Flamingo(The last lesson) long answers

 

NCERT Solutions For Class 12 English

Flamingo

The Last Lesson(Alphonse Daudet)

Long Answer type Questions

Q1. The people in this story suddenly realize how precious their language is to them. What shows you this? Why does this happen?
Ans: M. Hamel informed the students and villagers that from now on, only German would be taught in Alsace and Lorraine schools. Those who claimed to be Frenchmen would be unable to speak or write the language. He praised French as the world's most beautiful, clearest, and logical language. He claimed that the enslaved people's language was the key to their captivity. The people then realized how valuable their language was to them. This illustrates people's emotional connection to their own culture, traditions, and country. Pride in one's mother language reflects pride in one's motherland.

Q2. “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.”
Can you think of examples in history where a conquered people had their language taken away from them or had a language imposed on them?
Ans A person's mother tongue allows him to express his feelings and thoughts most clearly and intimately. Conquerors attempt to subdue and control the people of the enslaved territory through a variety of techniques, including the use of force to crush dissent and the imposition of their own language.

Victorious nations have imposed their own language on conquered peoples and taken their own language away from them since time immemorial. The Romans conquered much of Europe, replacing local languages with their own language, Latin. Latin later gave rise to Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French. The Muslim invaders imposed Arabic and Persian on the Asian countries they conquered.

Q3. Is it possible to carry pride in one’s language too far? Do you know what “linguistic chauvinism” means?
Ans 'Linguistic chauvinism' refers to the aggressive and unreasonable belief that your native language is superior to all others. This demonstrates an excessive or biassed support for one's native language. When pride in one's own language becomes excessive, linguistic enthusiasts can be easily identified by their zeal for the preservation and spread of their language. In their enthusiasm, love, and support for their native language, they often forget that other languages have their own merits, as well as a long history of art, culture, and literature. Excessive pride in one's own language, instead of bringing unity and gaining others as friends, breeds ill will and disintegration. 

Q4. What order had been received from Berlin that day? What effect did it have on the life at school?
Ans: Only German would be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine, according to a directive from Berlin. This order had far-reaching consequences for school life. M. Hamel, who had taught French at the village school for the previous forty years, would give his final lesson that day.

M. Hamel, the teacher, had dressed to the nines in honour of the last lesson. Old men from the village sat quietly in the back of the classroom. They were both sad and sorry for not attending school any longer. They had come to thank the master for his forty years of faithful service and to show their respect for their country.

The teacher addressed the students solemnly and gently. He asked them to be quiet and patiently explained everything. He pleaded with them to keep French alive among them. During slavery, it served as the prison's key. He was overcome with emotion and was unable to properly bid farewell.

Q5. Write the character sketch of M. Hamel on the basis of your study of the story ‘The Last Lesson’?
Ans: M. Hamel is an experienced teacher who has taught in that village school for the past forty years. He teaches primary school in all subjects. He is a strict taskmaster, and students like Franz, who are slow learners, are terrified of being chastised by him.

The latest order issued by the Prussian conquerors irritates him. He must leave the area permanently and is heartbroken. He is sad, but he maintains his composure. He has the fortitude to hear every lesson until the end.

His performance in the previous lesson was outstanding. Even to a latecomer like Franz, he is gracious. When addressing the students, he uses a solemn and gentle tone. He has a logical mind and can analyze problems to determine what is causing them. Alsace's problem is that he (the district) puts off learning until tomorrow.

He is aware of a language's emotional hold on its users. He is an excellent communicator who patiently explains everything. Partings are painful, and M. Hamel, being human, is no exception. He can't say goodbye because his throat is clogged. Overall, he is a patriotic gentleman.

Q6) Why did M Hamel write ‘Vive La France!’ on the Blackboard?

 He wrote ‘Vive La France!‘ on the Blackboard  as a sign of opposition to imposing the teaching of German in the schools of Alsace instead of French. It showed how much he cherished French language and culture. From the very beginning of the novel, the inhabitants of Alsace did not place any value on the French language, but unlike other characters, M. Hamel expressed worry. The people of Alsace did not care about learning their own language. Franz was not the only one who had this problem; many others had also failed to acquire French. The narrator claimed that since French was the most beautiful language in the world, everyone should appreciate and acknowledge it.