CBSE Class 12 English Flamingo Prose Notes

Here the tigers symbolize the unquestioned authority of man enjoyed by him over his woman counterpart. The lines suggest the dispassionate and unconcerned attitude of the male towards the desire for freedom among women. Here, Aunt Jennifer tries to find an escape in her art but ends up portraying an image of her own suppression. While woman can never free herself from the oppressive authority of her male counterpart, the male, on the other hand will go on enjoying his authoritative arrogance and ferocity without any fear of regrets.

FLAMINGO (PROSE)

THE LAST LESSON by Alphonse Daudet

GIST OF THE LESSON

• Franz is afraid of going to school as he has not learnt participles.

• He wants to enjoy beauty of nature. The bright sunshine, the birds chirruping in the woods, Prussian soldiers drilling but resisted.

• Bulletin board: all bad news, lost battles, the drafts and orders of the commanding officers: wondered what it could be now

• The changes he noticed in the school.

- Instead of noisy classrooms everything was as quiet as Sunday morning

- The teacher does not scold him and told him very kindly to go to his seat

- The teacher dressed in his Sunday best.

- Villagers occupying the last benches- To pay tribute to M. Hamel for his 40 yrs of sincere service and also to express their solidarity with France.

• M. Hamel making the announcement that that would be the last French lesson; realizes that, that was what was put up on the bulletin board.

• Franz realizes that he does not know his own mother tongue

• Regretted why he had not taken his lessons seriously.

• Also realizes the reason why teacher was dressed in his Sunday best and villagers sitting at the back.

• M. Hamel realizes that all three, he himself, the children and the parents are to be blamed for losing respect and regard for the mother tongue.

• Always keep the mother tongue close to your heart as it is the key to the prison of slavery.

• Atmosphere in class: teacher teaching sincerely and patiently, students and others studying with utmost sincerity.

• Franz wonders sarcastically if Prussians could force pigeons to coo in German.

• M. Hamel overcome with emotions could not speak and wrote on the black board “Long Live France”.

SOLVED QUESTIONS:

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS:

1. What was the narrator’s greatest fear as he moved towards the school?

 Franz had started late for school and thus was afraid of being scolded . His fear gripped him further for he was also unprepared. He had not learnt his lesson regarding the rules of participles and thus dreaded the teacher’s anger.

2. What was more tempting to Franz rather than going to school? 

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

3. What was the news which was put up on the bulletin board?

For the last two years all bad news – the lost battles, the orders of the commanding officer was displayed on the notice board. That day, the news that only German would be taught in school of Alsace and Lorraine was displayed on the notice-board which made the crowd gather there to read the news.

4. What was so unusual about the school on that day?

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.

5. Why were the villagers seated on the back benches?

All the village elders were seated on the back benches as a tribute to the teacher who had 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

6. Franz didn’t learn French whom did M. Hamel blame? 

M. Hamel didn’t blame Franz for not learning but his parents who were not anxious to have him learn. Instead they wanted him to work on a farm or at the mill to earn money.

Even M. Hamel was also to be blamed for sending him to water the flowers instead of learning and when he wanted to go fishing he declared holiday.

7. What did M. Hamel say about French language?

He said that it is the most beautiful language in the world- the clearest, the most logical.

He requested them to guard it so that they can be united and fight back for their freedom.

8. What happened when the church clock struck 12? 

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

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Justify the title of the story “The Last Lesson”.

Value Points

People always feel there is plenty of time to learn—so also in Alsace—now no time— parents not keen—preferred children , work in farms, mill—Franz looked opportunity to escape school—never serious—receive orders from Berlin—people realize importance of their language—attend the last lesson by M. Hamel.

QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Why did Franz not want to go to school?

2. Why didn’t M. Hamel punish Franz even though he was late?

3. Mention the three changes that Franz noticed in the school?

4. What announcement did M. Hamel make and what was its impact?

5. What do you think was written on the bulletin board?

6. Why did M. Hamel say about knowing one’s language is a key to prison?

7. Whom did Mr. Hamel blame for not learning the French?

8. What changes have taken place in the school in the last forty years?

9. What did he mean by “Viva La France”?

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Write a note on the character of M. Hamel as a teacher?

2. Do you think the story touches upon the brutalities of war? Comment.

3. What thunderbolt did the narrator receive on reaching the school? How was he affected by it?

4. At the end of the last lesson M. Hamel wrote, ‘Viva La France’ on the board in bold letters. Why do you think he wrote that and how did he expect the people of Alsace – Lorraine to keep their identity intact?

LOST SPRING

STORIES OF STOLEN CHILDHOOD By Anees Jung

GIST OF THE LESSON

• The author examines and analyses the impoverished conditions and traditions that condemn children to a life of exploitation these children are denied an education and forced into hardships early in their lives.

• The writer encounters Saheb - a rag picker whose parents have left behind the life of poverty in Dhaka to earn a living in Delhi.

• His family like many other families of rag pickers lives in Seemapuri. They do not have other identification other than a ration card.

• The children do not go to school and they are excited at the prospect of finding a coin or even a ten rupee note for rummaging in the garbage.

• It is the only way of earning the life they live in impoverished conditions but are resigned to their fate.

• The writer is pained to see Saheb, a rag picker whose name means the ruler of earth, lose the spark of childhood and roams barefooted with his friends.

• From morning to noon the author encounters him in a tea stall and is paid Rs. 800 He sadly realizes that he is no longer his own master and this loss of identity weighs heavily on his tender shoulders.

• The author then tells about another victim, Mukesh who wants to be a motor mechanic.

• Hailing from Firozabad, the centre of India’s bangle making and glass blowing industry, he has always worked in the glass making industry.

• His family like the others there do not know that it is illegal for children to work in such close proximity to furnaces, in such high temperatures.

• They are exposed to various health hazards like losing their eyesight as they work in abysmal conditions, in dark and dingy cells.

• Mukesh’s father is blind as were his father and grandfather before him.

• They lead a hand to mouth existence as they are caught in the vicious web of the money lenders, middlemen, police and the traditions

• So burdened are the bangle makers of Firozabad that they have lost their ability to dream unlike Mukesh who dreams of driving a car.

SOLVED QUESTIONS

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. What does Saheb do for living? Why?

Saheb is a rag picker. His family has left the life of poverty behind in Dhaka in to pursue their dream of finding a better life. The children like him have no access to Education and are forced into rag picking

2. “Saheb is no longer his own master”, says the writer. What does she mean?

The writer means that having accepted the job with the tea-stall, Saheb has lost the independence that he enjoyed as a rag picker, even though he was poor. Although he will now be able to supplement the family income, it will be at the cost of his freedom,

which is difficult, binding and unfair for someone so young.

3. Why did people migrate from the village in Dhaka to Delhi ?

Better education, job opportunities and living conditions.

4. What trade does the family of Mukesh follow? Why does the writer feel that it will be difficult for Mukesh to break away from this tradition?

Engaged in bangle making-difficult to break away from this trade. He belongs to the caste of bangle makers His family is caught in the web of sohukars, the middlemen, policemen, politicians and bureaucrats, from which there is no escape.

5. What does garbage symbolize for the adults and children?

Adults –means of earning a livelihood.

Children –wrapped in wonder, magical

LONG ANSWER QUESTION

1. ‘Lost Spring’, is a sad commentary on the political system of our country that condemns thousands of people to a life of abject poverty. Comment.

Saheb, optimistic and enthusiastic—prospect of finding gold in garbage—likes going to school but no opportunity—freedom and joy of childhood to burdens of job at tea-stall.

Mukesh, born at Firozabad (bangle maker)—works under inhuman condition—dark room, hot furnaces—caught in web of poverty—vicious circle of sahukars, policemen, politicians, bureaucrates and moneylenders—resigned to fate—unaware of child labour act—stifiled initiation and hope—lose eyesight before becoming adults.

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