The Last Lesson

Ans. Franz feared a scolding at school as he had not prepared his lesson on participles. Besides, the warm, bright weather, the chirping of birds and the sight of the marching Prussian soldiers also tempted him to stay away from school.

Ans. On the bulletin board of the town hall, all the bad news such as news of the last battles, the draft, the order of the commanding officer was displayed for the last two years.

Ans. The weather was pleasant, warm and bright. The chirping birds were inviting him, the soldiers drilling in the field were also outdoors and Franz was not prepared with participles.

Ans. Wachter, the Black Smith had read the news about the order given by Germans. That is why he asked Franz not to hurry because he knew that he would reach school on time that morning.

Ans. On that particular morning Franz was surprised to see M. Hamel because he was in his beautiful green coat, frilled shirt and embroidered black silk cap which he wore only on special occasion like inspection and prize days.

Ans. Usually there would be a great bustle of opening and closing of the desk, lesson repeated loudly and the teacher’s ruler rapping on the table but that day was very calm and quiet like Sunday morning. The back benches which were usually empty were occupied by the village people and M. Hamel wore his special dress and was pacing up and down with a ruler under his arm.

Ans. Franz did not like to spent his time on learning his lessons instead he loved to seek bird eggs or to go sliding on the river Saar.

Ans. All the village elders were seated on the back benches as a tribute to the teacher who has put in 40 years of sincere service. It was also their way of expressing regret for not learning their mother tongue when they had the chance. They were also expressing their patriotism and solidarity with France.

Ans. M. Hamel did not blame Franz alone for his inability to learn because his parents were not interested in making him learn instead wanted him to work in farms or at the mills. M. Hamel also blamed himself for it as he has sent him to water his flower and sometimes gave a holiday when he wanted to go fishing.

Ans. M. Hamel said the French was the most beautiful language in the world. Furthermore, he said that it was the clearest and the most logical language. He also added that they must guard it among them and never forget it.

Ans. The sentence suggests Franz’s anger against the forceful imposition of German on them. It also suggests that the order given by the Germans to teach German in the school was absurd and that imposing German to the French speaking people forcefully was unjust.

Ans. The moment the church clock struck 12 the Prussian army came to take over and M. Hamel stood up, wanted to tell something but his voice was chocked. He gathered his strength and wrote on the black board as large as he could – “Vive La France’ dismissed the school.

Ans. The elderly villagers occupied the back benches in the classroom on the day of the last lesson. They did this to show their affection for the French language and pay respect to the teacher, M. Hamel.

Ans. Everybody during the last lesson is filled with regret. There was a general sadness about not being able to utilize the opportunities of learning French when it was easily accessible. Franz wished he had attended classes more often and regretted not being attentive in his classes earlier.

Ans. No doubt it is the responsibility of the society to educate the children. Children are future of a nation and educated children are its strength. But it is a said fact that in many parts of the world, much attention is not paid to the education of the children. In this story M. Hamel admits that even the parents and teachers don’t fulfil their responsibility towards the children. While giving his last lesson to the class, he says to Franz, “Your parents were not anxious enough to have you learn. They preferred you to work on a farm, at the milk or so as to have a little more money. And I’ve been to blame also. I have often sent you to water my flowers instead of learning your lesson.” When the French districts of Alsace and Lorraine passed into Prussian hands, the new Prussian rulers disallowed the teaching of French in the schools. Orders had come from Berlin that only German would be taught. Now the people of these districts badly regretted why they hadn’t ever given importance to education. They never really cared to learn their language. They had never shown any interest in educating their children. Despite being French, they could neither speak nor write their own language properly. If they had fulfilled their responsibility of educating the children, they would have learnt reading, writing and speaking their own language.