THE LAST LESSON

 THE LAST LESSON

	1. How did M. Hamel say farewell to his students and the people of the town?
	Answer: M. Hamel bade farewell to his students in a very dignified and sad tone. He announced that this was their last French lesson as an order from Berlin had come that only German was to be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. He urged the students and the people to keep their language alive and close to their hearts.
	2. Who did M. Hamel blame for the neglect of learning on the part of boys like Franz?
	Answer: M. Hamel blamed both parents and children for neglecting the learning of their mother tongue. They always put off learning till the next day. He blamed parents for sending their children to earn money instead of school. He even blamed himself for sending his students to water his plants or to give them a holiday when he wanted to go fishing.
	3. “He dared to hear every lesson to the very last.” What led Franz to make this remark?
	Answer: When Franz came to know that it was his last lesson in French, he felt a great love for his mother tongue. He realised the loss that he was going to suffer. So, a sense of love and interest for his mother tongue emerged in him and he said that he dared to hear every lesson to the very last.
	4. Why did Franz think of running away from school that morning?
	Answer: Franz didn’t want to go to school that day because it was a fine warm day. The weather was very fine and birds were chirping at the edge of the woods. He heard the sound of the Prussian soldiers drilling at the back of the sawmill. Moreover, he was already late for school and had not prepared his lesson on participles. He knew that he would be scolded by the teacher for that. So he wanted to run away from school.
	5. What did Franz see when he passed the town hall?
	Answer: When Franz passed the town hall, he saw a large crowd around the bulletin-board. People had gathered in large numbers and they were all reading the bulletin board. All the latest news relating to the battle between the French and the Prussians was put up on the bulletin board. On that day the order had come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. This order was put up on the bulletin board.
	6. What was the order from Berlin and what changes did it cause in the school?
	Answer: The order from Berlin said instead of French only German had to be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The order deeply shocked and upset everyone in the school. Everything became quiet and still. The teacher, M. Hamel, had put on his finest dress which he used to wear only on special occasions. All the students were quiet and the back seats of the class were occupied by the village elders.
	7. ‘What a thunderclap these words were to me!’ What were the words that shocked and surprised the narrator? Or Why is the order from Berlin called a thunderclap by Franz?
	Answer: When Franz reached the school, he saw a strange stillness in the class. Then the teacher, M. Hamel, announced that it was their last lesson in French and the new German teacher would take charge on the following day. These words of M. Hamel came as a thunderclap to Franz since the announcement was unexpected and sudden for him.
	8. How did Franz react to the declaration that it was their last French lesson?
	Answer: Franz was not able to accept the fact it was their last lesson in French. He was surprised and at the same time disheartened. He regretted not learning his mother tongue when he had the opportunity. He felt a sudden love for the language and his teacher.
	9. What was unusual about M. Hamel’s dress on his last day in school?
	Answer: M. Hamel was dressed in his formal dress which he used to wear only on inspection or prize-giving days. He was in his beautiful green coat, frilled shirt and embroidered silk hat.
	10. What made M. Hamel cry towards the end of his last lesson?
	Answer: M. Hamel has been teaching French for the last forty years. His love for his mother tongue was a reflection of his patriotism. At the end of his last lesson, M. Hamel, overcome with emotions, broke down and could not speak anything with his throat choked. He wrote on the blackboard Vive La France.

	11. Why does M. Hamel reproach himself for his students’ unsatisfactory progress in studies?
	Answer: M. Hamel not only blamed the parents for the neglect of learning on the part of their children but also confessed that his personal preferences contributed to the unsatisfactory progress of his students. He sent his students to water the plants and gave them a holiday when he went for fishing.
	12. Who were sitting on the back benches during M. Hamel’s last lesson? Why?
	Answer: The village’s old and eminent people were sitting on the back benches of the classroom during M. Hamel’s last lesson. They all had come to attend the last lesson of M. Hamel as a mark of love and respect for their mother tongue and the teacher. They were gloomy, feeling guilty and full of repentance to recall that till that day, they had ignored their own language.
	13. What words did M. Hamel write on the board before dismissing the last class? What did they mean?
	Answer: M. Hamel wrote Vive La France which means ‘Long Live France’. These words described his patriotic feelings and his deep-rooted love for his motherland and mother tongue.
	14. What shows M. Hamel’s love for the French language?
	Answer: As a mark of his love for the French language, M. Hamel gave a tribute to his mother tongue in his last lesson. He called it ‘the most beautiful language’ in the world, the clearest and most logical. He appealed to the children and the people of the village to keep their mother tongue close to their hearts.
	15. What tempted Franz to stay away from school? Or Why did Franz not want to go to school that day?
	Answer: Franz was already late for school. He had not even prepared the topic of participles for which he was going to be tested that day. Moreover, it was a warm day and he was tempted by the chirping of birds and sounds of Prussian soldiers exercising at the back of the sawmill to miss the school that day.
	16. What changes did little Franz undergo after M. Hamel’s announcement?
	Answer: Franz was shocked at M. Hamel’s announcement that it was their last lesson in French. Suddenly he felt his love for his mother tongue and realised that he could hardly write well in French. He was full of remorse and regret for being so careless and unattentive in his class. Moreover, he also developed a liking for his teacher M. Hamel.
	17. What was the mood in the classroom when M. Hamel gave the last French lesson?
	Answer: There was complete silence in the class. Everyone was full of regret and remorse. Children as well as the village elderly were gloomy and repentant for not giving importance to their mother tongue. The order from Berlin had caused a sea change in the attitude of the people of Alsace and Lorraine to their language.
	18. What had Franz counted on to enter class unnoticed?
	Answer: Franz was late for school that day. But he was quite confident to enter the class unnoticed because usually there was a lot of confusion and noise at the beginning of the school. Every day there was a sound of the opening and closing of desks, lessons repeated in unison and the teacher’s great ruler rapping on the table. So Franz thought that he would take advantage of the situation and enter the class unnoticed.
	19. What did Franz wonder about when he entered the class that day?
	Answer: Franz was surprised when he entered the class that day as it was unusually quiet. M. Hamel spoke to him kindly which was contrary to his expectations. M. Hamel was dressed in his formal attire which he did only on special occasions. What surprised Franz most was the fact that the village people were sitting quietly on the last benches.
	20. Why was Franz not scolded for reaching the school late that day?
	Answer: Franz was not scolded that day because the scenario in the school had changed. M. Hamel spoke kindly to him and asked him to go to his seat. He blamed himself for not doing his duty faithfully and now there was the order from Berlin which had to be followed.