NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo The Last Lesson Class
Categories: NCERT Solutions Intermediate class
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo
The Last Lesson Class
Q1: What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day?
Answer: That day, Franz was expected to be prepared with the lesson on participles.
Q2: What did Franz notice that was unusual about the school that day?
Answer: That day, Franz noticed the absence of the routine commotion caused by the opening and closing of desks, repeating of lessons in unison and rapping of the teacher's ruler on the table. The usual hustle-bustle was replaced by a strange stillness that was the characteristic of a school on a "Sunday morning."
Q3: What had been put up on the bulletin-board?
Answer: The bulletin board notified the general public about an order from Berlin. It stated that only German was to be taught to students in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine.
Q4: What changes did the order from Berlin cause in school that day?
Answer: The order from Berlin brought all the routine hustle-bustle of the school life to a standstill. The teacher, M. Hamel, became more sympathetic to his students and taught his lessons with more patience. The students became more attentive in their classes. The villagers, who were sitting at the usually empty back benches and had come to show their respect and gratitude to M. Hamel, regretted not going to school more than they did. The order also brought about a great change in the feelings of the people towards their country and their native language. There was a general sadness about not being able to utilise the opportunities of learning French when it was easily accessible.
Q5: How did Franz's feelings about M. Hamel and school change?
Answer: Franz was shocked when M. Hamel told the students about the order from Berlin and that it was their last French lesson. He forgot about his teacher's ruler and crankiness. He developed a fondness for M. Hamel at the troubling idea of being separated from him forever. He understood the pain and agony his teacher was undergoing. And, he became more sympathetic towards his teacher.
Q6: The people in this story suddenly realize how precious their language is to them. What shows you this? Why does this happen?
Answer: The crowd surrounding the bulletin board, the presence of the villagers in the class, the silence in place of the routine hustle and bustle of the school, and the emotions that gripped M. Hamel and Franz, represent that of the teacher and the student community respectively, were all indicators of the realization of the importance of their language to them. In the story, M. Hamel says that people realize the importance of somebody or something in their lives very often when it is lost to them. Similarly, it was the order from Berlin that made people realize the importance of their language for them.
Q7: "When a people are enslaved, as long as they 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 language taken away from them or had a language imposed on them?
Answer: Some examples of the native language taken away from its people and/or imposition of the language of the conqueror are:
- Portuguese becoming the lingua franca of Angola.
- English imposed on the various Celtic peoples.
- Spanish imposed on the Basques and the Catalans.
- Turkish imposed on the Kurds.