class 12th english notes, class 12th english notes cbse

Question 31.
What tempted Franz to stay away from school? (Delhi 2014)
Answer:
Little Franz was tempted to run away and spend the day outside instead of attending school as it was a warm and bright day with the birds chirping merrily. Moreover, he was tempted to watch the Prussian soldiers’ drill. All these things appeared rather tempting considering he did not know his participles and feared the French teacher M. Hamel’s scolding on that day.

Question 32.
Why were the elders of the village sitting in the classroom? (All India 2014)
Answer:
The elders of the village were sitting in the classroom as a mark of respect which they wanted to show for their language and their country. They felt sorry for not having learnt their language and wanted to thank M. Hamel for his forty years of faithful service.

Question 33.
What words did M. Hamel write on the black¬board before dismissing the last class? What did they mean? (Comptt. Delhi 2014)
Answer:
Before dismissing the last French class, M. Hamel turned to the blackboard, took a piece of chalk and wrote as large as he could -“Vive la France!” These words meant “Long Live France”. He then made a gesture with his hand that the class was dismissed.

Question 34.
Who were sitting on the back benches during M. Hamel’s last lesson? Why? (Comptt. Delhi 2014)
Answer:
The village elders were sitting on the back benches during M. Hamel’s last lesson. They included old Hauser, the former mayor, the former postmaster and several others. They were there to show their respect for their language and their country.

Question 35.
Why is the order from Berlin called a thunderclap by Franz? (Comptt. Delhi 2014)
Answer:
The order from Berlin is called a thunderclap by Franz, because it was a complete shock for him. He had never thought that he would be deprived of the right of learning his native language. He realised he had so much more yet to learn and was going to lose the opportunity.

Class 12th English notes

Question 36.
Why does M. Hamel reproach himself for his students’ unsatisfactory progress in studies? (Comptt. All India 2014)
Answer:
M. Hamel reproaches himself for his students’ unsatisfactory progress in studies. He had often sent them to water his flowers instead of learning their lessons. And when he wanted to go fishing, he gave them a holiday.

Question 37.
What made M. Hamel cry towards the end of his last lesson? (Comptt. All India 2014)
Answer:
Towards the end of his last French lesson, as the church clock struck twelve and the trumpets of the Prussians sounded under the window, M. Hamel was completely overwhelmed with emotions. Feeling choked, he was unable to talk further and dismissed the class by making a gesture with his hand.

Question 38.
What was unusual about M. Hamel’s dress on his last day in the school? (Comptt. All India 2014)
Answer:
In honour of his last French lesson in the school, M. Hamel had put on his fine Sunday clothes. He had on his green coat, his frilled shirt and the little black, all embroidered silk cap that he never wore except on inspection and prize days.

Question 39.
Who occupied the back benches in the classroom on the day of the last lesson? Why? (Delhi 2015)
Answer:
The village people occupied the backbenches in the classroom on the day of the last lesson. They included the old hauser, the former mayor, the former postmaster and several others. They had come there to thank their master for his valuable service and to show their respect for their language and country which was no longer theirs.

Question 40.
Why did M. Hamel write ‘Vive La France’ on the blackboard? (Delhi 2015 )
Answer:
Before dismissing the class, M. Hamel writes ‘Vive La France’ (Long Live France) on the blackboard. He was extremely patriotic and he does this to make the Alsacians conscious that they had to safeguard their language and identity among themselves as this was the key to their prison.

class 12th english notes, class 12th english notes cbse

Class 12th English notes

Question 41.
“We’ve all a great deal to reproach ourselves with”, said M. Hamel. Comment. (Delhi 2015)
Answer:
M. Hamel blamed everyone for putting off learning till the next time and thus losing out on the opportunity to learn their native language, French. The parents preferred to put their children to work on a farm or at the mills so that they could earn more money. M. Hamel too sent them to water his flowers and gave them a holiday when he wanted to go for fishing.

Question 42.
How did the order from Berlin change the situation in the school? (All India 2015)
Answer:
The shocking order from Berlin after the defeat of France shocked the French people. It declared that all the schools in the two French districts of Alsace and Lorraine would now teach only German. This not only saddened but also hurt the pride of the people of France. On the day of the French teacher M.Hamel’s last lesson, even the village elders came to show their respect to him for serving the community faithfully for forty years. The usual hustle and bustle too was missing from school and Franz found it unusually quiet as it used to be on a Sunday morning. M.Hamel was dressed in his formal suit. Even though Franz reached late M.Hamel did not scold him. He then went on to praising the French language at length by referring to it as the most beautiful language. He called upon the French people to safeguard their language among themselves and not to forget it ever.

Question 43.
Whom did M.Hamel blame for Franz’s inabil¬ity to answer his questions? (Comptt. Delhi 2015)
Answer:
Hamel blamed the parents who sent the children to work instead of sending them to school. He blamed himself for making them water the plants and giving them a holiday when he wanted to go fishing. He also blamed the students themselves for delaying the learning of their lessons thinking that there was plenty of time.

Question 44.
How did M.Hamel display his love for the French language? (Comptt. Delhi 2015)
Answer:
M. Hamel had great love for the French language which he had been teaching for forty years. For him it was the most beautiful, most logical and clearest language. He wanted the French people to preserve it among themselves and this would enable them to be free from foreign rule.

Question 45.
What was the bulletin board news that caused a change in the school? (Comptt. All India 2015)
Answer:
The bulletin board news that caused a change in the school was that, that day was going to be the last French lesson for the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The order had come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools and their new German teachers would come the next day.

Class 12th English notes

Question 46.
Who were sitting on the backbenches on the day of the last lesson? Why? (Comptt. All India 2016)
Answer:
The village people occupied the backbenches in the classroom on the day of the last lesson. They included the old hauser, the former mayor, the former postmaster and several others. They had come there to thank their master for his valuable service and to show their respect for their language and country which was no longer theirs.

Question 47.
Why were people standing in front of the bulletin board in ‘The Last Lesson’? Why did Franz not join the crowd? (Comptt. All India 2016)
Answer:
For the past two years the bulletin board had been the bearer of all bad news—the lost battles, drafts, orders from the commanding officer. That day an order had come from Berlin that from the next day a new teacher would teach German instead of French in the school. Franz could not join the crowd as he was already late for his class and could not afford further delay.

Question 48.
Why did Franz not want to go to school that day? (Delhi 2016)
Answer:
Franz was tempted to run away and spend the day outside instead of attending school as it was a warm and bright day and he wanted to watch the Prussian soldiers’ drill. Moreover he had not done his lesson on participles from which his teacher, M. Hamel was going to question and feared a scolding from his teacher.

Question 49.
Why was Franz not scolded for reaching the school late that day? (Delhi 2016)
Answer:
It was to be their last French lesson that day. The order from Berlin allowed only German language to be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. Hence their teacher, M. Hamel, was in a sad and sombre mood. So he did not scold Franz for reaching school late that day.

class 12 english chapter 1 summary,class 12th english notes

Question 50.
What did Franz wonder about when he entered the class that day? (Delhi 2016)
Answer:
Franz wondered about a number of things when he entered the class that day. He wondered as to why he was not given a scolding by his teacher, M. Hamel for being late, why his teacher was wearing his formal clothes which he wore only on inspections and prize days and why the village elders were sitting on the backbenches in the classroom.

Question 51.
Why were some elderly persons occupying the backbenches that day? (All India 2016)
Answer:
The elders of the village were sitting in the classroom as a mark of respect which they wanted to show for their language and their country. They felt sorry for not having learnt their language and wanted to thank M. Hamel for his forty years of faithful service.

Question 52.
“What a thunderclap these words were to me!” (Franz). What were those words and what was their effect on Franz? (All India 2016)
Answer:
When M.Hamel mounted on the chair and announced that he was there to teach his last French lesson that day, Franz was shocked and surprised. He felt very guilty for deliberately ignoring to learn his native language and he suddenly developed a strange fascination for his language and his school.

Question 53.
How were the parents and M. Hamel respon¬sible for the children’s neglect of the French language? (All India 2016)
Answer:
M. Hamel blamed everyone for putting off learning till the next time and thus losing out on the opportunity to learn their native language, French. The parents preferred to put their children to work on a farm or at the mills so that they could earn more money. M. Hamel too sent them to water his flowers and gave them a holiday when he wanted to go for fishing.

Question 54.
How is the title ‘The Last Lesson’ appropriate? (Comptt. Delhi 2016)
Answer:
The title ‘The Last Lesson’ is appropriate because it was M. Hamel’s last lesson and also the last French lesson in the school. During the last lesson, the teacher, as well as all those who were attending it, were feeling nostalgic and repentant.

Class 12th English notes

Question 55.
What changes did the order from Berlin cause on the day of the last lesson? (Comptt. Delhi 2016)
Answer:
The shocking order from Berlin that only German would be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine saddened and hurt the pride of the French people. So as a gesture to express their solidarity for their language the village elders also attended school for the last French lesson. The usual hustle and bustle was missing from school and it was unusually quiet. M. Hamel was also dressed in his formal suit which he wore only on special occasions.

Question 56.
How different did M.Hamel look that particu¬lar morning in ‘The Last Lesson’? (Comptt. All India)
Answer:
In honour of his last French lesson in the school, M. Hamel had put on his fine Sunday clothes. He had on his green coat, his frilled shirt and the little black, all embroidered silk cap that he never wore except on inspection and prize days.

Question 57.
What was M.Hamel’s regret on the day of the last lesson? (Comptt. All India 2016)
Answer:
M. Hamel’s regret on the last day of the French lesson was that they all had put off learning their language till the next day and now most of them who claimed to be Frenchmen could neither speak nor write their language. For this they all, including M. Hamel himself, had a great deal to reproach themselves with.

Question 58.
How different was the scene in the classroom on the day of the last lesson? (Comptt. All India 2016)
Answer:
The usual hustle and bustle of the morning hours could not be seen on the day of the last lesson. It was all very still and quiet as it used to be on a Sunday morning. The din of opening and closing of desks and the rapping of the teacher’s ruler on the table could not be heard. The students had already taken their places and even the village elders had gathered there.