THE LAST LESSON
ALPHONSE DAUDET
EXTRACT 1
"I think too, that I had never listened so carefully and that he
had never explained everything with so much patience."
Questions:
1. Who are 'I' and 'he' in the above extract? What kind of a
teacher was 'he'?
2. Why was the lesson called 'The Last Lesson'?
3. What is the mood in the classroom among the adults
and the children in the story?
4. Give an alternate title to the story.
5. What did 'I' notice that was unusual about the school
that day?
6. What does this statement reveal about 'I'? What kind of
pupil was the young boy earlier, and what was the
important lesson he had learnt?
Answers:
1. 'I' is Franz, the narrator of the story.
'He' is M. Hamel, the teacher.
The teacher was passionate about teaching. He cared
about the French language and culture. He was
committed to students. He was also strict and a
disciplinarian.
, 2. The official order had come from Berlin that only
German would be taught in the schools of Alsace and
Lorraine. The town of Alsace had been taken over by the
Germans (Prussians). It was the last French lesson for
the students of Alsace.
3. The mood is sorrowful, disturbed, sombre, and
nostalgic. The adults were sitting on the back benches to
pay their respects to the teacher. All were crying,
including old Hauser. Even the littlest ones, who were
not affected by the coming of the beetles, kept tracing
the fish hooks as if they were learning French. The
students also realized that M. Hamel was too emotional
that he could not speak at the end and could only tell
with gestures that the school was dismissed and they
could leave.
Alternate title:
o (1) The Value of Education
o (2) Our Language, Our Pride
4. The schoolroom was as quiet as a Sunday morning. The
old Hauser, villagers, and elders, who never came to
school before, were sitting on the back benches. The
students were already sitting on their benches. They had
come to pay their respects to the teacher for his forty
years of faithful service.
ALPHONSE DAUDET
EXTRACT 1
"I think too, that I had never listened so carefully and that he
had never explained everything with so much patience."
Questions:
1. Who are 'I' and 'he' in the above extract? What kind of a
teacher was 'he'?
2. Why was the lesson called 'The Last Lesson'?
3. What is the mood in the classroom among the adults
and the children in the story?
4. Give an alternate title to the story.
5. What did 'I' notice that was unusual about the school
that day?
6. What does this statement reveal about 'I'? What kind of
pupil was the young boy earlier, and what was the
important lesson he had learnt?
Answers:
1. 'I' is Franz, the narrator of the story.
'He' is M. Hamel, the teacher.
The teacher was passionate about teaching. He cared
about the French language and culture. He was
committed to students. He was also strict and a
disciplinarian.
, 2. The official order had come from Berlin that only
German would be taught in the schools of Alsace and
Lorraine. The town of Alsace had been taken over by the
Germans (Prussians). It was the last French lesson for
the students of Alsace.
3. The mood is sorrowful, disturbed, sombre, and
nostalgic. The adults were sitting on the back benches to
pay their respects to the teacher. All were crying,
including old Hauser. Even the littlest ones, who were
not affected by the coming of the beetles, kept tracing
the fish hooks as if they were learning French. The
students also realized that M. Hamel was too emotional
that he could not speak at the end and could only tell
with gestures that the school was dismissed and they
could leave.
Alternate title:
o (1) The Value of Education
o (2) Our Language, Our Pride
4. The schoolroom was as quiet as a Sunday morning. The
old Hauser, villagers, and elders, who never came to
school before, were sitting on the back benches. The
students were already sitting on their benches. They had
come to pay their respects to the teacher for his forty
years of faithful service.
