XII- ENG.Core CBSE Ch-1 The Last Lesson Flamingo , Summary/Questions/ answers easy access

Ch-1

The Last Lesson by Alphonse Daudet

      

I. INTRODUCTION

The Last Lesson relates a small episode with a big and very serious message. In the 19th century, Prussia a part of Germany, invaded and captured the French districts of Alsace and Lorraine. Orders came from Berlin to stop the teaching of French in schools. The French teachers were told to make way for the German teachers. One such victim of language invasion was M. Hamel who had been teaching French at a small school for forty years. A day before he packed up his luggage to leave his house and school, he met his class. Even the village elders were sad at the departure of Hamel. In his last lesson, he called upon the students and the village people to hold fast to their language and feel proud of France as well as French language. The lesson strikes a note of patriotic feelings.

II.  SUMMARY Of The CHAPTER 

It was a warm and bright day. The birds were chirping in the woods. The Prussian soldiers were drilling in the open field back of the sawmill. The narrator started for school late that morning. He was afraid of getting a rebuke from his French teacher, M. Hamel. He knew the teacher would question the boys on grammar, and he was blank in that lesson. So he was tempted to spend the day out of doors. He walked off to school hurriedly.

As he passed the town hall, he saw a crowd in front of the bulletin board. The war had been going on between France and Germany for over two years. All the bad news of lost battles and the military orders were put on that news board. The blacksmith told him in vain that there was no need to hurry. The narrator thought the man was only making fun of him.

He was out of breath when he reached Hamel's garden. The school had begun but there was unusual calm and stillness. Everything was as quiet as on Sunday morning. The boys were in their places. Hamel, however, was walking up and down with his iron ruler, under his arm. Instead of shouting at the latecomer, he told him very kindly to go to his seat.

The teacher was surprisingly wearing his green coat and embroidered silk cap. He used to put on the special dress on inspection days. Another unusual thing was the presence of village people sitting quietly like the students on the back benches. Among them were the former Mayor and the Postmaster. Everybody looked sad. Old Hauser had brought an old book which he held open.

The teacher sat in his chair and addressed the class in his serious but gentle tone. He said that it was going to be their last lesson in French language. The latest order from Berlin was to teach only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. Both the places had been captured by the Prussian soldiers. The narrator now knew what the news on the bulletin board was. He felt sorry for not caring to learn his French language. In fact, he had always been spending time away in the woods. His books were a nuisance. But now the news that Hamel was going away, and some new German teacher would take his place, pained him. He forgot all about Hamel's iron ruler and his temper

Hamel had put on his special Sunday dress in honour of the last French lesson. That was why the old men of the village were sitting there. They too were sorry. They had come to thank Hamel for his forty years of faithful service and also to show respect for the country that had fallen into the hands of the Germans.

Franz was the little narrator's name. Hamel put him a question which the boy could not answer. The teacher only told him to feel bad about neglecting his lesson. It was shameful that the children called themselves French men but could neither speak nor write their own language. Perhaps the elders were also to blame. They did not put pressure on their children to learn. They preferred to send the children to work on a farm or at some mill, so as to make extra money, Hamel blamed himself also for putting some of the boys to work in the garden instead of learning their lessons.

Hamel then talked of the French language. He said that it was the most beautiful language in the world-the clearest and the most logical. He called upon the gathering to hold fast to their dear language. Their language would help them to be free again. Then he opened a grammar lesson. Little Franz listened carefully and understood it well. He felt that the teacher was keen to give them all he knew before going away.

After the grammar lesson, Hamel distributed new copies among the students for writing practice. The words written on paper were France, Alsace, France, Alsace. The words looked like little flags. Everybody ran his pen over the paper. Hamel sat motionless in his chair. The pigeons were cooing on the roof. Franz wondered if the new rulers would make the birds also sing in German.

Hamel had been living in that very garden and teaching in the same room for forty years. He felt heart-broken to leave it all. His sister was packing the trunks in the room above. They were to leave the country the next day. After the writing, Hamel taught them history. Even old Hauser was heard crying. Franz too was deeply moved.

The church clock struck twelve. The Prussian soldiers sounded the trumpets under the school windows. Hamel took a piece of chalk and wrote in large letters: Long Live France. The school was dismissed.

Questions and answers 

Of The Last Lesson 

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