NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Chapter 1 The Last Lesson

Short Note:

• Set in an Alsatian village during the Franco-Prussian war, the story follows a young boy, Franz, who arrives late to school expecting the usual routine, only to discover it is the last French lesson before German is made compulsory in the region.

• M. Hamel, the schoolteacher, dressed in his best clothes for the occasion, delivers an emotional final lesson, expressing deep regret over the students' and even his own past neglect of the French language.

• The lesson ends with the church clock striking twelve and the sound of Prussian soldiers' bugles, after which M. Hamel, too overcome with emotion to speak, writes 'Vive La France!' on the blackboard.

Short Note:

• Franz: The young narrator who initially dreads school and Grammar lessons, but undergoes a change of heart, feeling deep regret and newfound respect for his language and teacher on this final day.

• M. Hamel: The devoted French teacher who, despite his own past shortcomings, delivers a moving final lesson, symbolising the deep emotional connection between language, culture and national identity.

Short Note:

• The story powerfully conveys the theme of the loss of cultural and linguistic identity under political oppression, showing how language is deeply tied to a community's sense of self and freedom.

• It also emphasises the value of education and mother tongue, suggesting that people often realise the true worth of something only when they are about to lose it.