Answer the following questions in 40-50 words.

1. ‘I started for school very late that morning and was in great dread of a scolding…….’
What do these lines suggest about the speaker?
2. ‘For a moment I thought of running away and spending the day out of doors.’ What was
the possible reason for this thought?
3. Why did Franz resist the thought of not going to school that day?
4. ‘For the last two years all our bad news had come from there – ‘ Which place is Franz
referring to? What do you think must have been the bad news and what could have been the
reaction of the people?
5. “The birds were chirping at the edge of the woods; and in the open field back of the
sawmill the Prussian soldiers were drilling.” Explain the irony in the situation.
6. What does a usual ‘Sunday morning’ feel like?
7. Doesn’t Hamel’s statement of French being the most beautiful language of the world also
display chauvinism? Yes/No? Justify.
8. Describe the mood in the classroom during the Last Lesson.
9. “We’ve all a great deal to reproach ourselves with.” Explain.
10. “He had the courage to hear every lesson to the very last.” What led Franz to make this
remark?
11. How did Franz react to the declaration that it was their last French lesson?
12. How did M.Hamel bid farewell to his students and the people of the town?
Answer the following questions in 120-150 words.
1. Explain the theme of linguistic chauvinism that the lesson deals with.
2. “When a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had
the key to their prison.: M. Hamel, the French teacher, says this to his students in the story,
The Last Lesson, referring to the order received from Berlin that only German would be
taught in their schools, going forward. History is rife with wars and conquests of lands and
peoples. In context of this history, do you think that loss of language plays an important role
in shaping the world?
3. What is the tone of narration in the story? Support your response with any two evidences
from the story.
4. Suppose you are M.Hamel and on the last day of the French lesson, you wish to give all
your students a poster informing them of the importance of preserving one’s mother tongue.
Create a poster with a message for your students. Ensure that your poster is creative and puts
across the message effectively.
Date of submission: April 3