Question 1.

What was the mood in the classroom when M. Hamel gave his last
French lesson? (Delhi 2009)
Answer:
When [Link] was giving his last French ; lesson, the mood in
the classroom was solemn and sombre. When he announced that
this was their last French lesson everyone present in the
classroom suddenly developed patriotic feelings for their native
language and genuinely regretted ignoring their mother
[Link] language courses

Question 2.
What had the narrator counted on to enter the school, unnoticed?
(Delhi 2010)
Answer:
The narrator (Franz) had counted on the hustle and bustle that
was usual when the school began in order to enter there
unnoticed. He had thought he could depend on the commotion to
get to his desk without anybody noticing that he was late for the
class.

Question 3.
“This is your last French lesson.” How did Franz react to this
declaration of [Link]? (Delhi 2010)
Answer:
When [Link] declared that it was their last French lesson a grim
realisation dawned on Franz that he had so much more yet to
learn. He felt sorry for whiling away his time and skipping his
lessons. Now he did not want to part with his books, which he had
earlier consi¬dered a nuisance. He was also deeply pained at the
thought that [Link] was leaving.

Question 4.
“What a thunder clap these words were to me!” Which were the
words that shocked and surprised little Franz? (Delhi 2010)
Answer:
When [Link] 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 5.
What changes came over little Franz after he heard [Link]’s
announcement? (All India 2010)
Answer:
When [Link] announced that this was to be their last French
class a grim realisation dawned on Franz that he could hardly
write his language and now he was being deprived of the
opportunity to learn it. He felt very guilty of neglecting his classes
and escaping school. The thought of losing his teacher, M. Hamel,
also pained him.

Question 6.
What was tempting Franz to keep away from school That
morning’? (Comptt. Delhi 2010)
Answer:
Franz was very late for school ‘that morning’. M. Hamel was to
question the students on participles and Franz knew nothing and
feared a scolding. The bright weather, woods, fields and chirping
of birds tempted him to spend the day outdoors.

Question 7.
What was unusual about M. Hamel’s dress and behaviour on the
day of his last French lesson? (Comptt. Delhi 2010)
Answer:
On the day of his last French lesson M. Hamel was unexpectantly
kind. He had put on his beautiful green coat, frilled shirt and an
embroidered black silk cap that he normally wore only on
inspection and prize days. In his last lesson he explains
everything with unusual patience as if he wants to teach them
everything he has ever learned in their last French class.

Question 8.
Why had the bulletin-board become a centre of attention during
the last two years? (Comptt. All India 2010)
Answer:
The bulletin-board had become a centre of attention because for
the last two years all the bad news had come from there. It was
the source of all bad news-the lost battles, the draft and the
orders of the commanding officers.

Question 9.
What was Franz expected to be prepared with for the school that
day? (Delhi 2011)
Answer:
Franz had started very late for school that morning. He feared
facing his class-teacher, M. Hamel. Because he was expected to
be prepared with his grammar lesson on participles and he did not
know even the first word about them. So he feared a scolding.

Question 10.
What had been put up on the bulletin board? (Delhi 2011)
Answer:
A notice had been put up on the bulletin board informing the
people about the order from Berlin which declared that only
German was to be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine.
They had also been informed that the new German teacher was
coming on the following day.

Question 11.
Who did [Link] blame for the neglect of learning on the part of
boys like Franz? (Delhi 2011)
Answer:
Mr. Hamel blamed various people for different reasons for neglect
of learning on the part of boys like Franz. First he blamed the
parents for not being anxious to have their children learn and
rather engaging them into household work. He blamed the boys
themselves for preferring to work on mills and farms. He also
blamed himself for sending boys on errands for his convenience.

Question 12.
Franz thinks, “Will they make them sing in German, even the
pigeons?” What does this tell us about the attitude of the
Frenchmen? (All India 2011)
Answer:
During his last French class Franz hears the pigeons cooing and
wonders if the Prussians would make them sing in German too.
His thought reveals the Frenchmen’s fear of complete domination
by the Germans whereby they would try to enslave even their
minds.

Question 13.
“What a thunderclap these words were to me!” – Which were the
words that shocked and surprised Franz? (All India 2011)
Answer:
When [Link] 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 14.
“What announcement did M. Hamel make? What was the impact
of this on Franz? (All India 2011)
Answer:
When [Link] declared that it was their last French lesson a grim
realisation dawned on Franz that he had so much more yet to
learn. He felt sorry for whiling away his time and skipping his
lessons. Now he did not want to part with his books, which he had
earlier consi¬dered a nuisance. He was also deeply pained at the
thought that [Link] was leaving.

Question 15.
What did M. Hamel tell the people in the class about French
language? What did he ask them to do and why? (Comptt. Delhi
2011)
Answer:
M. Hamel told the people in his class that French was the most
beautiful, the clearest and the most logical language in the world.
He advised them to guard it among themselves j and never to
forget it because it would prove to be the key to their prison when
they were I enslaved.

Question 16.
What was the mood in the classroom when [Link] gave his last
French lesson? (Comptt. All India 2011)
Answer:
When [Link] was giving his last French; lesson, the mood in the
classroom was solemn and sombre. When he announced that this
was their last French lesson everyone present in the classroom
suddenly developed patriotic feelings for their native language
and genuinely regretted ignoring their mother tongue.

Question 17.
What changes did the order from Berlin cause in the school?
(Delhi 2012)
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 18.
How did [Link] say farewell to his students and the people of
the town? (All India 2012)
Answer:
To bid farewell to his students and the people of the town
[Link] wore his formal suit on the day he gave his last French
lesson. He assumed the role of a mentor and advised the villagers
to safeguard their language, which was the most beautiful and
logical language in the world. Being rimmed up with emotions, he
wrote “Vive La France” which mean Tong live France’ in order to
inculcate a feeling of patriotism within everyone.

Question 19.
What were Franz’s regrets after M. Hamel’s announcement of his
last lesson? (Comptt. Delhi 2012)
Answer:
When M. Hamel announced that it was their last French lesson,
Franz realised he had so much more to learn. He felt sorry for
whiling away his time and skipping his lessons. He was also
deeply pained at the thought of M. Hamel leaving the school.
Question 20.
What change was there in Franz’ attitude towards M. Hamel?
(Comptt. All India 2012)
Answer:
Franz’s attitude towards M. Hamel underwent a complete change
on the day of the last French lesson. He developed a strange
fascination for his school and the French language. When M.
Hamel read out a grammar lesson to the class, Franz was amazed
at how well he understood it. All M. Hamel said seemed so easy to
Franz and he genuinely regretted ignoring M. Hamel’s classes and
lessons.

Question 21.
Why did M. Hamel not scold Franz when the latter fumbled with
the rule for the participle? (Comptt. All India 2012)
Answer:
Since it was M. Hamel’s last class in Alsace, he did not scold Franz
when the latter fumbled with the rule for the participle. He told
Franz that he would not scold him as he knew that Franz was
already feeling terrible enough and reproaching himself a great
deal.

Question 22.
How did Franz react to the declaration that it was their last French
lesson? (Delhi 2013)
Answer:
When [Link] declared that it was their last French lesson a grim
realisation dawned on Franz that he had so much more yet to
learn. He felt sorry for whiling away his time and skipping his
lessons. Now he did not want to part with his books, which he had
earlier considered a nuisance. He was also deeply pained at the
though that [Link] was leaving.

Question 23.
“What a thunderclap these words were to me !” What were the
words that shocked and surprised the narrator? (Delhi, Comptt. All
India 2013)
Answer:
When [Link] 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 24.
What did M. Hamel tell them about the French language? What
did he ask them to do and why? (Delhi 2013)
Answer:
M. Hamel told the people in his class that French was the most
beautiful, the clearest and the most logical language in the world.
He advised them to guard it among themselves j and never to
forget it because it would prove to be the key to their prison when
they were I enslaved.

Question 25.
What was the order from Berlin and what changes did it cause in
the school? (All India 2013)
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 26.
Why did Franz think of running away from the school that
morning? (Comptt. Delhi 2013)
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 27.
What did Franz see when he passed the town hall? (Comptt. Delhi
2013)
Answer:
When Franz passed the town hall he saw there was a crowd in
front of the bulletin board. For the last two years all the bad news
of lost battles, the draft etc. had come from there and Franz
thought to himself what the matter was then and what bad news
awaited them.

Question 28.
When Franz reached his school, what unusual situation did he
observe? (Comptt. Delhi 2013)
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.

Question 29.
After sitting down at his desk what unusual things did Franz
observe about M. Hamel? (Comptt. All India)
Answer:
Franz realised that M. Hamel was not his usual cranky self and
said nothing to him even though he was late for the class.
Moreover their teacher was wearing his beautiful green coat, his
frilled shirt and the little black silk cap, all embroidered, that he
wore only on special days in school.

Question 30.
“But the thing that surprised me most was to see ” What
surprised Franz most in the class? (Comptt. All India 2013)
Answer:
The thing that surprised Franz the most when he entered the
classroom was to see the village people sitting as quietly as the
students on the back benches of the class that were always
empty. This included old Hauser, the former mayor, the former
postmaster and several others.

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.

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.

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 [Link]’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. [Link]
was dressed in his formal suit. Even though Franz reached late
[Link] 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 [Link] 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 [Link] 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.