The Last Lesson

The story is narrated by a French boy, Franz. He is lazy but sensitive and likes to
play. He dislikes studying French and hates his teacher M. Hamel. After
overpowering their districts of Alsace and Lorraine in France, Berlin has ordered
that German language instead of French be taught in the schools there. It is the
last day of their French teacher M. Hamel, who has been there for forty years. He
is full of grief, nostalgia and patriotism.

As a mark of respect to his hard work, the village men also attend his ‘last lesson’.
They are sad as they did not learn their mother tongue, French in their childhood.
Franz is shocked to know that it’s his last lesson, as he does not know French.
Now, suddenly, he gets interested in learning it and understands everything
taught on that day! He develops an instant liking for the teacher, M. Hamel and
respects him for his sincerity and hard work. He feels sad at departing from him
and is ashamed for not being able to recite the lesson of participles. M. Hamel
tells them that they all are at fault for not being eager enough to learn, putting it
off to the next day. He blames himself for not teaching them sincerely. His
patriotism is reflected in his praise for the French language as being the most
beautiful and most logical language in the world. He tells the class to guard their
language as being close to one’s language is the key to escape from the prison of
slavery. It will help them in getting free from the Germans. They realize the
importance of learning their mother tongue and that they have been defeated by
the Germans because of their illiteracy. Franz feels that it is not possible to take
away one’s language from a person as it is natural to each being, may it be the
“coo” to the pigeons or “French” to the Frenchmen.

As the clock strikes twelve, M.Hamel’s face becomes pale. He stands straight and
suddenly Franz feels that he has grown tall. But it is not that he has become tall in
height, only the feelings of Franz have changed. He starts respecting him.

The Prussian soldiers are approaching the school.M.Hamel turns towards the
black board and writes “Vive La France” which means Long live France.

Questions and Answers:

Q1. What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day?
Ans:  That day Franz was expected to be prepared with participles because M.
Hamel had said that he would question them on participles. Franz did not know
anything about participles.

Q2. What did Franz notice that was unusual about the school that day?
Ans: Usually, when school began, there was a great bustle, which could be heard
out in the street. But it was all very still that day. Everything was as quiet as
Sunday morning. There was no opening or closing of desks. His classmates were
already in their places. The teacher’s great ruler instead of rapping on the table,
was under M. Hamel’s arm.

Q3. What had been put up on the bulletin-board?

Ans: For the last two years all the bad news had come from the bulletin-board. An
order had come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of Alsace and
Lorraine. The Germans had put up this notice on the bulletin-board.

Q4. What changes did the order from Berlin cause in school that day?
Ans: M. Hamel had put on his best dress—his beautiful green coat, his frilled shirt
and the little black silk cap, all embroidered. The whole school seemed so strange
and solemn. On the back benches that were always empty, the elderly village
people were sitting quietly like the kids.

Q5. How did Franz’s feelings about M. Hamel and school change?
Ans: Franz came to know that it was the last lesson in French that M. Hamel
would give them. From the next day they will be taught only German. Then he felt
sorry for not learning his lessons properly. His books, which seemed a nuisance
and a burden earlier were now old friends. His feelings about M. Hamel also
changed. He forgot all about his ruler and how cranky he was.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

Q1. The people? in this story suddenly realise how1 precious their language is to
them. What shows you this? Why does this happen?
Ans: M. Hamel told the students and villagers that henceforth only German would
be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. Those who called themselves
Frenchmen would neither be able to speak nor write it. He praised French as the
most beautiful, the clearest and most logical language in the world. He said that
for the enslaved people, their language was the key to their prison. Then the
people realised how precious their language was to them. This shows people’s
love for their own culture, traditions and country. Pride in one’s language reflects
pride in the motherland.
Q2. Franz thinks, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeonsT’
What could this mean?(There could he more than one answer.)
Ans: This comment of Franz shows a Frenchman’s typical reaction to the
imposition of learning German, the language of the conquerors. Being deprived of
the learning of mother tongue would mean cutting off all bonds with the
motherland. Teaching the pigeons to sing in German indicates how far the
Germans would go in their attempts of linguistic chauvinism.

TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT

Q1. “When a people are en slaved, as long as th ey hold fast to their language it
is as if they had the key to their prison.”
Can you think of examples in history where a conquered people had their
lan¬guage taken away from them or had a language imposed on them?
Ans: Mother tongue helps a person to express his feelings and thoughts most
lucidly and intimately. Conquerors try to subdue and control the people of the
enslaved territory by enforcing many measures such as use of force to crush
dissent and imposing their own language on them.

From time immemorial the victorious nations have imposed their own language
on the conquered people and taken away their own language from them. The
Romans conquered many parts of Europe and replaced the local languages by
their own language— Latin. Later on Spanish, Pourtuguese, Italian and French
developed from Latin. The Muslim invaders imposed Arabic and Persian in the
countries of Asia overpowered by them. In many Arab countries the local religion
and language have disappeared. In India, a new language Urdu developed from
the mixture of Persian and Hindi.

Q2. What happens to a linguistic minority in a state? How do you think they can
keep their language alive? For example:
Punjabis in     Bangalore
Tamilians in   Mumbai
Kannadigas in  Delhi
Gujaratis in     Kolkata
Ans. The linguistic minority in any state is easily marked and faces the same
discrimination as the religious, social or ethnic minorities. There is, however, a
pronounced difference in the treatment meted out and the level of acceptance
displayed by the majority community in that region/city. Some cities like Delhi,
Mumbai are cosmopolitan in outlook.
The linguistic minority tries to preserve its identity through an intimate contact,
interaction and preservation of their language in social get-togethers, family
functions and festivals of their own region. Adherence to social customs and
traditions in family gatherings/group meetings of women also promote the unity
between members of the linguistic minority.
In short, they create a mini-Punjab in Bangalore, mini-Chennai in Mumbai, mini-
Bangalore in Delhi and mini-Surat in Kolkata.

Q3. Is it possible to carry pride in one’s language too far? Do you know what
“linguistic chauvinism” means?
Ans. ‘Linguistic chauvinism’ means an aggressive and unreasonable belief that
your own language is better than all others. This shows an excessive or prejudiced
support for one’s own language. Sometimes pride in one’s own language goes too
for and the linguistic enthusiasts can be easily identified by their extreme zeal for
the preservation and spread of their language. In their enthusiasm, love and
support for their own language, they tend to forget that other languages too have
their own merits, long history of art, culture and literature behind them. Instead
of bringing unity and winning over others as friends, having excessive pride in
one’s own language creates ill-will and disintegration. The stiff-resistance to the
acceptance of Hindi as national language by the southern states of India is a direct
outcome of the fear of being dominated by Hindi enthusiasts. The result is that
‘One India’ remains only a slogan.

Flamingo Poetry: My mother at sixty-six

About the Poet: The poet, Kamala Das also wrote by her pen-name of
‘Madhavikutty’. She was born in Kerala and is one of India’s first poets. Her
subject – matter is basically related to her personality- beautiful, sensitive, bold
and tormented. External factors do not reflect in her writings, her writings bring
out her true inner feelings. Her favorite poem is ‘composition’. In the poem ‘My
mother at sixty six’, she talks about her mother. This poem is based on mother-
daughter relation and the poet shares her feelings for her mother. Theme: This
poem revolves around the theme of advancing age and the fear of loss and
separation. The poet looks at her old feeble mother and the finality of death
looms large on her mind. Looking at her old mother, she is pained and worried
she realizes that the mother may not live long.

Summary:

Once the poet went to visit her mother. She was on her way back to the airport
to return to Cochin. She looked at her mother who was seated beside her in the
car. Her mother had dozed off to sleep and her ageing face - was smoky in colour
like ash. Her mouth was open and she resembled a dead body. The poet realized
that her mother was old. She felt pain and sympathy for her. Her mother needed
love, affection and care. In order to come out of the gloom, the poet shifted her
glance and looked out of the car’s window. There she saw young trees pass by.
Little children were running out of their houses into the playgrounds. These things
were contrary to the ageing face of her mother. They symbolised energy, life and
happiness. As they reached the airport and the poet was about to leave for the
aeroplane, she glanced at her mother one more time. Her mother appeared weak
and pale just like the moon in the winter season which seems to have lost all its
strength. The poet felt the pain and fear of losing her mother. She was reminded
of her childhood when she used to fear losing her mother. As a child she could not
bear to be separated from her mother even for a few moments. Now the loss
would be permanent as her mother was about to die and she would lose her
forever. The poet did not express her feelings. She smiled and said “see you soon,
Amma” because she wanted that her mother should live and they could meet
again.

Word/Phrases & their Contextual Meanings: Beside: next to Corpse: a dead body,
especially of a human being Spilling out of their homes: coming out of their
homes

Late winter's moon: relating to old age or death

doze: a short, light sleep

ashen: very pale, like ash.

sprinting: here, shooting out of the ground/running fast

wan: unnaturally pale, as from physical or emotional distress.

POETIC DEVICES: The poetic devices used are simile, repetition and
personification:

1. Simile — face ashen like a corpse, as a late winter’s moon.

2. Personification — trees sprinting

3. Repetition — smile and smile and smile

TEXTUAL QUESTIONS:
Think it Out:

1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?

Whenever the poet looks at the colourless and pale face of her mother, her old
familiar pain surfaces realising that her mother was ageing and would die soon.

2. Why are the young trees described as 'sprinting'?

The poet, in order to distract her mind from the painful sight, looks out of the
window. The young trees have been personified. When looked at from the poet’s
moving car, they seem to be running past. The poet found it to be strikingly
opposite to her mother who looked as still as a dead body.

3. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of
their homes’?

The poet draws a comparison between what is travelling with her and what she
can see outside. It’s a comparison between life and death. Her mother is sleeping,
with mouth open, like a dead body, while outside she can see children who are
full of life, energy and enthusiasm.

4. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?

Just as the late winter’s moon is dull and lacks luster, so is her mother at the end
stage of her life. Also, as the late winter moon gets overshadowed by the fog and
mist in the sky similarly her mother can get overshadowed by death at any time.
Both of them are nearing an end- one of season and the other of life.

5. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?

The parting words of the poet show her positive attitude. She smiles to conceal
her fear and pain of separation from her mother and assures herself and her
mother that they would meet again. She is being very brave which is indicated by
the use of repetition in the poem: “smile and smile and smile......”