Summary

The story is narrated by a French boy, Franz. He is lazy but sensitive

and likes to play. He dislikes studying French and hates his teacher
M. Hamel.
After overpowering their districts of Alsace and Lorraine in France,
Berlin has ordered that German language instead of French to be
taught in the schools there.
It is the last day of their French teacher M. Hamel, who has been there
for forty years. He is full of grief, nostalgia and patriotism. As a mark
of respect to his hard work, the village men also attend his ‘last
lesson’. They were sad as they did not learn their mother tongue,
French in their childhood.
Franz is shocked to know that it’s his last lesson, as he does not know
French. Now, suddenly, he gets interested in learning it and
understands everything taught on that day!
He develops an instant liking for the teacher, M. Hamel and respects
him for his sincerity and hard work.
He feels sad at departing from him and is ashamed for not being able
to recite the lesson of participles.
M. Hamel tells them that they all are at fault for not being eager
enough to learn, putting it off to the next day. He blames himself for
not teaching them sincerely.
His patriotism is reflected in his praise for the French language as
being the most beautiful and most logical language in the world. He
tells the class to guard their language as being close to one’s language
is the key to escape from the prison of slavery. It will help them in
getting free from the Germans.
They realize the importance of learning their mother tongue and that
they have been defeated by the Germans because of their illiteracy.
Franz feels that it is not possible to take away one’s language from a
person as it is natural to each being, may it be the “coo” to the
pigeons or “French” to the Frenchmen.

Title Analysis
Procrastination is an evil that corrodes golden opportunities sent in
our way as delaying our works is an inherent flaw in our outlook
towards life. The story revolves around the last lesson taught by M.
Hamel as now French would no longer be taught in the schools of
Alsace and Lorraine. If we take our life for granted and fail to be
grateful for it, chances are that we will lose it in times to come. This is
exactly what happened with the people of Alsace and Lorraine. They
lost their chance to be close to their mother tongue as they had never
bothered to learn their language and it was a matter of shame that
being Frenchmen, they were unable to read or write French. Hence
the title ‘The Last Lesson’ is apt as it teaches the people of Alsace and
Lorraine and the readers as well that lessons of life must be learnt
well in time lest life should take away the opportunity.

Setting of the Lesson

The story is set in a French village in Alsace district of France, with
the backdrop of the Franco-Prussian war in which France was
defeated by Prussia (then consisting of Germany, Poland and parts of
Austria). The Prussian rulers order that French will no longer be
taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The story tells how M.
Hamel, a school teacher in Alsace, his students and the towns people
react to this news. There is an atmosphere of hopelessness and regret
in the classroom. For the first time the defeated French people in the
village realize their mistake in not learning their own language. The
setting is appropriate, as the story relates to a bygone era of French
defeat in the hands of the Prussians.

Narrative Style of Lesson

The story ‘The Last Lesson’ has a first-person narrative. The speaker
is a little boy named Franz, a resident of Alsace-Lorraine district of
France that has been occupied by the Prussians.
The tone is serious and biased. The author feels biased about the
government and the war compelling everyone to speak German. The
oppressors and conquerors become heartless and enforce their own
views on the defeated. This is clear from the story when the order
from Berlin comes that French will no longer by taught in Alsace and
Lorraine.
The author has used many literary devices of irony, metaphors,
similes and symbols to make the narration to them clear and effective.
He uses irony, to highlight the human tendency that there is a plenty
of time to do things. Hence, we keep on postponing the lessons of life,
forgetting that life is subject to change. Learning of French by the
people has never been a serious affair with them. But the sudden order
to stop teaching French comes as a sudden blow and sad realisation to
the people.
The author has also used other devices like metaphors, similes and
symbols. ‘What a thunderclap’ is a metaphor for the sudden order
from Berlin. Mother tongue ‘as if a key to their prison’ is a simile, the
key to regain freedom from their prison.

Theme of the Lesson

The importance of language and its connection with nationalism are
the central themes of the chapter “The Last Lesson.” The protagonist
of the narrative is a little kid, Franz, whose teacher, M Hamel is
compelled to flee his native town in France’s Alsace region because
German settlers are annexing it and making German its official
language. Now the mother tongue, French will no longer be taught in
the schools of French districts of Alsace and Lorraine. Even though it
is obvious that his students won’t be able to speak French in the
future, the narrator’s French teacher, Monsieur Hamel, is determined
to give them one more lesson in the language. The teacher emphasizes
that language is an integral element of one’s identity and culture and
that its suppression constitutes an act of oppression, as done by the
enemy country. The French villagers realize that they have been
overpowered by the enemy soldiers because they did not value their
country and their mother tongue.

Lesson Explanation
Passage: I started for school very late that morning and was in great
dread of a scolding, especially because M. Hamel had said that he
would question us on participles, and I did not know the first word
about them.
Word Meaning:
in great dread of: fear of
Explanation of the above passage: The narrator of the story is a
young school-going boy named Franz. That morning, he was scared
as he was late for school. Also, as their teacher M. Hamel had
announced the previous day that he would test them on the topic of
‘Participles’ and Franz did not know anything at all, he was more
scared of being scolded.
Passage: For a moment I thought of running away and spending the
day out of doors. It was so warm, so bright! The birds were chirping
at the edge of the woods; and in the open field back of the sawmill the
Prussian soldiers were drilling.
Word Meaning:
Sawmill: a factory for cutting wood
Drilling: exercising
Explanation of the above passage: Franz had another option in his
mind – to miss school and enjoy the day out in the warm and bright
weather. He describes the scene – there were birds chirping on the
trees and the noise of the Prussian soldiers doing the drill behind the
sawmill could also be heard.
Passage: It was all much more tempting than the rule for participles,
but I had the strength to resist, and hurried off to school.
Word Meaning:
Tempting: attracting
Resist: to stay away
Explanation of the above passage: The scene outside was more
attractive than the school but Franz controlled the temptation and
chose to attend school.
Passage: When I passed the town hall there was a crowd in front of
the bulletin board. For the last two years all our bad news had come
from there — the lost battles, the draft, the orders of the commanding
officer — and I thought to myself, without stopping, “What can be the
matter now?”
Word Meaning:
bulletin-board: a notice board for putting up the latest news and
communication
Explanation of the above passage: As Franz walked past the town
hall, he noticed a huge crowd at the notice board. The war with
Prussia had begun two and a half years ago and since then all the
bad news like losing the war, occupation of Alsace and Lorraine by
the enemy i.e. Prussia, etc had been communicated to the people
through this bulletin board. Franz kept on walking towards the school
and thought in his mind that what news could have been put up at the
board now.
Passage: Then, as I hurried by as fast as I could go, the blacksmith,
Wachter, who was there, with his apprentice, reading the bulletin,
called after me, “Don’t go so fast, bub; you’ll get to your school in
plenty of time!”
I thought he was making fun of me, and reached M. Hamel’s little
garden all out of breath.
Word Meaning:
Apprentice: trainee
Explanation of the above passage: As he walked hurriedly towards
the school, the blacksmith who was also reading the news and had
come along with his trainee called out to Franz from behind and said
that he needn’t go in such a hurry as there was plenty of time for him
to reach school.
Franz thought that the blacksmith was making fun of him as he was
already late for school. When Franz reached the garden outside the
school, he was out of breath as he had walked very fast.
Passage:
Usually, when school began, there was a great bustle, which could be
heard out in the street, the opening and closing of desks, lessons
repeated in unison, very loud, with our hands over our ears to
understand better, and the teacher’s great ruler rapping on the table.
Word Meaning:
a great bustle: a lot of noise created by many people
in unison: at the same time
rapping: striking
Explanation of the above passage: Franz describes the usual scene
at the school in the mornings – a lot of noise created by the moving of
desks, children repeating their lessons and teachers striking the
tables with the rulers could be heard.
Passage: But now it was all so still! I had counted on the commotion
to get to my desk without being seen; but, of course, that day
everything had to be as quiet as Sunday morning.
Word Meaning:
counted on: depended upon
commotion: noise and confusion
Explanation of the above passage: That day was unusual as there
was no such sound coming out of the school and it seemed that the
school was closed as it used to be on a Sunday morning. Franz had
planned that he would take cover under the commotion and reach the
class without being noticed but that did not seem possible.
Passage: Through the window, I saw my classmates, already in their
places, and M. Hamel walking up and down with his terrible iron
ruler under his arm.
Explanation of the above passage: Franz peeped inside his class and
saw his classmates seated and M. Hamel, their teacher walking in the
class with the ruler made of iron placed under his arm. Franz feared
a beating.
Passage: I had to open the door and go in before everybody. You can
imagine how I blushed and how frightened I was.
Word Meaning:
Blushed: face turned red in colour due to shame
Explanation of the above passage: Franz was ashamed of being late
and feared a scolding as he had to enter the classroom in front of
everyone.
Passage: But nothing happened. M. Hamel saw me and said very
kindly, “Go to your place quickly, little Franz. We were beginning
without you.”
Explanation of the above passage: Franz found it strange as M.
Hamel did not say anything and on the contrary, politely asked him to
get to his seat, as the class was about to begin without him.
Passage: I jumped over the bench and sat down at my desk. Not till
then, when I had got a little over my fright, did I see that our teacher
had on his beautiful green coat, his frilled shirt, and the little black
silk cap, all embroidered, that he never wore except on inspection and
prize days.
Explanation of the above passage: Franz hurried to his seat. After
some time when he overcame the scare and became comfortable, he
noticed that their teacher had worn his best embroidered that day.
The teacher normally wore it on occasions like inspection and prize
distribution days. Franz wondered if that day was a normal day, then
what could be the reason for M. Hamel to wear his special dress.
Explanation of the above passage: Besides, the whole school
seemed so strange and solemn. But the thing that surprised me most
was to see, on the back benches that were always empty, the village
people sitting quietly like ourselves; old Hauser, with his three-
cornered hat, the former mayor, the former postmaster, and several
others besides.
Word Meaning: Solemn: serious.
Passage: Franz felt that the atmosphere in the school was unusual and
serious. To add to it, the last benches of the classroom were occupied
by the senior village men – Hauser, who was wearing his three-
cornered hat, the retired mayor, postmaster, etc.
Passage: Everybody looked sad; and Hauser had brought an old
primer, thumbed at the edges, and he held it open on his knees with
his great spectacles lying across the pages.
Word Meaning:
Primer: basic reader of any language
Thumbed: torn and damaged
Explanation of the above passage: They all looked sad. Hauser had
brought his reader which was old and torn. He had opened it, kept it
on his knees and had placed his spectacles on it.
Passage: While I was wondering about it all, M. Hamel mounted his
chair, and, in the same grave and gentle tone which he had used to
me, said, “My children, this is the last lesson I shall give you. The
order has come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of
Alsace and Lorraine. The new master comes tomorrow. This is your
last French lesson. I want you to be very attentive.”
Word Meaning:
Grave: serious
Explanation of the above passage: Franz was confused and could
not figure out what was happening that day. Just then M. Hamel told
them that it was their last lesson in French as the Prussians in Berlin
had ordered that French language would no longer be taught in the
schools of Alsace and Lorraine and that German language be taught
instead. The German teacher would arrive the next day and as this
was the last lesson in French, he wanted them to pay attention.
Passage: What a thunderclap these words were to me! Oh, the
wretches; that was what they had put up at the town-hall!
Word Meaning:
Thunderclap: used in comparison to refer to something startling or
unexpected
Wretches: here, it refers to an unfortunate happening
Explanation of the above passage: Franz was shocked to know that
he could not learn French any longer and now he knew the latest
news that had been put up at the bulletin board of the town hall.
Passage: My last French lesson! Why, I hardly knew how to write! I
should never learn anymore! I must stop there, then! Oh, how sorry I
was for not learning my lessons, for seeking birds’ eggs, or going
sliding on the Saar!
Word Meaning:
Saar: a river which passes through France
Explanation of the above passage: Franz regretted for not being
serious towards studies and for wasting his time in hunting bird’s
eggs and playing in the Saar river.
Passage: My books, that had seemed such a nuisance a while ago, so
heavy to carry, my grammar, and my history of the saints, were old
friends now that I couldn’t give up.
Word Meaning:
Nuisance: problem, burden
couldn’t give up: cannot leave
Explanation of the above passage: Till now Franz considered his
books to be an unwanted burden but suddenly, he starts considering
them to be his best friends whom he could never leave. The writer
wants to show the change in Franz’s attitude towards study after
hearing the news that he could not learn French any longer.
Passage: And M. Hamel, too; the idea that he was going away, that I
should never see him again, made me forget all about his ruler and
how cranky he was.
Word Meaning:
Cranky: strange, short – tempered
Explanation of the above passage: The news that their teacher M
Hamel was leaving also had a similar impact on him. Franz did not
want him to go away. He no longer thought the teacher to be short–
tempered and strict.
Passage: Poor man! It was in honour of this last lesson that he had
put on his fine Sunday clothes, and now I understood why the old
men of the village were sitting there in the back of the room.
Word Meaning:
Sunday clothes: the best dress that a person has.
Explanation of the above passage: Now Franz knew that M Hamel
was wearing his best dress in honour of this last lesson. He also
realized that the village men had come to pay respect and thank M
Hamel for his service of forty years in that school.
Passage: It was because they were sorry, too, that they had not gone
to school more. It was their way of thanking our master for his forty
years of faithful service and of showing their respect for the country
that was theirs no more.
Explanation of the above passage: The village men had come to the
class as they were also repenting for not have studied well in their
childhood. They had come to thank their teacher for his forty years of
service as a teacher of French. Also, they wanted to show respect to
their country and were sad as their mother tongue – French would no
longer be taught to them.
Passage: While I was thinking of all this, I heard my name called.
Explanation of the above passage: The teacher calls out to Franz as
it his turn to recite the topic of participles.
Passage: It was my turn to recite. What would I not have given to be
able to say that dreadful rule for the participle all through, very loud
and clear, and without one mistake?
Word Meaning:
Dreadful: frightening
Explanation of the above passage: As the news had impacted Franz,
he was eager to study and so, he was desperate to show his
eagerness. He wanted to be able to recite the topic in one go and
without any mistake and please his teacher. His desperation is
reflected in his willingness to give away all that he had in return for
reciting the lesson well.
Passage: But I got mixed upon the first words and stood there,
holding on to my desk, my heart beating, and not daring to look up.
Word Meaning:
mixed up: confused
Explanation of the above passage: As Franz did not know the lesson,
he got confused and stood quietly. His heart was beating fast as he
was ashamed of himself and did not have the courage to face his
teacher.
Passage: I heard M. Hamel say to me, “I won’t scold you, little
Franz; you must feel bad enough. See how it is! Every day we have
said to ourselves, ‘Bah! I’ve plenty of time. I’ll learn it tomorrow.’
And now you see where we’ve come out.
Word Meaning:
where we’ve come out: result
Explanation of the above passage: M. Hamel said to Franz that he
would not scold him as now he had realized his mistake. Everyday
Franz told himself that he would study the next day and now the
opportunity to study had ended and he knew nothing.
Passage: Ah, that’s the great trouble with Alsace; she puts off
learning till tomorrow. Now those fellows out there will have the right
to say to you, ‘How is it; you pretend to be Frenchmen, and yet you
can neither speak nor write your own language?’ But you are not the
worst, poor little Franz. We’ve all a great deal to reproach ourselves
with.”
Word Meaning:
Pretend: show
to reproach: blame
Explanation of the above passage: M. Hamel says that all the people
of Alsace were to be blamed as no one was serious towards learning.
He tells the class that the enemies (Prussians) would laugh at them
and say that they only show to be Frenchmen as they can neither
speak nor write their own language. He says that Franz should not feel
guilty as everyone is at fault.
Passage: “Your parents were not anxious enough to have you learn.
They preferred to put you to work on a farm or at the mills, so as to
have a little more money. And I? I’ve been to blame also. Have I not
often sent you to water my flowers instead of learning your lessons?
And when I wanted to go fishing, did I not just give you a holiday?”
Explanation of the above passage: M. Hamel says that Franz’s
parents were not interested in getting him educated. They wanted him
to work at a farm or a mill and earn some money. He says that as a
teacher, he was also not interested in teaching them. He would send
them to his home to water the plants. Sometimes, he would declare a
holiday and go for fishing.
Passage: Then, from one thing to another, M. Hamel went on to talk
of the French language, saying that it was the most beautiful language
in the world — the clearest, the most logical; that we must guard it
among us and never forget it, because when a people are enslaved, as
long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to
their prison.
Explanation of the above passage: M. Hamel praises their mother
tongue – French language as being the most beautiful, clearest and
most logical language in the world. He tells the class to guard their
language as it is the only way to free oneself from the prison of
slavery. If a person knows his mother tongue well, no one can enslave
him. Knowing the mother tongue well as a language is a tool to fight
domination.
Passage: Then he opened a grammar and read us our lesson. I was
amazed to see how well I understood it. All he said seemed so easy,
so easy! I think, too, that I had never listened so carefully, and that he
had never explained everything with so much patience.
It seemed almost as if the poor man wanted to give us all he knew
before going away, and to put it all into our heads at one stroke.
Word Meaning:
at one stroke: at once, in one go.
Explanation of the above passage: The teacher took a lesson in
grammar. That day Franz was surprised that he understood the
lesson with ease. He felt that he had been attentive and that M. Hamel
also explained the lesson with a lot of patience. Franz felt that the
teacher wanted to give them all the knowledge he had before leaving.
Passage: After the grammar, we had a lesson in writing. That day M.
Hamel had new copies for us, written in a beautiful round hand —
France, Alsace, France, Alsace.
Explanation of the above passage: After Grammar, they had a lesson
in writing. M. Hamel gave the class new notebooks with “France,
Alsace, France, Alsace” beautifully written on them.
Passage: They looked like little flags floating everywhere in the
school-room, hung from the rod at the top of our desks. You ought to
have seen how everyone set to work, and how quiet it was! The only
sound was the scratching of the pens over the paper.
Explanation of the above passage: Franz felt that here was an air of
patriotism in the class. The notebooks were like flags of France that
were floating all around. The entire class was busy writing and the
only sound that could be heard was that of the pen writing on the
paper.
Passage: Once some beetles flew in; but nobody paid any attention to
them, not even the littlest ones, who worked right on tracing their
fish-hooks, as if that was French, too.
Word Meaning:
beetles: a large-sized insect
not even the littlest ones: refers to the pigeons
who worked right on tracing their fish-hooks: scratching with their
claws.
Explanation of the above passage: Once some mosquitoes flew into
the class, but no one panicked as everyone was busy writing. The
writer considers the pigeons sitting on the roof of the class to be
students as well and says that even the pigeons were busy scratching
the roof with their claws and it seemed that they were also busy
writing the task of French language.
Passage: On the roof the pigeons cooed very low, and I thought to
myself, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?”
Word Meaning:
Cooed: the sound made by the pigeons
Explanation of the above passage: The ‘coo’ sound of the pigeons
could be heard in the class and Franz wondered that would the
Prussians force the pigeons also to change their language and coo in
German. The writer wants to say that language comes naturally to a
being and it cannot be forced upon anyone – be it the pigeons or the
French men.
Passage: Whenever I looked up from my writing, I saw M. Hamel
sitting motionless in his chair and gazing first at one thing, then at
another, as if he wanted to fix in his mind just how everything looked
in that little school-room.
Word Meaning:
Gazing: looking intently
fix in his mind: store or keep forever
Explanation of the above passage: In between writing, Franz looked
at M. Hamel who sat still and stared at the different things in the
classroom in succession as if he wanted to memorize the appearance
of everything before leaving.
Passage: Fancy! For forty years he had been there in the same place,
with his garden outside the window and his class in front of him, just
like that.
Only the desks and benches had been worn smooth; the walnut-trees
in the garden were taller, and the hopvine that he had planted himself
twined about the windows to the roof.
Word Meaning:
worn smooth: had worn out and became smooth due to overuse
twined: twisted
Explanation of the above passage: M. Hamel had been teaching at
that same place for the last forty years. The only changes were that
the desks in the classroom had worn out due to use over the years, the
walnut trees in the garden outside had grown taller, the hopvine on
the outer wall of the school building had climbed up to the roof.
Passage: How it must have broken his heart to leave it all, poor man;
to hear his sister moving about in the room above, packing their
trunks! For they must leave the country next day.
Explanation of the above passage: Franz feels that the teacher must
be heartbroken to be sent away from a place where he had spent forty
years of his life. The noises of his sister packing and moving their
luggage could be heard from the room upstairs as they had to leave
the next day.
Passage: But he had the courage to hear every lesson to the very last.
After the writing, we had a lesson in history, and then the babies
chanted their ba, be bi, bo, bu.
Explanation of the above passage: M. Hamel remained composed
and heard the lesson from the entire class. After the writing task,
there was a lesson of history followed by phonetics where they recited
the sounds of alphabets. Franz referred to the class as “babies”
because although they were grown up, they were reciting the lesson
of phonetics which is usually done by younger children. So, he calls
himself and his class to be ‘babies’.
Passage: Down there at the back of the room old Hauser had put on
his spectacles and, holding his primer in both hands, spelled the letters
with them.
You could see that he, too, was crying; his voice trembled with
emotion, and it was so funny to hear him that we all wanted to laugh
and cry. Ah, how well I remember it, that last lesson!
Explanation of the above passage: Hauser had put on his spectacles
and holding the primer in both his hands, recited the letters with the
class. He was crying, his voice trembled as he spoke. Franz had
mixed feelings – he found it funny to see how an old man like Hauser
was crying and trembling and on the other hand, he also felt
emotional like Hauser did. Franz could never forget this last lesson.
Passage: All at once the church-clock struck twelve. Then the
Angelus.
Word Meaning:
Angelus: prayer song in the church, the start is marked by the ringing
of the bell.
Explanation of the above passage: Just then the clock at the church
struck twelve and the prayer song begun.
Passage: At the same moment the trumpets of the Prussians, returning
from drill, sounded under our windows. M. Hamel stood up, very
pale, in his chair. I never saw him look so tall.
Word Meaning:
Trumpets: a musical instrument.
Pale: used to describe a person’s face or skin if it has less colour than
usual
Explanation of the above passage: At the same moment, the sound of
the trumpets played by the Prussian soldiers who were returning from
the drill was heard. M. Hamel’s face became dull and colourless as
the time had come for the class to get over. He stood straight and
motionless and Franz says that he had never appeared to be so tall.
Passage: “My friends,” said he, “I—I—” But something choked him.
He could not go on. Then he turned to the blackboard, took a piece of
chalk, and, bearing on with all his might, he wrote as large as he could
— “Vive La France!”
Word Meaning:
Choked: became unable to speak due to strong emotions
Explanation of the above passage: M. Hamel began to speak but
could not continue as he was overpowered by his emotions. He took a
piece of chalk and wrote the words “Vive La France” meaning ‘Long
Live France’ on the blackboard as large as he could.
Passage: Then he stopped and leaned his head against the wall, and,
without a word, he made a gesture to us with his hand — “School is
dismissed — you may go.”
Word Meaning:
Gesture: a signal
Explanation of the above passage: Then he stopped writing, bent
towards the wall and without speaking anything signalled the class to
leave as the class was over.