A. Answer the following questions : (1 Marks)
1. ' I started for school very late that morning ' who is the 'I' here ?
Ans - 'I' refers here to Little Franz .
2. What did M. Hamel do when he wanted to go on a holiday ?
Ans - Whenever M. Hamel wanted to go on a holiday he gave his students also a holiday .
3. What did M. Hamel write at the end of the class ?
Ans - M. Hamel wrote " Vive La France " at the end of the class .
4. What did Franz think ' For a moment '?
Ans - For a moment Franz thought for running away and spending the out of his classroom.
5. What was written in the new copies brought by M. Hamel for the students in a beautiful round hand ?
Ans - In the new copies that M. Hamel brought for the students there was written the words , ' France , Alsace ' in a beautiful round hand .
6. What is the name of the blacksmith in ' The Last Lesson ' ?
Ans - The name of the blacksmith in ' The Last Lesson ' is Wachter .
7. What is the name of the river mentioned in ' The Last Lesson '?
Ans- The name of the river mentioned in ' The Last Lesson ' is Saar .
8. What did Franz see when he passed the town hall ?
Ans - When Franz assed the town hall he saw a crowd in front of the bulletin board .
9. What was the order that come from Berlin that day ?
Ans - The order that came from Berlin was to teach only Germans in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine .
10. What did M. Hamel say he would ask his students that morning ?
Ans - M . Hamel said that he would ask students on the rules of participles .
11. What were the Prussian soldiers doing that morning ?
Ans - The Prussian Soldiers were drilling in the open field at the back of the saw mill .
12. What , according to M. Hamel , was the great fault with Alsace ?'
Ans - According to M. Hamel , the great fault with Alsace was that the people there always put off their learning till the next day .
13. How long did M . Hamel teach in his school ?
Ans - M. Hamel taught for forty years in his school .
14. What did M . Hamel want to give his students before going home ?
Ans - M . Hamel wanted to share all his knowledge and give his students all what he knew before going away .
15. What is the theme of the story ' The Last Lesson '?
Ans - The theme of the story ' The Last Lesson ' is linguistic chauvinism .
B. Answer the following Questions : ( 2 Marks )
1. Why did little Franz want to spend his day out of doors ?
Ans - Little Franz wanted to spend his day out of doors for two reasons -
(a) He was very late for school .
(b) His teacher opined that French was the most beautiful language in the world . It was the clearest and the most logical language , and therefore it should be guarded and should not be forgotten by them .
2. What are M . Hamel's view about the French language ?
Ans - M. Hamel opined that French was the most beautiful language in the world . It was the clearest and the most logical language , and therefore it should be guarded and should not be forgotten by them .
3. What was the commotion that Franz anticipated in the classroom ?
Ans - The commotion that Franz anticipated was the great bustle that could be hear from the streets . It was the opening and closing of desks , lessons repeated in unison , very loud and the teacher's great ruler rapping on the table .
4. Why was the lesson called ' The Last Lesson '?
Ans - The lesson was the last French lesson taken by M. Hamel , as German would be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine by the new master who was supposed to come the following day . So , the lesson was called ' The Last Lesson '.
5. What had been put up in the bulletin board ?
Ans- The news had been put up in the bulletin board that an order had come from Berlin . German language was to be imposed on the people of Alsace and Lorraine . Now only the German teachers will teach German to the French speaking population .
6. What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day ?
Ans - Franz was expected to be prepared with lessons on participles that day , as M. Hamel had said that he would question them on participles .
7. Why did M. Hamel not blame Franz alone for his inability to learn ?
Ans - M. Hamel did not blame Franz alone for his inability to learn . He blamed the parents who preferred their children to not go to school , but to work on a farm or at the mills . He also blamed himself because he often gave his pupils a holiday or asked them to water his flowers whenever he wanted to go for fishing .
8. 'Will they make them sing in German , even the pigeons'? What does this sentence suggest ?
Ans - The quoted sentence suggests that the Germans were harsh and hostile rulers . They had imposed every impossible rule on the people of Alsace and Lorraine . Even little Franz understood the level of their hospitality and so said that someday they would make even the pigeons sing in German .
9. What words did M. Hamel write on the blackboard before dismissing the class ? What did they mean ?
Ans - M . Hamel with large letters wrote on the blackboard ' Vive La France !' which means "Long Live France ".
10. What would Franz love to do on that sunny morning instead of going to school ?
Ans- Instead of going to school on that sunny morning Franz wished to spend the day outdoors in a much cheerful way . He wanted to play with the nature , seek bird's eggs and go sliding on the Saar .
11. Mention two things about M. Hamel that surprised Franz on his last day at school ?
Ans- On his last day at school M . Hamel made Franz surprised in the following ways -
(a) M. Hamel did not scold Franz for being late ; instead he told Franz very kindly to go to his place .
(b) M. Hamel was on his beautiful dress which he usually wore on inspection or prize days .
12. Why did Wachter , the blacksmith , tell Franz not to hurry to school ?
Ans - Wachter , the blacksmith , told Franz not to hurry to school , because he thought that Franz had plenty of time to reach school . This was because of the news that was displayed on the bulletin board in the town hall .
13. Why were older villagers present in the class on the day of the last lesson ?
Ans - On the day of the last lesson the older villagers were present in the class as they were feeling sorry for not sending their children to study in school . One more reason for their presence was that they wanted to pay their respect to M . Hamel for his forty years of faithful service .
14. How did Franz's feelings about M. Hamel and school change ?
Ans - Franz's feelings about M . Hamel and school changed when he got to know about the order imposing German language instead of French . He started adoring his books which he found so boring earlier . Besides , he felt respect for his teacher M . Hamel . He ignored Hamel's cranky behaviour and his ruler rather he wished Hamel not to leave the school , but to stay back .
C. Answer the following questions :
1. What was the order from Berlins? How did that order affect the people of Alsace , particularly M. Hamel and his students ?
Ans- The order , from Berlin had come that the French language would no longer be taught to the people of Alsace and Lorraine . The German teacher was supposed to come the next day teach German .
The people of Alsace were thunderstruck by the order . They started realising that they had not learn enough French . M . Hamel blamed the people for always keeping their things till the children a holiday whenever he wanted to go fishing . He wanted to give all his knowledge to his pupils , all at one stroke . When he was imparting his last lesson , the students also paid attention as if they really of the village also came to the school to pay their respect to the language which was no longer theirs .
2. Describe the unusual things that Franz noticed on the day of the last lesson ?
Ans - Franz noticed many unusual things on the day of the last lesson . First , he noticed that the school was as quiet as on a Sunday . The sounds of opening and closing of the desks lessons read in unison and the rapping of the teacher's ruler were not heard . When Franz entered the classroom the teacher did not scold him although he was late . He saw that the class was maintaining complete silence . M. Hamel had come in his best dress , which he used to wear on inspection and prize days . Moreover , the back benches of the classroom were occupied by the elderly people of the village . They all looked very well .
3.Give a detailed account of the scene in the classroom on the day of the last lesson ?
Ans - The order from Berlin caused some changes in the school that day . The entire seemed strange and solemn. The old villagers were sitting on the back benches of the classroom quietly to thank M . Hamel for his forty years of faithful service and for showing their respect for the country as well as their mother tongue . M . Hamel also had put on his best dress on that day though it was not an inspection or prize day .
The order form Berlin also brought a sense of repentance for those who inspite of having time did not learn the French language properly .
4. Draw a character sketch of M . Hamel as it is shown in ' The Last Lesson ' ?
Ans - In ' The Last Lesson ' Alphonse Daudet has presented the character of M. Hamel with all respect and sympathy . He is presented as a typical school master who always kept his terrible ruler under his arm . We see him as a very strict teacher whom the students dread of . However , the sensitive side of M. Hamel is seen on the day of the last lesson . He was soft and gentle to the students . He showed his patriatic feelings by declaring the French language as the most logical and the most beautiful language in the world . M . Hamel also very logically blamed everybody including himself for not seriously learning or teaching the language . The author very beautifully and vividly present the character of a school master who had served the school for forty years .
