CBSE Class 12 English The Last Lesson Notes Set A

The Last Lesson Class 12 English Summary of the Story

SUMMARY OF THE STORY

“The Last Lesson” is the tender story of a young Alsatian boy and his last French lesson. The setting is an unnamed town in Alsace. The French districts of Alsace and Lorraine went into Prussian hands. The new Prussian rulers discontinued the teaching of French in the schools of these two districts. The French teachers were asked to leave. Now M. Hamel could no longer stay in his school.
One such student of M. Hamel, Franz who dreaded French class and M. Hamel’s iron ruler, came to the school that day thinking he would be punished as he had not learnt his lesson on participles. But on reaching school, he found Hamel dressed in his fine Sunday clothes and the old people of the village sitting quietly on the back benches. Franz was unable to figure anything out as everything about the day was unusual. He sat down there wondering what was going on when M. Hamel announced that today was the last French lesson that he was going to give as an order had come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. Even though Franz feared his master and had no idea about French participles, this news came as a shock to him. That was the first day when he realized that how important French was for him, but it was his last lesson in French.
When M. Hamel asked Franz to recite the rules of participles, he wanted to get it right but he was too nervous and mixed everything up. M. Hamel did not scold him for not being able to answer correctly. Instead he said that it is because the students have often postponed their learning till tomorrow. They always feel that there is time to learn. He further adds that Franz’s identity as a Frenchman did not have any weightage as he could neither speak nor write his own language. M. Hamel does not only blame the students for this situation. He feels that the parents are not very interested in their children’s education. Hamel goes on to describe the French language as the clearest and the most logical language in the world. He felt that people should always cling to their own language as he believes that when people are enslaved, it is through their language that they can find the key to their prison. He further said about the French language that it was the most beautiful, clearest and most logical language of the world. Finally with a very heavy heart, M. Hamel stood up; he was very sad as he walked to the blackboard, took a chalk and wrote on it “Vive La France” which means “Long Live France” and declared the class dismissed.

The Last Lesson Class 12 English Character Sketch

CHARACTER SKETCH: M. Hamel

M. Hamel is an experienced teacher who has been teaching in school for forty years. He imparts primary education in all subjects. He is a hard task master and students like Franz, who are not good learners, are in great dread of being scolded by him. The latest order of the Prussian rulers upsets him. He has to leave the place for ever and feels heartbroken.
He feels sad but exercises self-control. His performance during the last lesson is exemplary. He is kind even to a late comer like Franz. He uses a solemn and gentle tone while addressing the students. He has a logical mind and can analyze problems and deduce the reasons responsible for it. He knows the emotional hold of a language over its
users. He is a good communicator and explains everything patiently. Partings are painful and being human, M. Hamel too is no exception. He fails to say goodbye as his throat is choked. On the whole, he is a patriotic gentleman.

CHARACTER SKETCH: Franz

Franz was a student in one of the schools in the districts of Alsace. His schoolmaster was M. Hamel and he was much scared of him. Franz enjoyed spending much of his time outside. He liked the warm and bright day and loved to listen to the chirping of the birds and to watch the drilling of the Prussian soldiers.
In addition to this, the boy had an acute sense of understanding, feeling, recognition and respect. At first, he did not show any interest in M. Hamel’s teaching. He didn’t even prepare his lesson on participles. However, Franz was forced to change his opinion about M. Hamel.
When he got to know that M. Hamel would not able to take any French lessons after the order from Berlin pronouncing that only German language would be taught in the schools of French districts of Alsace and Lorraine, he felt sad. He started respecting the man who had spent forty years in the same school.

About the Author

Alphonse Daudet is considered to be one of the most iconic names of French literature. Unlike many famous writers in world history, Alphonse wasn’t very well educated. He wrote his first novel at the age of fourteen. His works drew inspiration from instances of his life. His works ‘Trente ans de Paris’ and ‘Souvenirs d’un homme de letters’ seemed to be more like autobiographies. Passed away in the year 1897, his name is very popular amongst the citizens of France. A lot of educational institutions in France have been named after this famous writer. Alphonse is one of the handful writers who portray human emotions in a very realistic manner.

Theme
Dominant Theme raised in the text: Linguistic Chauvinism
‘‘Chauvinism’’ is a devotion for or against something, just based on what you feel (not necessarily what you may know). So, linguistic chauvinism is the idea that one’s language is superior to that of others. This happens generally when the language is that of the ruling class.Linguistic chauvinism refers to the imposition of one language on others. Language is considered to be the cultural identity of the people who use it. Language is the pride of the country as it defines the cultural history.The Last Lesson raises the burning question very innocently through the words of little Franz that ‘‘Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?’’ This raises the question of imposing a language on others. The child questions that when even the birds and animals can’t be forced to abandon their language, then what forces a man to enforce a language on others.

Justification of the Title

The story ‘The Last Lesson’ highlights the human tendency to believe that there is a plenty of time to do things; hence, man keeps postponing the lessons of life, oblivious to the fact that life is subject to change. The people of Alsace always thought they had plenty of time to learn the lessons; therefore, they did not give much importance to school. They preferred their children to work on the farms and mills instead of having them learn their lessons in school. Even Franz, the narrator, always looked for opportunities to skip school and look for birds’ nests or go sliding on the banks of the river Saar. However, the unexpected happens and an order is received from Berlin regarding the compulsory teaching of German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. It is then that the people of Alsace realise that they would be deprived of their language that they had not been valuing all this while.
The story is aptly titled as it evokes the consciousness in the reader of the consequence of putting off things. M. Hamel’s words ‘Long live France’ on the blackboard become substantial evidence of his sadness, patriotism and finality on the loss of their language, their culture and hence their identity.

Message
The story depicts the irony of the whole situation about how people feel when they don’t learn their own language.

Summary

The prose ‘The Last Lesson’, written by Alphonse Daudet describes the year 1870 when the Prussian forces under Bismarck attacked and captured France. The French districts of Alsace and Lorraine went into Prussian hands. The new Prussian rulers discontinued the teaching of French in the schools of these two districts. The French teachers were asked to leave. The story describes the last day of one such French class under M. Hamel. Mr. Hamel could no longer remain in his old school. He gave his last lesson with utmost devotion.
One of his students, Franz, who played truant with the French class and feared M. Hamel’s iron rod, came to the school that day thinking he would be punished as he had not learnt his lesson on participles. On reaching school, he found M. Hamel dressed in his Sunday clothes and all the old people of the village sitting there. (He later learned that it was due to an order on the bulletin board.) That was when he realized for the first time how important French was for him, that it was his Last Lesson in French.

The story ‘The Last Lesson’ highlights the human tendency to procrastinate and put away things for tomorrow; hence, man keeps postponing the lessons of life, oblivious to the fact that life is subject to change. The people of Alsace always thought they had plenty of time to learn the lessons; therefore, they did not give much importance to school. They preferred sending their children to work on the farms and mills instead of having them learn the lessons. Even Franz, the narrator, always looked for opportunities to skip the school and collect birds’ eggs. However, the unexpected happened and an order was received from Berlin regarding the compulsory teaching of German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. It was then that they realized that they would be deprived of what they had been evading all that while.

The last French lesson taught by M. Hamel symbolizes the loss of language and the loss of freedom for France. It becomes an emotional lesson rendered by M. Hamel to the villagers, signifying the changing order of life and its impact on their sensibilities and emotions. The marching soldiers under the windows represent the dawn of Prussia in France, defeat of the French people and the resultant threat to their language and culture.

CHAPTER IN A NUTSHELL

1. Franz’s reluctance to reach school:
(i) was worried as he started late from home.
(ii) was apprehensive of facing his teacher, M.Hamel as he had not prepared his lesson on participles, which was to be questioned in class.
(iii) distracted by the chirping birds, warm and bright day and Prussian soldiers drilling.

2. Usual scene of the classroom:
(i) great commotion.
(ii) opening and closing of the desks.
(iii) lessons being repeated in unison.
(iv) teacher’s ruler rapping on the table.
(v) back benches were usually empty.

3. Difference on the last day of school:
(i) quiet atmosphere as on Sunday mornings.
(ii) all classmates occupying their respective places.
(iii) M. Hamel walking to and fro with his iron ruler under his arm-was formally dressedspoke to Franz in a gentle manner.
(iv) back benches were occupied by old Hauser, former mayor, former postmaster and several other villagers.

4. Response of M. Hamel and the class in the last lesson:
(i) M. Hamel taught the students without losing his temper-was patient-made special notebooks putting in extra efforts-giving his best on the last day-imparted knowledge about the importance of the mother tongue in one’s life.
(ii) Children in the class were quiet and gave a patient ear to the teacher.
(iii) Old people of the village attended the class.
(iv) Franz made a special effort to understand the lesson for he found it comfortable to grasp-was guilty of not paying attention earlier.

5. Old people of the village in the class:
(i) They were sorry that they had not gone to the school for longer.
(ii) They wanted to pay respect to the language which they would not be able to learn anymore.
(iii) They wanted to thank M. Hamel for his unflinching service to the village for the past forty years.
(iv) To show respect to the country which would not be theirs now.

6. Responsible for neglecting French:
(i) Alsace as a city was responsible for procrastinating.
(ii) Franz was responsible for delaying and avoiding the learning of the language.
(iii) Parents were responsible for they were not keen on educating their children and made them run errands.
(iv) M. Hamel blamed himself for sending Franz to water his plants or even taking an off, the day he wanted to go fishing.

7. M. Hamel on the French language:
(i) the most beautiful language in the world.
(ii) the clearest and most logical.
(iii) it had to be guarded.
(iv) it acts as a key to the prison if people are enslaved.

8. Franz on M. Hamel:
(i) Franz desperately wanted to give the answer on participles to reassure his teacher that all his years of teachings have not been wasted.
(ii) Franz felt that M. Hamel was giving his best on the day of the last lesson as he wanted to share all his knowledge before going away.
(iii) Franz felt that his teacher was sitting motionless and was staring at things as he wanted to fix in his mind and take each memory with him from that school room where he had taught for forty years.
(iv) Franz felt that the teacher must be heartbroken for he was to leave the country the next day.
(v) Franz could well identify with the teacher’s sorrow as to what he felt on hearing his sister move boxes to pack and leave.

9. M. Hamel as a teacher:
(i) had been teaching for forty years without wavering.
(ii) refused to give up on the last day of teaching-treated it as the most important day-was in his best fineries-had prepared copies for the children in which he had written beautifully-was ready to teach all age groups without reservation-decided to be patient and impart whatever he could even if it was the last day-stood tall to bid and accept farewell.
(iii) imparted knowledge about the importance of the mother tongue.
(iv) instilled patriotism amongst his students with his wise words.

by Alphonse Daudet

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, the children, the parents and he himself are to be blamed forlosing 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 LiveFrance”.