength to resist the temptation. Finally, he hurried off to school.

Q3. “What can be the matter now?” says Franz. Why, do you think, did he make this comment?

Ans: There was a bulletin-board near the town-hall. When Franz passed by it, he noticed a crowd there.
He did not stop to look at it. He wondered what could be the matter then. For the last two yeairs they
had received all the bad news from the bulletin-board—the lost battle, conscription and the orders of
the commanding officer.

Q4. Who was Wachter? What did he ask Franz and why? How did Franz react?

Ans: Wachter was a blacksmith. He was reading the latest bulletin. He asked Franz not to go so fast to
his school. He added that the little boy would get to his school in plenty of time. Wachter had read the
latest bulletin about teaching of German. Franz thought that the blacksmith was making a fun of him.
So, he ran to the school and reached there breathless.

Q5. What was the usual scene when Franz’s school began in the morning?

Ans: Usually, when the school began, there was a great bustle. The noise could be heard out in the
school. Students opened and closed their desks. They repeated the lessons together very loudly. They
kept their hands over their ears to understand better. The teacher would go on rapping the table with
his great iron ruler.

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Q6. How had Franz hoped to get to his desk? What had he to do and why?

Ans: Franz had hoped to get to his desk unseen during the commotion. But that day it was very quiet.
So, Franz had to open the door and go in before everybody. He blushed as he was late. He was
frightened that the teacher might rebuke him, but M. Hamel spoke kindly to him that day.

Q7. What three things in school surprised Franz most that day?

Ans: First, M. Hamel, the teacher had put on his fine Sunday clothes—his beautiful green coat, frilled
shirt and the little black silk cap, all embroidered. Second, the whole school seemed quite strange and
solemn. Thirdly, the village people were sitting quietly like school children on the back benches that
usually remained empty.

Q8. Why had the villagers come to school that day? How did they look?

Ans: The villagers had come there to thank M. Hamel for his forty years of faithful service. They also
wanted to show their respect to the country that was theirs no more. They were sorry that they had not
gone to school more. They were sitting quietly and looked sad.

Q9. “What a thunderclap these words were to me!” Which were the words that shocked and
surprised the narrator?

Ans: M. Hamel, the teacher, told the children in a solemn and gentle tone that it was their last French
lesson. Henceforth, only German would be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The new master
would come the next day. As that was their last French lesson, he wanted them to be very attentive. The
teacher’s kind gesture and use of soft words shocked and surprised the narrator.

Q10. How did Franz react to the declaration: ‘This is your last French lesson’?

Ans: The words appeared startling and unexpected like a thunderclap. He now understood why there
was a crowd at the bulletin board, why the village people had come to school, why the teacher was
dressed in his Sunday best and why there was sadness and silence in the school.

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Q11. What tempted Franz to stay away from school? [Delhi 2014]

Ans: Franz was not prepared Tor the test on participles. The Prussian soldiers were drilling in the open
field at the back of sawmill. The birds were chirping at the edge of woods. These things tempted him. So
he hurried off to school.

Q12. Who did M. Hamel blame for neglect of learning on the part of boys like Franz?

Ans: He thought it typical with the people of Alsace. They would put off learning till tomorrow. Parents
are not quite anxious to have their children learn. They put them to work on a farm or at the mills in
order to have a little more money. The teacher got his flowers watered or gave them a holiday. He too
neglected their lessons.

Q13. What did M. Hamel tell them about French language? What did he ask them to do and why?

Ans:M. Hamel told them that French was the most beautiful language in the world. It was the clearest
and the most logical language. He asked them to guard it among them and never _ forget it. He gave a
reason also. When a people were enslaved, as long as they held fast to their language, they had the key
to their prison.

Q14. Why were the elders of the village sitting in the classroom? [All India 2014]

Ans: M. Hamel was taking the class of last French lesson. That is why elders of the village were sitting in
the classroom to attend it. It was done not only to pay respect to M.Hamel but to pay respect to his own
language.

Q15. How did Franz and other hoys enjoy their lesson in writing?

Ans: That day M. Hamel had new copies for them. The words “France, Alsace, France, Alsace” were
written on them in a beautiful round hand. The boys set to work quietly. The only sound was the
scratching of the pens over the paper. Nobody paid any attention to the beetles who flew in.

Q16. How did M. Hamel feel and behave during the last lesson?

Ans: M. Hamel was solemn and gentle. He sat motionless in his chair during the writing lesson. He gazed
at one thing or the other. Perhaps he wanted to fix in his mind how everything looked in that little
school room. Surely, it must have broken his heart to leave it all after forty years.

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Q17. “He had the courage to hear every lesson to the very last.” What led Franz to make this remark?

Ans: Franz noticed that M. Hamel was feeling sad on having to leave the place sifter 40 years and not
being allowed to teach French any longer. Yet, he kept control on his emotions. He performed his duties
faithfully. He heard every lesson to the last. The school was dismissed only at mid-day prayer time.

Q18. What happened when the lesson in history was over?

Ans: After the lesson in history was over, the babies chanted their ba, be, bi, bo, bu. Old Hauser, who
was sitting at the back of the room, had put on his spectacles. He was holding his primer in both hands.
He was spelling the letters with the babies.

Q19. “Ah, how well I remember it, that last lesson!” says the narrator. Which scene does he
remember more vividly than the others?

Ans:The narrator remembers the scene of old Hauser spelling the letters from the primer with the
babies. He too was crying. His voice trembled with emotion. It was so funny to hear him that all of them
wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

Q20. How did M. Hamel behave as the last lesson came to an end?

Ans: M. Hamel stood up in his chair. He looked very pale and tall. He wanted to say some parting words,
but something choked him. Then he wrote “Vive La France!” on the blackboard with a piece of chalk.
Then he stopped. He leaned his head against the wall. Without a word, he made a gesture to the
students with his hand to permit them to go as the school was over.

Q21. 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.

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Q22. 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.

Q23. 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.

Q24. 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.

Q25. 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.

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 The Last Lesson Extract Based Questions

Q1. The people? in this story suddenly realise how precious their language is to them. What shows
you this? Why does this happen?

M. Hamel told the students and villagers that henceforth only German would be taught in the schools of
Alsace and Lorraine. Those who called themselves Frenchmen would neither be able to speak nor write
it. He praised French as the most beautiful, the clearest and most logical language in the world. He said
that for the enslaved people, their language was the key to their prison. Then the people realised how
precious their language was to them. This shows people’s love for their own culture, traditions and
country. Pride in one’s language reflects pride in the motherland.

Q2. Franz thinks, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeonsT’ What could this
mean?(There could he more than one answer.)

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.

Q1. “When a people are en slaved, as long as th ey hold fast to their language it is as if they had the
key to their prison.”

Can you think of examples in history where a conquered people had their lan¬guage taken away from
them or had a language imposed on them?

Ans: Mother tongue helps a person to express his feelings and thoughts most lucidly and intimately.
Conquerors try to subdue and control the people of the enslaved territory by enforcing many measures
such as use of force to crush dissent and imposing their own language on them.

From time immemorial the victorious nations have imposed their own language on the conquered
people and taken away their own language from them. The Romans conquered many parts of Europe
and replaced the local languages by their own language— Latin. Later on Spanish, Pourtuguese, Italian
and French developed from Latin. The Muslim invaders imposed Arabic and Persian in the countries of
Asia overpowered by them. In many Arab countries the local religion and language have disappeared. In
India, a new language Urdu developed from the mixture of Persian and Hindi.

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Q2. Is it possible to carry pride in one’s language too far? Do you know what “lin¬guistic chauvinism”
means?

Ans. ‘Linguistic chauvinism’ means an aggressive and unreasonable belief that your own language is
better than all others. This shows an excessive or prejudiced support for one’s own language.
Sometimes pride in one’s own language goes too for and the linguistic enthusiasts can be easily
identified by their extreme zeal for the preservation and spread of their language. In their enthusiasm,
love and support for their own language, they tend to forget that other languages too have their own
merits, long history of art, culture and literature behind them. Instead of bringing unity and winning
over others as friends, having excessive pride in one’s own language creates ill-will and disintegration.
The stiff-resistance to the acceptance of Hindi as national language by the southern states of India is a
direct outcome of the fear of being dominated by Hindi enthusiasts. The result is that ‘One India’
remains only a slogan.

Q3. What happens to a linguistic minority in a state? How do you think they can keep their language
alive? For example: Punjabis in Bangalore, Tamilians in Mumbai, Kannadigas in Delhi and Gujaratis in
Kolkata.

Ans. The linguistic minority in any state is easily marked and faces the same discrimination as the
religious, social or ethnic minorities. There is, however, a pronounced difference in the treatment meted
out and the level of acceptance displayed by the majority community in that region/city. Some cities like
Delhi, Mumbai are cosmopolitan in outlook. The linguistic minority tries to preserve its identity through
an intimate contact, interaction and preservation of their language in social get-togethers, family
functions and festivals of their own region. Adherence to social customs and traditions in family
gatherings/group meetings of women also promote the unity between members of the linguistic
minority. In short, they create a mini-Punjab in Bangalore, mini-Chennai in Mumbai, mini-Bangalore in
Delhi and mini-Surat in Kolkata.

Q3. Have you ever changed your opinion about someone or something that you had earlier liked or
disliked? Narrate what led you to change your mind.

Ans: Facts are sometimes stronger than fiction. Many occurrences of life come as eye-openers. Such an
experience occurred the previous day which led me to change my mind about our hostel warden Miss
Angela Thomas. Overnight the terrible titan was transformed into a loving and affectionate elder sister
full of milk of human kindness. Now when I remember how I disliked her and invented nicknames and
pranks to tease her, I feel ashamed of myself. Yesterday, I had a terrible nightmare and I cried and wept.
My room-mate failed to console me and reported the matter to the warden. God knows how long I
remained unconscious! When I came to my senses I found my head in the lap of Miss Angela Thomas.
Her eyes were red with tears and bps moving in prayer. She had really proved an angel for me and saved
me.

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 Long Answer Type Questions
Q1. Why was Franz scared that day 1 What did he see on his way to school and how did he get to his
deski

Ans: Franz was not good at learning. He would rather take the day off and waste time in searching birds’
eggs or going sliding on the Saar. Franz was scared that day because M. Hamel had said that he would
question them on participles. Franz did not know anything about participles. He found that the day was
warm and bright. The birds were chirping at the edge of the woods. The Prussian soldiers were drilling in
the open fields. There was a crowd in front of the bulletin-board near the town-hall. Franz found the
school room unusually quiet. So, he had no option but to open the door and go in before everybody. He
blushed and was frightened of the teacher. M. Hamel spoke very kindly to him and asked him to go to
his place quickly. Franz jumped over the bench and sat down at his desk.

Q2. What impression do you form ofM. Hamel on the basis of your study of the story ‘The Last
Lesson’?

Ans: M. Hamel is an experienced teacher who has been teaching in that village school for forty years. He
imparts primary education in all subjects. He is a hard task master and students like Franz, who are not
good learners, are in great dread of being scolded by him. The latest order of the Prussian conquerors
upsets him. He has to leave the place for ever and feels hear broken. He feels sad but exercises self-
control. He has the courage to hear every lesson to the last.

His performance during the last lesson is exemplary. He is kind even to a late comer like Franz. He uses a
solemn and gentle tone while addressing the students. He has a logical mind and can analyse problems
and deduce the reasons responsible for it. The problem for Alsace is that he (the district) puts off
learning till tomorrow. He knows the emotional hold of a language over its users. He is a good
communicator and explains everything patiently. Partings are painful and being human, M. Hamel too is
no exception. He fails to say goodbye as his throat is choked. On the whole, he is a patriotic gentleman.

Q3. What order had been received from Berlin that day? What effect did it have on the life at school?

Ans: An order had been received from Berlin that only German would be taught in the schools of Alsace
and Lorraine. This order had far-reaching effects on the life at school. M. Hamel, who had been teaching
French at the village school for the last forty years would deliver his last lesson that day. It was in honour
of the last lesson that M. Hamel, the teacher had put on his best clothes. Old men of the village were
sitting quietly at the back of the classroom. They were sad as well as sorry for they had not gone to
school more. They had come to thank the master for his forty years of faithful service and to show

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respect for the country that was theirs no more. The teacher addressed the students in a solemn and
gentle tone. He asked them to be attentive and explained everything quite patiently. He appealed to
them to preserve French among them. During slavery it would act as key to the prison. He felt so
overwhelmed by emotion that he could not bid farewell properly.

Q4. Comment on the appropriateness of the title ‘The Last Lesson’.

Ans: The story has an appropriate and suggestive title. It is the centre of attention throughout and the
whole story revolves around it. The beginning of the story serves as preparation for it. The unusual
quietness at school, presence of village elders and the teacher in his Sunday best dress—all point out to
the unusual and unique occasion—the last lesson in French in a French village school in a district
conquered by the Prussians. While delivering the last lesson, the teacher wants to transmit all his
knowledge in one go. He explains everything with patience and the students as well as old villagers
listen attentively. For the narrator it is an unforgettable experience. “Ah, how well I remember it, that
last lesson,” says he. Old Hauser is crying and his voice trembled with emotion. As the teacher is unable
to express His emotions because of choked throat, he ends the lesson by writing Wive La France’ on the
blackboard. He makes a gesture with his hand to indicate that the school is dismissed and students can
go home.

Q3. What do you think is the theme of the story ‘The Last Lesson’? What is the reason behind its
universal appeal?

Ans:The theme of the story ‘The Last Lesson’ is linguistic chauvinism of the proud conquerors and the
pain that is inflicted on the people of a territory by them by taking away the right to study or speak their
own language and thus make them aliens in their own land of birth. The story has a sub-theme also. It
highlights the attitudes of the students and teachers to learning and teaching.

Though the story is located in a particular village of Alsace district of France which had passed into
Prussian hands, it has a universal appeal. It highlights the efforts of the victors to crush their victims—
the vanquished people in all possible manner—materially, spiritually, mentally and emotionally. Taking
away mother tongue from the people is the harshest punishment. The proper equation between
student and teacher, his focused attention, helpful and encouraging attitude and kind treatment can
encourage students to learn better.

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