MLP & HLP - VALUE BASED QUESTIONS

THE LAST LESSON by Alphonse Daudet

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alphonse Daudet is a renowned French novelist and great short story writer .The Last Lesson is set in the days of
the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) in which Prussians(Germany ,Poland and Austria) were triumphant and two
French districts Alsace and Lorraine were captured by Prussians and adverse effects of it on life at school.
THEME
1.The lesson brings out the pain that is inflicted on the people of a territory by its conquerors by taking away
the right to study or speak their own language.
2. linguistic chauvinism
3. Patriotism – be proud of your culture, mother tongue, language is the key to prison
4. Teacher - a guide ,a facilitator, mentor

HIGHLIGHTS

• Franz is afraid of going to school as he has not learnt participles.

• He wants to enjoy beauty of nature. The bright sunshine, the birds chirruping in the woods, Prussian soldiers
drilling but resisted.
• Bulletin board: all bad news, lost battles, the drafts and orders of the commanding officers: wondered what
it could be now
• The changes he noticed in the school.
o Instead of noisy classrooms everything was as quiet as Sunday morning
o The teacher does not scold him and told him very kindly to go to his seat
o The teacher dressed in his Sunday best.
o Villagers occupying the last benches- To pay tribute to M. Hamel for his 40 yrs of sincere service
and also to express their solidarity with France.
• M. Hamel making the announcement that that would be the last French lesson; realizes that,
• that was what was put up on the bulletin board.
• Franz realizes that he does not know his own mother tongue
• Regretted why he had not taken his lessons seriously.
• Also realizes the reason why teacher was dressed in his Sunday best and villagers sitting at the back.
• M. Hamel realizes that all three, the children , the parents and he himself are to be blamed for losing respect
and regard for the mother tongue.
• Always keep the mother tongue close to your heart as it is the key to the prison of slavery.
• Atmosphere in class: teacher teaching sincerely and patiently, students and others studying with utmost
sincerity.
• Franz wonders sarcastically if Prussians could force pigeons to coo in German.
• M.Hamel advocates that French is the most beautiful ,the most logical and clearest language in world
• becomes emotional ,could not speak ,
• ‘M. Hamel overcome with emotions, keeps looking at things in the classroom as if to fix it in his mind so
that he can remember it later. Unable to speak, he writes on the black board “VIVE LA FRANCE-“Long
Live France”.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS:

Q1. What was the narrator’s greatest fear as he moved towards the school?
Ans. Franz had started late for school and thus was afraid of being scolded . His fear gripped him further for he
was also unprepared. He had not learnt his lesson regarding the rules of participles and thus dreaded the teacher’s
anger.
Q2. What was more tempting to Franz rather than going to school?
Ans. The weather was pleasant, warm and bright. The chirruping birds were inviting him, the soldiers drilling in
the field were also outdoors and Franz was not prepared with participles.

Q3. What was the news which was put up on the bulletin board?
Ans. For the last two years all bad news – the lost battles, the orders of the commanding officer was displayed on
the notice board. That day, the news that only German would be taught in school of Alsace and Lorraine and
French would be banned, was displayed on the notice-board which made the crowd gather there to read the news.
Q4. What was so unusual about the school on that day?
Ans. Usually there would be a great bustle of opening and closing of the desk, lesson repeated loudly and the
teacher’s ruler rapping on the table but that day was very calm and quiet like Sunday morning. The back benches
which were usually empty were occupied by the village people and M. Hamel wore his special dress and was
pacing up and down with a ruler under his arm. He was also very polite to Franz and didn’t scold him for being
late

Q5. Why were the villagers seated on the back benches?

Ans. All the village elders were seated on the back benches as a tribute to the teacher who had put in 40 years of
sincere service. It was also their way of expressing regret for not learning their mother tongue when they had the
chance. They were also expressing their patriotism and solidarity with France

Q6. What did M. Hamel say about French language?

Ans. He said that it is the most beautiful language in the world- the clearest, the most logical. He
requested them to guard it so that they can be united and fight back for their freedom. He said that it was a mark
of their identity and that if they preserved it among themselves they might one day be able to regain their freedom.

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

Q 1. Justify the title of the story “The Last Lesson”.
Ans. People always feel there is plenty of time to learn—so also in Alsace—now no time—parents not
keen—preferred children , work in farms, mill—Franz looked opportunity to escape school—never
serious—receive orders from Berlin—people realize importance of their language—attend the last
lesson by M. Hamel.

Q 2.What were Franz’ feelings about M Hamel and his French lessons? How did they undergo a
complete change?
Ans. Didn’t like to study-wanted to spend time outdoors- hadn’t learned lesson-afraid of M.Hamel-thinks he is
irritable and too strict- books heavy and a nuisance- surprised that M. Hamel doesn’t scold him for being late -
learned French banned- regret for not learning when he had chance- feels he’ll never be able to learn it now- called
Germans wretches and wondered why they imposed their language on the French—felt sorry for M. Hamel- saw
his sorrow and realised how upset he was- feels that M. Hamel has never taught with so much patience and he has
never paid this much attention and that French was very easy to learn if they had all paid attention.

Value Based Question: Answer the following in about 100 words.

Q 1. M Hamel ‘The Last Lesson’ says to the people of Alsace about the necessity of their mother tongue- French:
“ …. 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”.
‘Mother tongue is the language of one’s thoughts and ideas. Rejecting one’s mother tongue is denying one’s own
culture and identity.’ Do you think so? Write your reflections on the above statement in the form of an article to
be published in your school magazine , encouraging your friends to the need for learning and protecting their
mother tongue.

HLP
Short Answer Questions:
Q1. What happened when the church clock struck 12?
Ans. The moment the church clock struck 12 the Prussian army came to take over and M. Hamel stood
up, wanted to tell something but his voice was chocked. He gathered his strength and wrote on the
black board as large as he could – ‘Vive La France’ and dismissed the school.

Q 2. What does Franz mean when he asks: “ Will they make them sing in German,even the pigeons”?
Ans. Franz asks this when he is told that French is banned and German will be taught in the schools. He realises
that it is unreasonable of the Germans to impose their language on the French and just as pigeons cannot be forced
to change their basic nature, they should not expect the French to change their nature or habit of speaking their
mother tongue.

Q 3.What changes have taken place in the school in the last forty years?
Q 4. What did he mean by “Viva La France”?
Q 5. Do you think that the story touches upon the brutalities of war? Explain
Q 6. Why did M. Hamel say that knowing one’s language is a key to prison?

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS 125 -150 words.

1. Write a note on the character of M. Hamel as a teacher?
2. At the end of the last lesson M. Hamel wrote, ‘Viva La France’ on the board in bold letters. Why
do you think he wrote that and how did he expect the people of Alsace –Lorraine to keep their identity intact?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alphonse Daudet is a renowned French novelist and great short story writer .The Last Lesson is set in the days of
the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) in which Prussians(Germany ,Poland and Austria) were triumphant and two
French districts Alsace and Lorraine were captured by Prussians and adverse effects of it on life at school.
THEME
The lesson brings out the pain that is inflicted on the people of a territory by its conquerors by taking away the
right to study or speak their own language.
ABOUT THE LESSON-A glance
• M.Hamel is a devoted, committed and disciplinarian teacher who wants to inculcate passion for learning
French language— Mother tongue
• Franz is not willing to go to school as he has not learnt rules of participles.
• He wants to enjoy fascinating beauty of Nature , brightness of sunshine, the birds chirruping in the woods
,Prussion soldiers( Germany, Poland and Austria) drilling.
• Bulletin board always gave news of lost battles ,misfortunes, the drafts and orders of the commanding
officers.
• Franz noticed tremendous changes in the school;
o M.Hamel does not scold him and behaved softly and humbly.
o The teacher wore special dress which he used to put on Inspection Prize days.
o Instead of noisy classrooms everything was as still as Sunday morning ,no hustle and bustle in
school.
o Villagers including former Mayor and former postmaster occupied last benches – to pay tribute to
M.Hamel for his forty years sincere and dedicated service.
• M.Hamel made the announcement that that would be the last French lesson and German teacher would
replace him. German language would be taught in schools of Alsace and Lorraine
 • Franz realizes that he does not know even his own mother tongue ,regretted why he had not taken his
lessons seriously. He wonders sarcastically if Prussians could force pigeons to coo in German.
• M.Hamel realizes that the children, the parents and he himself are to be blamed for losing respect and
regard for the mother tongue - French language.
•
• He affirms that always keep the mother tongue close to your heart as it is the key to the prison of slavery.
• M.Hamel advocates that French is the most beautiful ,the most logical and clearest language in world
• becomes emotional ,could not speak and wrote on the black board
• ‘Long Live France’
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
Q1 What was more tempting to Franz than going to school and why?
Value points
Had not learnt rules of participles, weather was pleasant ,warm and bright . Chirruping of birds tempted him to
enjoy the day, the soldiers drilling in the field were also outdoors.
Q2. What was Franz’s greatest fear as he moved towards school ?
Value points
Franz was very late for school as he was scared of being scolded. He had not learnt rules of participles .He did
not know even the first word about them .Thus he dreaded the teacher’s indignation.
Q3. What was the bad news put up on the bulletin board?
Value points
All the bad news—the lost battles, the orders of the commanding officer were displayed on the notice board for
the last two years . Only German language would be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine was displayed
on the notice board which made the crowd gather there to read the news.
Q4 What change did Franz observe in the school on that day?
Value points
No noisy atmosphere , no bustle of opening and closing of the desk, no lesson repeated loudly, that day was as
quiet as Sunday morning. The back benches were occupied by the village people. M. Hamel wore his special
dress which he used to wear on Inspection and Prize day.
Q5. Why were village elders seated on back benches on that day ?
Value points
. Villagers occupied back benches as a tribute to the teacher who had put in forty years of sincere service .They
also expressed their regret for not learning their mother tongue when they had the chance to learn French,
expressed their patriotism and solidarity with France.
Q6. Why did M.Hamel ask his students and elderly to guard French language?
Value points
. He said that French is the most beautiful language in the world- the clearest and the most logical . He appealed
them to guard it so that they can be united and fight back for their liberty.
Q7. How did M.Hamel bid farewell to his beloved students and the villagers?
Value points
To arouse patriotic feelings in his students and village elders for their mother tongue .Urged them to safeguard it
among themselves, gathered his strength and wrote on the blackboard as large as he could ‘Vive La France’ and
dismissed the school.

QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

Q1Why did M.Hamel not punish Franz even though he was late?
Q2 Why was Franz unwilling to go to school?
Q3. What announcement did M.Hamel make and what was its impact?
Q4. What do you think was written on the bulletin board?
Q5. Why did not M.Hamel get angry with Franz for being late ?
Q6. What changes came over little Franz after he heard M.Hamel ‘s announcement?
Q8. Do you think that the story touches upon the brutalities of war ? Explain
Q9 . How does Hamel arouse patriotism in people of Alsace?
Q10. What message does the writer want to convey to the readers through the Last Lesson ?

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

Q1 Draw a Pen portrait of M.Hamel on the basis of your study of the story, ‘The Last Lesson’..
Value points
Dedicated ,disciplinarian, hard task master—kept his terrible ruler under his arm—transformed after Berlin’s
order, shocked—more soft and gentle towards his students—not scolded any student—emotional and completely
disturbed—villagers assembled to pay tribute to his sincere service for forty years in the same school—loved
France deeply—considered French as the most beautiful language of the world--- safeguard it and never forget it
.
VALUE BASED QUESTION
Q1 Franz’s feelings about M.Hamel and school changed gradually by the end of the text, though he had a great
disliking for both in the beginning of the story .It is said that first impression is the last impression..Is it true in
context of ,’The Last Lesson ,?
Write a small paragraph of about 100 words penning down your views on ‘A person can be best judged in his
first appearance only’.
Value points.
A well –known dictum states that ‘appearance are deceptive ‘ Infact ,it is true that one can not be judged in just
one meeting .Actually ,one or more meeting are not enough to judge a person’s personality .Every person reacts
differently on different situation at different times .So it is not a matter of single appearance to form a judgement
about a person.
Now-a—days every person appears to be gentle and social. No matter what their background is one’s clothes,
gestures habits etc. do not define one’s personality. Sometimes a life remains short to know a person. Hence ,it
is not a matter of first or last impression but issue of time , needed to know one in one’s right colors .
VALUE BASED QUESTION FOR PRACTICE
M.Hamel ‘The Last Lesson ‘says to the people of Alsace about the necessity of their mother tongue –French—“
We must guard it among us and never forget it because people are enslaved , as long as they hold fast to their
language it is as if they had the key to their prison.”
‘Mother tongue is the language of one’s thoughts and ideas .Rejecting one’s mother tongue is denying one’s own
culture and identity ‘. Do you think so ? Write your reflections on the above statement in the form of an article.