The Last Lesson

Summary:-

Franz started school very late that morning. He was afraid of being scolded because
Mr. Hamel was to question them on participles, and he did not know the first word
about them. He thought of running away and spending the day out of doors. The
warm bright day, the chirping birds, and the Prussian soldiers drilling in the open field
behind the sawmill were tempting. But he resisted the temptation and hurried off to
school.

There was a crowd in front of the bulletin-board near the town-hall. Wachter, the
blacksmith asked Franz not to go so fast. He assured the boy that he would get to
his school in plenty of time. Usually there was a great bustle when school began but
that day everything was as quiet as Sunday morning.

Through the window Franz saw his classmates, already in their places and M. Hamel
walking up and down with his terrible iron ruler under his arm. Franz opened the door
and went in. He blushed and was frightened. Mr. Hamel very kindly asked him to go
to his place.

Franz noticed that their teacher had put on his beautiful green coat, his frilled shirt,
and the little black silk cap, all embroidered. He wore these only on inspection and
prize days. The village people were sitting quietly on the usually empty back
benches. Everybody looked sad; and Hauser had brought an old primer.

Mr. Hamel said that was the last lesson he would give them. Henceforth, only
German was to be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The new master
would come the next day. This was their last lesson of French. He wanted them to
be very attentive.

Franz felt sorry that he had not learnt his lessons properly. The idea that Mr. Hamel
was going away made the narrator forget all about his ruler and how cranky he was.
Now Franz understood why Mr. Hamel had put on his fine Sunday clothes and why
the old men of the village were sitting there. They had come to thank the master for
his forty years’ faithful service and to show their respect for the country that was
theirs no more.

Mr. Hamel asked Franz to recite, but he stood there silent. The teacher did not scold
him. He confessed that his parents the teacher were at fault. Then he talked of the
French language-the most beautiful language in the world—the clearest, the most
logical. He asked them to guard it among them and never forget it. Their language
was the key to their prison.

Then they had lessons in grammar and writing. The pigeons cooed very low on the
roof. Franz wondered if they would even make the pigeons sing in German. All the
while M. Hamel was sitting motionless in his chair, gazing at one thing or the other.
His sister packed their trunks in the room above as they had to leave the country the
next day.

After writing, they had a lesson in history, and then the babies chanted their ba, be,
bi, bo, bu. Even the old Hauser was crying. All at once the church-clock struck twelve
and then the midday prayers. At the same moment the trumpets of the Prussians,
returning from drill, sounded under the windows. Mr. Hamel stood up. He wanted to
speak but something choked him.

Then he took a piece of chalk and wrote it on the blackboard as large as he could
“Vive La France!” After this he stopped and leaned his head against the wall. Without
a word, he made a gesture with his hand to indicate that the school was dismissed
and they might go.

Question/Answer:-

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: Mr. 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.

Q1. The people? in this story suddenly realise how1 precious their language is
to them. What shows you this? Why does this happen?
Ans: 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 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
at linguistic chauvinism.

Q1. “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.”
Can you think of examples in history where conquered people had their language
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 with their own language— Latin.
Later on Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and French developed from Latin. The Muslim
invaders imposed Arabic and Persian on 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.

Q2. 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,
Guajaratis 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 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 promotes the unity
between members of the linguistic minority.
In short, they created a mini-Punjab in Bangalore, mini-Chennai in Mumbai, mini-
Bangalore in Delhi and mini-Surat in Kolkata.

Q3. Is it possible to carry pride in one’s language too far? Do you know what
“linguistic chauvinism” means?
Ans. ‘Linguistic chauvinism’ means an aggressive and unreasonable belief that your
own language is better than all others. This shows excessive or prejudiced support
for one’s own language. Sometimes pride in one’s own language goes too far 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 a 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.