The Last Lesson Story Questions and Answers & MCQs
A. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
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. 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. It was all much more tempting than the rule for participles, but I had the strength to resist, and hurried off to school.
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?”
Question 1.
Why did the speaker start late for school?
Answer:
The speaker was not at all interested in taking his lessons seriously and on that very day he was also afraid to go to school because he knew that he would get scolded. So, he started late for school.
Question 2.
What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day?
Answer:
Franz was expected to prepare the lesson on participles but he did not even know the first word about them.
Question 3.
Why did Franz think of running away?
Answer:
Franz did not prepare his lesson on participles. He did not have the least idea about that lesson. So he was afraid of getting scolded by M. Hamel. So he thought of running away as he wanted to enjoy his time at the outdoors to feel and witness the beauty of nature.
Question 4.
Why was there a crowd in front of the bulletin- board?
Answer:
There was some news that created a disturbance among the students. It was guessed that there must be something alarming that might bring trouble for them. That is why there was a crowd in front of the bulletin-board to know about the matter.
B. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
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.
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.
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. 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. I had to open the door and go in before everybody. You can imagine how I blushed and how frightened I was.
Question 1.
… “Don’t go so fast, bub; you’ll get to your school in plenty of time!”- Who is the speaker here? Why did he say so?
Answer:
Here, the speaker is Wachter, who is considered as the blacksmith in the village. He said so because that day the school was not going on in its usual way. There was something wrong that broke the normal which Wachter already knew.
Question 2.
What did Franz notice?
Answer:
Franz, after entering school, noticed that there was something unusual. He saw that everything was very still with no trace of the usual commotion. It was as quiet as Sunday morning. It made him a bit tensed.
Question 3.
Write in your own words a few words about Wachter-
Answer:
He is considered as a blacksmith in a village in the French region of Alsace-Lorraine. As he hurries to school, the narrator, Franz, passes Wachter standing in front of the town hall bulletin-board. Wachter tells him not to go so fast, and Franz thinks the blacksmith is making fun of him. Later, it is unfolded the real reason behind Wachter’s words.
Question 4.
Why was Franz afraid of M. Hamel?
Answer:
Franz did not prepare his lesson on participles. He was not at all interested in learning any. As M. Hamel was their language teacher, he was afraid because he thought he would get scolded. M. Hamel was a very strict teacher so he thought he would not spare him.
C. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
But nothing happened. M. Hamel saw me and said very kindly, “Go to your place quickly, little Franz. We were beginning without you.” 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.
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. 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.
Question 1.
… “Go to your place quickly, little Franz”- Who is the speaker here? Why did he say so?
Answer:
Here the speaker is M. Hamel. Franz reached late to school therefore he was late in class. As M. Hamel had an important thing to say to his students, he told him so. He did not had time for any more delay.
Question 2.
What surprised Franz the most?
Answer:
During M. Hamel’s class, the back benches used to remain empty but on that very day Franz noticed that the village people were sitting quietly on the back benches like the students including Hauser, the former mayor, the former postmaster, and others.
Question 3.
Write a few words about Hauser.
Answer:
Hauser is an older gentleman Franz recognizes from the village. Franz is surprised to see Hauser sitting on the benches in the back of the schoolroom alongside several other adults from the village. By the end of the story, Hauser is in tears as he reads from a rudimentary language textbook and speaks simple syllables and letters aloud with the youngest students.
Question 4.
What was unusual about the school that Franz noticed when he entered the school?
Answer:
Our entering the school, Franz noticed that there was unusual silence. There was no noise of opening and closing of desks. The village elders had occupied the last benches that were always empty. M Hamel was in his very fine Sunday clothes. Everybody looked sad.
D. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
What a thunderclap these words were to me! Oh, the wretches; that was what they had put up at the town-hall! My last French lesson! Why, I hardly knew how to write! I should never learn any more! 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! 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.
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. 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.
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.
Question 1.
… “What a thunderclap these words were to me!”-Who said this? Why?
Answer:
This was said by Franz, a little boy of school going age. When he reached school and entered M. Hamel’s class, M. Hamel declared that that would be their last class on French as the order had come that only German would be taught in schools. That is why he said so.
Question 2.
… “Why, I hardly knew how to write!”- Why did the speaker say so?
Answer:
The speaker, Franz, never took his lessons seriously. He loved to remain playful and inattentive in class. But when he heard from M. Hamel that that would be their last class on French as by order only German would be taught in schools, the speaker regretted by saying that he hardly knew how to write in French.
Question 3.
Why were the old men of the village were sitting in the back of the room?
Answer:
When the old men learnt about the order, they felt shocked and sad as well. They too feel regretted because they too had not gone to school more. But they wanted to thank M. Hamel forty years of faithful service. So, to express their gratitude and show their respect for the country, they were sitting in the back of the room.
Question 4.
How did Franz’s feelings about Mr. Hamel and school change?
Answer:
Franz now felt ashamed and extremely sad for Mr. Hamel. He forgot all about his rod and cranky nature because he now understood his mistakes and felt ashamed for not taking his lessons seriously. Mr Hamel thus became a symbol of courage, strength and patriotism for him.
The Last Lesson Story MCQs
Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:
Question 1.
What does ‘The Last Lesson’ symbolize?
a. Loss
b. Loss of freedom
c. Loss of language
d. Loss of language and freedom
Answer:
d. Loss of language and freedom
Question 2.
From which country did Alphonse Daudet belong?
a. India
b. France
c. England
d. New Zealand
Answer:
b. France
Question 3.
What human tendency does the story ‘The Last Lesson’ highlight?
a. Procrastination
b. Male Chauvinism
c. Courage
d. Cowardice
Answer:
a. Procrastination
Question 4.
Why was Franz reluctant to go to school?
a. School was boring
b. Lesson on participles was not prepared
c. He didn’t like his teacher
d. None of the above
Answer:
b. Lesson on participles was not prepared
Question 5.
What was the image of Mr M Hamel among his studepts, initially?
a. A loving teacher
b. An understanding teacher
c. A strict teacher
d. A kind and humble teacher
Answer:
c. A strict teacher
Question 6.
What does “The Last Lesson” signify?
a. Change of Government
b. Change in life
c. Change of power
d. Change of teachers
Answer:
d. Change of teachers
Question 7.
What do the marching soldiers under the windows represent?
a. The dawn of Prussia in defeat of French people
b. The defeat of Prussia
c. The victory of French people
d. None of these
Answer:
b. The defeat of Prussia
Question 8.
Who wrote the story ‘The Last Lesson’?
a. Alphonse Daudet
b. Oscar Wilde
c. Rabindranath Tagore
d. Charles Dickens
Answer:
a. Alphonse Daudet
Question 9.
Who occupied the back benches in the class?
a. Weak students
b. Teachers
c. Monitors of the class
d. Village elders
Answer:
d. Village elders
Question 10.
What did Franz find on reaching the school?
a. People were dancing
b. Strange people
c. Strange quietness
d. Police patrolling
Answer:
c. Strange quietness
Question 11.
Why was Franz surprised?
a. Because of village elders
b. Because of M. Hamel’s kind and polite behaviour
c. Because of students’ behaviour
d. Because of police patrolling
Answer:
b. Because of M. Hamel’s kind and polite behaviour
Question 12.
Why was Franz feeling regretful and sad?
a. For not learning his mother tongue
b. For reaching late
c. For not learning participles
d. For change of the Government
Answer:
a. For not learning his mother tongue
Question 13.
Whom did M. Hamel blame for not sending students to school?
a. Parents
b. Friends
c. Teachers
d. Watchman
Answer:
a. Parents
Question 14.
What did Hauser bring?
a. Sweets
b. Friends
c. Children
d. Old primer
Answer:
d. Old primer
Question 15.
Why was Franz shocked to see M. Hamel?
a. Because of his formal dress
b. Because he gave sweets
c. Because he had a flower in his hand
d. All of these
Answer:
a. Because of his formal dress
Question 16.
What bad news used to come from the Bulletin Board?
a. Lost battles
b. The draft
c. Orders of commanding officers
d. All of these
Answer:
d. All of these
Question 17.
What unusual thing did Franz notice that day?
a. Crowd in school
b. Soldiers in the school
c. Quietness in the school
d. All of these
Answer:
c. Quietness in the school
Question 18.
Which language would the students study from the next day?
a. English
b. German
c. Dutch
d. Spanish
Answer:
b. German
Question 19.
Who was M.Hamel?
a. Language teacher
b. A spy
c. Soldier
d. School Principal
Answer:
a. Language teacher
Question 20.
What does the story highlight?
a. Power
b. Money
c. Transition
d. People
Answer:
c. Transition
Question 21.
Why were the parents sending their children to the farms and mills?
a. To play
b. To meet friends
c. To meet relatives
d. To earn money
Answer:
d. To earn money
Question 22.
For how many years did M. Hamel serve the school?
a. 20 years
b. 40 years
c. 35 years
d. 30 years
Answer:
b. 40 years
Question 23.
Why did the villagers come to meet M. Hamel in the school?
a. To show gratitude
b. To gossip
c. To say goodbye
d. To complain
Answer:
a. To show gratitude
Question 24.
Why did Mr. M. Hamel call the French language the most beautiful?
a. Because it was his native language
b. Because people were from France
c. Because it was the clearest and logical
d. None of these
Answer:
c. Because it was the clearest and logical
Question 25.
What lesson was Franz expected to prepare?
a. Song
b. Dance
c. Essay writing
d. Participles
Answer:
d. Participles
Question 26.
When people are enslaved, what key do they have to the prison, according to M. Hamel?
a. Aggressiveness
b. Mother tongue
c. Power
d. Their behaviour
Answer:
b. Mother tongue
Question 27.
What did Mr. Hamel bring for his class on his last day at school?
a. New pens
b. Sweets
c. New notebook
d. Story book
Answer:
c. New notebook
Question 28.
What attitude of M. Hamel surprised Franz?
a. Soft and kind
b. Rude
c. Firm and strict
d. All
Answer:
a. Soft and kind
Question 29.
In which year was “The Last Lesson” written?
a. 1869 – 1870
b. 1870 – 1871
c. 1872- 1873
d. 1870 – 1872
Answer:
b. 1870 – 1871