The Last Lesson (by Alphonse Daudet) Questions & Answers

 The Last Lesson  (by Alphonse Daudet)

Short Answer-type Questions (word limit 30-40 )

Q1. Why did Franz not want to go to his school that day? What task his teacher had given to Franz? What was he afraid of?

Ans. Franz did not want to go to school that day because he had not prepared the lesson on the use of participles. He was afraid of M. Hamel’s scolding. So he was afraid of going to school on that day.

Q2. What thoughts were coming to Franz’s mind to pass his day if he stays away from school? What were the attractions for him outside the class room? Did those attractions tempt him?

Ans.  Several  thoughts were coming in Franz’s mind to pass the day. The weather was fine, so he wanted to enjoy it. He wanted to climb the trees to see birds’ eggs. He wanted to see the Prussian soldiers drilling in the ground behind the sawmill. But he rejects all these ideas and moves towards school at a quicker speed.

 Q3. What does Franz watch at the town hall in front of the bulletins board? What news often comes from it? What is the importance of the bulletin board for the public?

Ans. Franz watches a crowd of people in front of the town hall. All news came from the bulletin board.

  The latest information (almost bad news) like all lost battles, the drafts, the orders of the commanding officer were put at the bulletin board.

Q4. What did Wachter, the blacksmith comment on Franz as he was going to school? Did he want to make fun of Franz?

    Ans. Watcher, the blacksmith commented: “Don’t go so fast, Bub, you’ll get to school in plenty of time.”  Yes, Wachter wanted to make fun of Franz because he never saw him going so fast towards school. That day he was late for school. Another meaning of Wachter’s comment may be that he had seen on the bulletin board that there would be no class on French language in the school from the next day. So it was useless for Franz to go to school so fast.

Q5. What was the usual scene that Franz expected to see that day?

Ans. Franz did not see the usual scene in the school that day. He had expected to see the movements of the students from one place to the other and their noise that could be heard out in the street. Sometimes it was the noise of opening and closing of desks, lessons repeated in unison. The noise was loud and sometimes it was the sound of the teacher’s big ruler rapping or hitting on the table.

    But that day, no such noise could be heard.

Q6. What did Franz see in reality from the window and also on entering the class-room? Did it surprise Franz?

Ans. Franz was really surprised to see the inside scene of the class room. He saw from the window that his classmates were already in their places. M. Hamel, the teacher, was walking up and down in the class room with his terrible ruler under his arm. He was not hitting it on the table to make the students realize his authority on them. It was under control. M. Hamel had worn his special dress. Some village elders also were there sitting in the class room. All those things surprised Franz.

Q7. How did Franz plan to enter the classroom and why did his plan fail? How did actually he enter the class? What did Franz expect from M. Hamel?

Ans. Franz was late for school. He wanted to avoid scolding from his teacher for being late. So he had planned to enter the classroom silently from the backdoor. But he found that his teacher M. Hamel was already going up and down the class with his ruler under his arm. So he had to enter the classroom from the front door.  M. Hamel did not scold him as he had expected. Rather he told him politely to take his seat.

Q8. Why had the village elders come in the class in which M. Hamel was going to deliver his last lesson?

Ans. Orders from Berlin had come that there would be no teaching of French language in the schools of Alsace form the next day. Only German language would be taught. So the village elders had come to attend the last lesson on French. They also wanted to pay their respect to M. Hamel for serving the school for forty years.

Q9. Who were sitting on the back benches? Why had they come there in the classroom?

Ans. The village elders were sitting at the back benches. Those were: old Mr. Hauser. He had put on a three cornered hat. He also had his old primer book placed on his knees and his spectacles on it. There were some other persons like the former mayor, the former postman, etc. All of them had come to attend M. Hamel’s last lesson on French and also to pay respect to him for his forty year service in the school.

Q10. What  words of Mr. Hamel were a thunderclap to Franz? Or“What a thunderclap these words were to me!” What were the words that shocked and surprised Franz? Or What announcements did Mr. Hamel make? What was the impact of this on Franz?

Ans. Mr. Hamel announced that it would be his last lesson on that day because orders from Berlin had come to stop teaching French language in the districts of Alsace and Lorraine. In place of French, German language would be taught and the new teacher would come the next day. All these words were a thunderclap for Franz.

Q11. What changes came in Franz’s mind when he attended the class for the last lesson? What did he think about Mr. Hamel and his books?

Ans. As he heard Mr. Hamel saying that it was his last lesson, a deep change cave in Franz’s mind. All of a sudden he became very much interested in his lesson. He regretted missing his lessons in the past. He started respecting his teacher, whom he always considered a crank. Books seemed no more burden to him. He understood he lesson easily. These are the changes that occurred in his mind.

Q13.  Whom did Mr. Hamel blame for being careless for the boys like Franz?

Ans. Mr. Hamel blamed the parents for not being so much serious for the boys like Franz. He gives an example of Franz and says that they often sent him to do some work in the sawmill to earn some money. He also blamed himself as he used to declare holiday in school when he wished to go for fishing. Sometimes he told some students to water the plants in his garden.

Q14. What did Mr. Franz say about French language?

Ans. He said that the French language was the most beautiful of all the languages. It was the clearest and the most logical language. He also advised the students and the people present there never to forget this language.

 Q15. How did Franz respond when Mr. Hamel asked him to speak on the use of participles?

Ans. Franz responded in a confused manner when he stood up. He mixed everything. He stood holding the desk and his heart was beating fast. He was not daring to look up.

Q16. When Franz could not explain the use of participle properly, what did Mr. Hamel say indirectly to people and the parents about their general tendency?

Ans. As Franz was unable to speak properly on the given task, the teacher Mr. Franz had an opportunity to comment on the general tendency of the people. They are in the habit of postponing their tasks. They think that they have a lot of time.

    He also said they pretend to be Frenchmen, but they did not know their language properly. Franz’s parents never had been serious to make Franz study seriously. They usually sent him to work in some farm or in the sawmill to earn money. M. Hamel also blames himself. He also sent the students to water the plants of his garden and gave them holiday when he wished to go for fishing.

Q17. What changes had occurred during Mr. Hamel’s service of forty years in his school?

Ans. For forty years, he remained there at the same place. There was a class in front of his garden. The benches had become smooth. The walnut trees in the garden were now taller. The hopvine planted by him twined about the window to the roof.

Q18. What happened when the church clock struck twelve?

Ans. As the church clock struck twelve, the trumpets of the Prussian soldiers returning from the drill were also heard. Mr.  Hamel stood up and turned to the black board. He wrote as large as he could write: “Vive La France” Then he stopped and leaned his head against the wall and without a word he made a gesture to all with his hand-------“school is dismissed ------you may go.”

Long Answer-type questions (word limit 140-150 words)

Q1. Describe Franz’s thoughts when he was going towards school?

Ans. Franz did not want to go to school that day because he had not prepared the lesson on the use of participles. He was afraid of M. Hamel’s scolding. So he was afraid of going to school on that day.  So he thought of staying away from school. He had several ideas in his mind to pass the day. The weather was fine, so he wanted to enjoy it. He wanted to climb the trees to see birds’ eggs. He wanted to see the Prussian soldiers drilling in the ground behind the sawmill. But he rejects all these ideas and moves towards school at a quicker speed. As he passed by the town hall, he saw many people standing there in front of the bulletin board. He thought what could be the matter then. The latest information (almost bad news) like all lost battles, the drafts, the orders of the commanding officer were put at the bulletin board.

    Watcher, the blacksmith saw him going fast and commented: “Don’t go so fast, Bub, you’ll get to school in plenty of time.”  Franz thought that he just wanted to make fun of him, so he kept going to school. He was already late for school, so he had thought to enter the class room from the back door of the class.

Q2. As Franz reached the school, what changes did he notice there as a result of the orders from Berlin?

Ans. Franz saw an unusual scene in the school. It looked as if it were a quiet Sunday morning. He had expected to see the movements of the students from one place to the other and their noise that could be heard out in the street. Sometimes it was the noise of opening and closing of desks, lessons repeated in unison. The noise was loud and sometimes it was the sound of the teacher’s big ruler rapping or hitting on the table.   But that day, no such noise could be heard.

     Franz was really surprised to see the inside scene of the class room. He saw from the window that his classmates were already in their places. M. Hamel, the teacher, was walking up and down in the class room with his terrible ruler under his arm. He was not hitting it on the table to make the students realize his authority on them. It was under control. M. Hamel had worn his special dress. Some village elders also were there sitting in the class room. All those things surprised Franz.

Q3. Franz’s attitude towards school as well as M. Hamel changes when he comes to know about the takeover of his village by Prussian soldiers. Do you agree? Discuss with reference to ‘The Last Lesson’?

Ans. Yes we agree that Franz’s attitude towards school as well as M. Hamel is totally changed when he comes to know that his village has been captured by the Prussians. Now he comes to know that orders from Berlin have come not to teach French language in Alsace and Lorraine districts. German language would be taught there in place of French. The new teacher would come the next day.

     Franz’s attitude changes towards his school now. He feels guilty of being careless for his lessons and missing them by remaining away from school. When he was in class, he was not attentive for most of time. His attitude towards Mr. Hamel is also changed now. He used to think his teacher to be a crank, but now he has full respect for him. The books on grammar and history were burden for him, but now they are no more burden for him.

    On the last day, he listened to the lecture so attentively that he was able to understand everything. He also thinks that Mr. Hamel had never taught them the lesson so seriously before. 

      Thus we see that Franz undergoes changes in his attitude towards school and M. Hamel.