Chapter - 1 The Last Lesson (Flamingo)

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The Last Lesson (Flamingo) is the First lesson!

Hope you are as thrilled to be part of teaching-learning at SCS evolving to a new level!

We will begin our online teaching from today and the chapter that we are covering today is 'The Last Lesson'. Hope you have read the chapter thoroughly. On the basis of your reading, now relate the content read with the theme discussed below.

Theme:

The themes of patriotism, freedom of language and the love for one’s mother tongue are predominant in the story. The people of Alsace and Lorraine were denied the freedom to learn their own language by the Prussians.

This story reflects upon the arrogance of the colonizer to forcibly take away the rights of those who are colonized. “The last lesson” stresses on the importance of education and the necessity to respect and learn one’s own language. This story draws our attention to the unfair practice of linguistic chauvinism. It refers to an unreasonable pride in one’s own language while disregarding all the other languages as inferior.

The people living in the regions of Alsace and Lorraine are the victims of this aggressive concept of linguistic chauvinism. They are forcibly made to learn German. In this story, the author brings into limelight the oppression of the majority. This story also makes a universal appeal as it highlights our tendency to value things more when we no longer have access to them. When French was taught in the school, Franz and the likes of him did not take it seriously. The parents also preferred to see their kids working and earning for the family rather learning French.

It is only when they are denied the freedom of knowing their own language, they realize how sorry they are for not paying enough attention to the French lessons and how unfairly they are being treated. The sense of loss is suggested with the mention of the Prussians drilling their land. There is a sense of helplessness that runs throughout the poem. Franz feels guilty for not learning his French lessons properly. M. Hamel feels guilty about not being able to impart all his knowledge to his students. The sense of defeat is evident in his tone which is usually strict and cranky but today he was gentle, quiet and motionless.

It is not justified to take away the natural right of the people to speak their mother tongue. The solemnity of the classroom builds up the mood of gloom and despair. M. Hamel says that the only way to free themselves from the enslavement is by clinging to their own language. In confined existence, the only key to our prison is our language.

Key points to remember about the theme. 

1. Preserving Mother Tongue is key to preserving one's identity.

• language is a key marker of a distinctive identity.
• accords special importance to native culture and traditions.
• is as natural to a person as cooing is to pigeons. 
• several factors cause the use of native language to be reduced; eventually dies a natural death.
• effort must be made to keep the language alive, especially motivating the younger generation like M Hamel's appeal in his last lesson.

2. Linguistic Chauvinism

• Chauvinism refers to excessive or prejudiced support for one's own cause, group, or sex.
• not to be confused with being proud/patriotic. 
• A chauvinist would definitely demean/look down upon the other.
• You could be a male/female chauvinist; be a chauvinist about your country/ religion/ caste (we are very good at this!)
• By imposing German on the people of the newly captured French districts of Alsace and Lorraine, Prussia kills two birds with one stone.

1. conveying their superiority over the French (interestingly, the French have traditionally been accused of being snobs who wouldn't speak any other language.)

2. Catch 'em young policy! When kids adopt the new, the old will slowly but surely be forgotten. Little wonder then why new governments in power are always keen on changing school History textbooks!!

 3. Attitude towards learning

• Universal malady of procrastination- putting off work/learning for the next day.
• Attitude changes in a flash when people awaken to the rude reality that they will no longer have what they took for granted. 

Now, since you have understood the chapter well, lets get on doing the questions and discussing the doubts related to the same. 

Short Questions: 

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN 30-40 WORDS. (2 MARKS EACH)  

Why was Franz afraid of going to school? What other distractions tempted him to miss school?

2.      What was the significance of the bulletin board? What had been put up that day?

3.      What difference did he notice when he entered his classs?

4.      What was unusual about M Hamel’s dress on his last day in the school?

5.      Why the order from Berlin is called a ‘thunder clap’ by Franz?

6.      Who occupied the back benches during M Hamel’s last lesson? Why?

7.      What did M Hamel say about the attitude of the learners towards learning their lessons?

8.      Why did M Hamel blame the parents for the children’s poor performance? (AISSCE 2020)

9.      What did he say about himself as a teacher?

10.  What changes came over little Franz after he heard M Hamel’s announcement?

11.  How was M. Hamel’s last class different from his previous classes?

12.  What did M. Hamel say about the French language? Why did he urge them to guard it?

13.  How is the mother tongue important to a person? What does M. Hamel, the teacher say about it? (AISSCE 2020)

Long Questions: 

1. How was the environment of the classroom different before and after the announcement?

-Usually, when school began, there was a great bustle, which could be heard out in the street

-the opening and closing of desks, lessons repeated in unison, very loud.

- students had to put their hands over their ears to understand better, 

- the teacher’s great ruler rapped on the table. 

- great deal of commotion.

-on the day of the last lesson, everything was a still as a Sunday morning. 

-students were already in their places, and M. Hamel walking up and down with his terrible iron ruler under his arm.

- the village people sat quietly on the back benches reading their books.

-every single student paid attention to M Hamel's words

-silently did their work, scratching of the pens over the paper was the only sound heard, ignored even the beetles that flew in. 

-M Hamel was wore his best clothes, carefully explained everything and taught with patience. 

- everyone felt overwhelmed knowing that they would no longer have French lessons.

2. Describe the impact of the announcement on M Hamel.

-  had taught French in the same classroom for forty years. 

- was regarded as a strict teacher and everyone dreaded the loud rapping of his ruler

- Franz almost decided not to go to school when he was late

- was terrified of being scolded for not studying participles.

- sudden announcement was a jolt that completely shook him and left him heartbroken. 

- in honour of the last lesson, wore his best clothes

- even old villagers turned up that day to pay their tribute to him. 

- he felt guilty for not teaching well, sending students on errands and giving offs on days he wanted to go fishing. 

- praised the French language, urged his students to guard it 

- carefully explained everything he knew and taught with patience. 

- gave out new notebooks with 'France, Alsace, France, Alsace' written in beautiful handwriting.

- silently sat observing the class as if trying to capture the image in his memory.

- in the final moments, so choked with emotions that he could barely speak

- wrote 'viva la France' on the board and dismissed his last French class.

3. Elaborate the way in which the announcement affected Franz.

- comes across as a regular young boy who was not very keen to go to school.

-  was fascinated by idea of spending the day outdoors, enjoying the warm weather, 

- did not take his learning seriously, was scared of his teacher, M. Hamel who was going to test him on participles, and he did not know anything about them

- the announcement about that being his last French lesson was like a thunderclap to him.

- he hardly knew how to write and  he would  never learn any more 

- he deeply regretted not learning his lessons.

-his books, that had seemed such a nuisance a while ago, so heavy to carry, were old friends now that he couldn’t give up. 

- he even forget how cranky M Hamel was and his frightening ruler, discovered a new found love and respect for his teacher.

- he listened to his teacher very carefully, was amazed to see how well he understood his lesson. All seemed so easy. 

I, now welcome the queries and doubts related to the chapter studied. 

Happy Learning. God bless you all.