THE LAST LESSON- ALPHONSE DAUDET

ASSIGNMENT
1. Refer to the lines to answer questions
based on the given extract:
But nothing happened. M. Hamel saw me
and said
very kindly, “Go to your place quickly, little
Franz. We were
beginning without you.”
i. Who was M. Hamel?

a. He was the mayor.

b. He was the French teacher.

c. He was the blacksmith.

d. He was the postmaster.

ii. Franz had feared that

_______________________.

a. M. Hamel would scold him.

b. there would be a lot of commotion

c. everything would be quiet as Sunday

morning

d. lessons would be repeated in unison

iii. Franz had got late because _______________.

a. he was playing with the birds outdoors

b. he was watching the Prussian soldiers

drilling

c. he was reading the bulletin board

d. he had started very late

iv. M. Hamel was kind towards Franz

because __________________.

a. it was the last lesson

b. he was a genial person

c. the elders were present there

d. the students were attentive

2. Answer the following questions
briefly, in about 20 words each:

i. Why did Franz think of running away

from the school that morning?

ii. What did Franz see when he passed the

town hall?

iii. Why had the bulletin-board become a

centre of attention during the last two
years?

iv. Who was Wachter? What did he tell

Franz?

v. What had the narrator counted on to

enter the school, unnoticed?

vi. “But the thing that surprised me most

was to see... ” What surprised Franz most in
the class?

vii. Why did M. Hamel not scold Franz when

the latter fumbled with the rule for the
participle?
viii. “What announcement did M. Hamel
make?

ix. “This is your last French lesson.” How

did Franz react to this declaration of
M.Hamel?

x. What were Franz’s regrets after M.

Hamel’s announcement of his last lesson?

xi. Why does M. Hamel reproach himself for

his students’ unsatisfactory progress in
studies?

xii. What was the mood in the classroom

when M. Hamel gave his last French lesson?

xiii. What words did M. Hamel write on the

blackboard before dismissing the last class?
What did they mean?

3. Answer the following questions

briefly, in 30- 40 words each:
i. What was tempting Franz to keep away
from school that morning’?

ii. What was Franz expected to be prepared

with for the school that day?
iii. What had been put up on the bulletin-
board?
iv. “What a thunder clap these words were
to me!” Which were the words that shocked
and surprised little Franz?

v. What changes came over little Franz after

he heard M.Hamel’s announcement?

vi. What was unusual about M. Hamel’s

dress and behaviour on the day of his last
French lesson?

vii. Why were the elders of the village

sitting in the classroom?

viii. Who did M.Hamel blame for the neglect

of learning on the part of boys like Franz?
ix. Franz thinks, “Will they make them sing
in German, even the pigeons?” What does
this tell us about the attitude of the
Frenchmen?

x.What did M. Hamel tell the people in the

class about French language? What did he
ask them to do and why?

xi. What changes did the order from Berlin

cause in the school?

xii. How did M.Hamel say farewell to his

students and the people of the town?

xiii. What made M. Hamel cry towards the

end of his last lesson?

xiv. Why did M. Hamel write ‘Vive La

France’ on the blackboard?

xv. “We’ve all a great deal to reproach

ourselves with”, said M. Hamel. Comment.

xvi. How is the title ‘The Last Lesson’

appropriate?
xvii. Define linguistic chauvinism. How does
it become an important part of the story?

4. Answer the following questions in

120- 150 words each:

i. Who was Franz? What did he think about

studies and M. Hamel at the beginning of
the story? How did his views change?

ii. ‘The people in the story realise suddenly

how precious their language is to them.’
When do they realise it and who makes
them realise it?

iii. What did the French teacher tell his

students in his last French lesson? What
impact did it have on them? Why?

iv. Describe the atmosphere in the class on

the day of the last lesson.
How different from usual was the
atmosphere at school on the day of the last
lesson?
v. Our language is part of our culture and
we are proud of it. Describe how regretful
M.Hamel and the village elders are for
having neglected their native language,
French.

vi. Write a character- sketch of M. Hamel.