The Last Lesson english class 12 summary
14 Feb 2018
The Last Lesson
summary
Franz is
Reluctant to go to School
Franz started
for school very late that morning. His French teacher, M Hamel had announced that he would question the class on participles. Poor
Franz did not know even a single word about them and was afraid of a scolding from
his teacher' It was a bright sunny day and for a moment Franz thought
of running away and spending the day outside. The chirping of birds and the marching
of the Prussian soldiers was much more tempting than the rules of participles.
However, Frarz was able to fight the temptation and hurried off to school.
On his way to school, Franz passed the town hall and noticed a crowd in
front of the bulletin board. For the past two years, all the bad news had come
from it and Franz thought about what the matter was this time. As he was
hurrying past Wachter, the blacksmith, called out to him and said that there
was plenty of time to
reach the school. Franz thought that he was making fun of him and reached the
school panting.
M Hamel's Strange Behaviour
When Franz reached the school, he was very surprised to find that
everything was quiet. Usually, when the school began, there would be a great
commotion and activity. Franz had often counted on the commotion to get to his
desk unnoticed. But, that day everything was as quiet as it was on a Sunday
morning. Fran, noticed that all of his classmates were already in their seats
and M Flaniel was walking lip and down with his iron ruler under his arm.
He had to open the door and reach his seat in front of everybody. He
was blushing and was very frightened. What surprised and confused him more was
that, instead of scolding him, M Hamel spoke very kindly to him and told him to take his seat.
Franz Notices Many Unusual Things at
School
After Franz
had calmed down, he noticed that M Hamel was wearing a special attire, which he
wore only on special occasions. The whole school was so strange and a
seriousness prevailed in the atmosphere. But whc: surprised and confused him
most was to see the village people sitting quietly on the back benches. They
afl looked very sad.
The Order from Berlin
Franz
was still wondering as he observed the changes around him, when M Hamel mounted
on his chair ar; made the dreadful announcement. He told the class that it was
their last French lesson.
The order had come from Berlin to teach only German in the
schools of Alsace and Lorraine and he would hr leaving the school the next day.
These words were a shock to little Franz. Now he remembered the gathering x the
town hall. Franz was totally shocked by the sudden turn of events. He regretted
not having learnt ha lessons when there was still time.
Now,
he will never be able to learn them. He had wasted his precious time
away from the class, engaging himself in useless
activities like seeking bird’s eggs, going sliding on the Sarr river and
so on. His books, which were a nuisance to him,
suddenly felt like old friends. His feelings for his teacher too started
changing.
The thought that M Hamel was going away and
Franz would never see him again, made him forget all a how cranky M Hamel was.
Franz was feeling very sorry for him. It was in honour of his ‘last lesson’
that he' put on his fine clothes, and the village people had gathered there to
express their gratitude towards him, and to show
their respect for their country and their language.
M Hamel Criticises Himself and the
People of Alsace
While
Franz was thinking of all this, he heard his name called out; it was his turn
to recite. He would given anything to be just able to say the rule loud and
clearly. But unfortunately, he got mixed up on the words. He was ashamed and
stood holding his desk. M Hamel said that he would not scold him. He critic the
people of Alsace for their habit of putting off learning for some time in the
future. He blamed their par for not taking interest in their studies. He also
blamed himself for this. Often, he sent the students to water plants or gave
them a holiday when he had wanted to go fishing.
Importance of Mother Tongue
M Hamel then talked about the French language. He called it
the most beautiful, the clearest and the logical language in the world. He
wanted the people of France to treasure their language. According to whenever
the people of a particular nation are enslaved, as long as they are attached to
their language, it is they have the key to their prison.
The Last Lesson
M Hamel
opened a grammar book and taught them their last lesson. Franz was amazed to
see how he understood everything. Franz thought that probably he never paid
much attention in the and that M Hamel had never explained everything with so
much patience. After that they had a les; writing.
M Hamel had
brought new copies for them that day. Everyone was immersed in their work. Even
the children sitting in the class were tracing their fish hooks, as if that was
French too.
