Summary of English Chapter 1 The Last Lesson Class 12
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Chapter 1 The Last Lesson
Summary of English Chapter 1 The Last Lesson Class 12
- The narrator Franz started for school very late that morning. He had great fear of getting scolding from his teacher, M. Hamel for not learning the lesson on participles. He didn’t know even the first word about them for a moment. He thought of running away and spending the day under the open sky where the weather was very warm and bright. But he decided otherwise hurried off to school.
- As Franz passed the town hall, he saw a big crowd in front of the bulletin board. For the last two year all the bad news had come from there. The people got the news of the lost battles and other important information only from there.
- Usually, when the school began there was a lot of hustle and bustle. The opening and closing of desks, lessons orally repeated in unison created a lot of commotion and the teacher’s great ruler rapping on the table made a lot of loud noise. But that day everything had been quiet like Sunday Morning.
- Through the window he saw his classmates already in their places. He opened the door and he went in before everybody. He blushed and was quiet frightened. But nothing happened. M. Hamel saw him and asked very kindly to take his seat.
- M. Hamel mounted his chair and spoke in a grave and gentle tone. My children, “this is the last lesson, I shall give you. The order has come from Berlin to teach only German in the school of Alsace and Lorraine. The new master comes tomorrow. This is your last French lesson.” So he wanted them to be very attentive.
- Franz was astonished to hear of the last French lesson. He could not even lesson to write French so far. He felt very sorry really for not learning his lesson. Even his books which had been a great nuisance till then became his old friends. The very thought of his teacher M. Hamel going away, made Franz forget about the beating ruler. He even forgot how cranky his teacher was.
- It was now, Franz understood why his teacher was in his best clothes and why there were the old men of the village sitting there. They had come to show their respect for Mr. Hamel’s forty years of faithful service.
- When Franz was called to recite the rule for participle, he couldn’t, he got mixed and he felt very ashamed. M. Hamel didn’t scold him. He remarked that great trouble with Alsace was of putting off learning to next day. Their parents preferred to put them to work on a farm or at the mills. M. Hamel didn’t even spare himself. He had often sent his students to water his flowers instead of learning their lessons. The Germans would have the right to make them realize to learn, to speak and right German as they were also Germans. He declared that French language was the first most beautiful language in the world. It was the clearest and most logical. M. Hamel thought grammar, Franz understood it very well. It appeared very easy as he attended it very attentively like all others present there.
- All at once, the church clock struck twelve. The Prussian soldiers returning from their drill sounded their trumpets. M. Hamel addressed all present as “My friends” and his voice choked so he wrote on the black board: “Viva La France.” Then without a word, he made a gesture to them with his hand; school is dismissed- you may go.
Summary of English Chapter 1 The Last Lesson Class 12
