The Last Lesson

 Alphonse Daudet

QUESTION BANK-01    Prepared by Dr. D. Bezbaruah

  1. What was unusual about M Hamel’s dress on his last day in the school?
  2. “What a thunderclap these words were to me!” What were the words that shocked and surprised the narrator?
  3. Who were sitting on the back benches during M Hamel’s last lesson?
  4. What did M Hamel tell his students about the French language? What did he ask them to do and why?
  5. What words did M Hamel write on the blackboard before dismissing the last class? What did they mean?
  6. What made M Hamel cry towards the end of his last lesson?
  7. How did Franz react to the declaration that it was their last French lesson?
  8. What was the order from Berlin and what changes did it cause in the school?
  9. How did M Hamel say farewell to his students and the people of the town?
  10. What was Franz expected to be prepared with for the school that day?
  11. What had been put up on the bulletin-board?
  12. Franz thinks, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?” What does this tell us about the attitude of the Frenchmen?
  13. How was the scene in the school in the morning of the last lesson different from that on other days?
  14. What do you understand by the term ‘Linguistic Chauvinism’?
  15. What does M Hamel say about the French language?
  16. Why was Franz late for school on the day of the last lesson?
  17. What did Franz think after noticing a crowd in front of the bulletin board?
  18. What did Franz think when the blacksmith called after him not to go to school so fast?
  19. What is a Bulletin Board?

Ans:  Bulletin Board is a tool, just like a notice board, where important news and information is pasted for the public. It served as a very important tool in the era in which there was no print and electronic media through which one could get news and information instantly.