Question

What did M. Hamel tell them about French language? What did he ask them to do and why?

Answer 1

Hint: This question is taken from the story “The Last Lesson”. The story is written by “Alphonse Daudet '' who was a famous French novelist and short-story writer. “The Last Lesson” is a narrative story from the perspective of a French boy named Franz. The story takes place in the 1870s, during the Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War. This story talks about the love for one’s mother tongue and the sense of patriotism and unity one can feel for his mother tongue.

Complete answer:
In the story “The Last Lesson”, the narrator is a little French boy named Franz. He is very lazy and only wants to play all the time, and yet is very sensitive in nature. He hates his French Teacher, Mr. M. Hamel. The story takes place during the war of 1870 between France and Germany. This war is also known as the Franco-Prussian War. The two major districts in France, Lorraine and Alsace went under Prussian. After this, the official language in these two districts is changed to German and schools are forced to stop teaching French and start teaching German.

Due to this, the French teacher M. Hamel lost his job. It was his last lesson on French. He has been working with the school for more than forty years. He is full of nostalgia, grief and patriotism. To show him immense respect for his hard work and efforts, all the villagers attend his last lesson in French.

During this time, M. Hamel tells the people that “French” is the most beautiful language in the world. He goes on saying that it is the best structured language with the most logical and clearest words. He also tells the people to safeguard their mother tongue as it is something no one can take away from you. He requests everyone to protect the language for as long as you have your language, you can never be enslaved. He also says that loving and respecting your mother tongue is something everyone must do in order to protect the heritage and the essence of your actual self.

Note: While answering these types of questions, always keep in mind the following tips:
- Keep in mind the actual context of the story. Knowing the story as well as the context can help you answer the question in a proper and required manner. The questions, without knowing the context, may sound vague and irrelevant.
- Always focus on the hidden cues, hints and meanings in the story as, sometimes, words can mean something totally different based on which manner the writer has used them. Instead of focusing on the translation of words, try to understand the whole text as one. This will help you get a better grasp of the writer’s point of view and hence, will help you in answering the question appropriately.
- Also try not to add words and phrases based on your subjective thoughts and opinions, unless asked for.