Critical Analysis of the Essay "The Last Lesson" for ADP/B.Sc. English Students.
(Notes written by Muhammad Islam, MA English / MA Urdu)
This
story touches the nationalistic feelings of the French people as portrayed
through two persons: Monsieur Hamel , the teacher and Frantz , the student. The
theme of the story highlights the importance of general education and national
language for independence of a nation.
“The
more a language spreads , the more the culture of its speakers spreads.”
(Catharine Belsey)
Thus
the cultural development depends on LINGUISTIC development. As both march hand
in hand together.
“A
defeated nation can regain its freedom only through its language and
culture.” (Raymond Williams)
So
national language is a tool in the independence movement of a nation.
The
story ‘The Last Lesson’ highlights the human tendency that there is plenty of
time to do things; hence, man keeps postponing the lessons of life, oblivious
to the fact that life is subject to change. The people of Alsace always thought
they had plenty of time to learn the lessons; therefore, they did not give much
importance to school. They preferred their children to work on the farms and
mills instead of having them learn the lessons. Even Franz, the narrator,
always looked for opportunities to skip the school and collect birds’ eggs.
However, the unexpected happens and an order is received from Berlin regarding
compulsory teaching of German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. It is then
that they realize that they would be deprived of what they had been evading all
this while.
According
to CM Bowra:
“The
last French lesson taught by M. Hamel symbolizes the loss of language and the
loss of freedom for France.”
It becomes an emotional lesson rendered by M.
Hamel to the villagers, signifying the changing order of life and its impact on
the sensibilities and emotions of people. The marching soldiers under the windows
represent the dawn of Prussia in France, defeat of the French people and the
resultant threat to their language and culture.
The
story is aptly titled as it evokes the consciousness in the reader not to put
off things and do what one can do that day. M. Hamel’s bold ‘Long live France’ on the blackboard
becomes significant evidence of his sadness, patriotism and finality that is
reflected in his motionless posture, his fixed gaze on things in the classroom
and his eventual words- ‘School is
dismissed – You may go’.
Franz
unwilling to attend Mr. Hamel’s Class:
Franz was not among the bright students in his class particularly in the
class of French language. Mr. Hamel, the teacher was going to ask questions on
Participles and he knew little about them. Moreover the beautiful natural
scenes around there tempted him to bunk the class. Moreover it was bright
sunshine, the birds were chirping, the Prussian soldiers were drilling in the
open. Crowd in front of the bulletin board: It was the usual sight in front of
the bulletin board at the Town Hall. People would come there to know about the
updates of the war and their fate. On that day it was more shocking for the
villagers as German language was imposed to be taught in their schools in place
of their mother language. A Sunday morning atmosphere in the school: It was an
unusual atmosphere in the school. Instead of great hustle and bustle, opening
and closing of the desks and the sound of students repeating the lessons and the usual rapping of teacher’s ruler,
there was a Sunday morning silence. Franz had thought to take the cover of
these actions to enter the class without being noticed. Mr. Hamel welcomed
Franz: But to his surprise he found the class busy. The teacher was in his best
dress. He was wearing a beautiful green coat and a frilled shirt. He had a
little black silk cap. He would never wear it except on inspection or prize
days. In the back of the class village people were sitting on the back benches
as quiet as the children. They included old Hauser, the former Mayer, the
former postmaster and many others. Hauser had brought a primer with him. Mr.
Hamel welcomed Mr. Franz in the class just saying “Go to your place quickly, a
little Franz. We were beginning without you.” The last lesson: In the
class Mr. Hamel asked Franz to recite the rules for Participles.” but Franz got
mixed with the words. But to his surprise Mr. Hamel did not scold him. He just
said it is a bad habit to say ‘I’ll learn it tomorrow.’ Mr. Hamel blamed
Franz’s parents as they were more interested to put him to some work and thus
have a little more money. He blamed himself too as he often sent him to water
his flowers instead of teaching and for giving him holidays on the pretext of
going for fishing. Mr. Hamel gave his last lesson on grammar. It seemed that he
wanted to put everything about the language in the minds of the people in one
stoke. Mr. Hamel had brought new copies. It was pin drop silence except the
cooing of the pigeon. Mr. Hamel mocked the Prussian emotionally saying “will
they make them sing in German, even the pigeons.” Franz’s regreted:
when Mr. Hamel announced that it was his last French lesson, it was like a
thunderclap. He found himself regretting for not learning his lessons. His books
always seemed to him a nuisance (something that causes annoyance). He wanted to
learn but the teacher was going away forever. But to his surprise he was able
to understand everything about the lesson taught on that day. He started liking
Mr. Hamel he forgot about his ruler and crankiness. He realized that he had
never listened carefully and that the teacher had never explained everything
with so much patience. He wanted to stop him but he could not do so. It was too
late to make thing lovable again. Emotional farewell: Mr. Hamel had deep love
for French in his heart. He was annoyed at the people to be called Frenchmen
while they did not know how to read and write French. He called it most
beautiful and logical language in the world. He asked the people to guard it in
their hearts as he thought “long as the enslaved people held fast to their
language, it was as if they had the key to their prison. Just then the church
bell struck twelve. With a chocked throat Mr. Hamel wrote ‘long Live Franc!’ on
the black board. He made a gesture with his hand: “school is dismissed-you may go.” Mr. Hamel-A conventional and
cranky school teacher Mr. Hamel has all the good and bad qualities of a
conventional teacher. He loves to be strict and disciplined. He always keeps
his terrible ruler under his arm. He wanted his students to be punctual and
follow the usual school norms. He asks the students to learn their lesson with
heart. He does not encourage a weak student but rather he gives him holidays on
the pretext of going for fishing. He loves to be admired and appreciated as he
wears best of his dresses on inspection days. An emotional and patriot
Frenchman: as he comes to know the German has ordered to stop teaching French
he becomes sentimental. He wants to make his last lesson unforgettable. He puts
on his best dress and hat. He does not scold any one and not even to Franz. He
feels sorry for the village people as they did not know how to read and write
their mother language. He exhort them to guard it in their hearts as he thought “as
long as the enslaved people held fast to their language, it were as if they had
the key to their prison.” Just then the church bell struck twelve. With
a chocked throat Mr. Hamel wrote ‘long Live France!’ on the black board.
Mr
Alphonse Daudet , in this story mirrors the national life of France. Generally
in a symbolic manner it also carries a universal message that linguistic
competence is a matchless blessing of a nation. It should never lose this
competence. If it is lost then the hard rope of slavery will catch and put
their freedom to the clutches of death.
Q.1: How
does the theme of the tale relate to the subject of language and culture?
It is said
that a blessing is only valued when it has been lost. Only the blind realizes
what great blessing eyesight is, and no one. A famous American writer, Helen
Keller, has written a marvelous essay “Three
Days to See” on the subject of language and culture. Well, that is also the
theme of “The Last Lesson” by Alphonse Daudet, the famous French writer.
Freedom is the great blessing of Allah Almighty but we only value it after its
loss. The people of Alsace and Lorraine realized about the value of freedom
when their land was occupied in 1870 by German forces in Franco-Prussian war.
Soon after the military occupation of the area, orders came from Berlin that “henceforth in the schools of Alsace
and Lorraine, all instructions shall be given in the German tongue only”.
The people realized the value and importance of French language only after that
announcement.’
Language is
God’s special gift to mankind. Native language is the the best means of
self-expression. It is through language that humans express their thoughts,
desires, emotions, and feelings; it is through it that they store knowledge,
transmit messages, knowledge and experience from one person to another, from
one generation to another. Most of the activities in the world are carried on
through it or by it. It is through it that humans interact. It is language
again that yokes the present, the past and the future together. It is a means
of nourishing and developing culture and establishing human relations. We learn
a language as members of the society using that language, or because we want to
understand that society, or to be understood by that speech community. If a
language is not used in society it dies out.
A ruling
nation always tries to subdue the minds and souls of the subject nation by
different ways and means. They know that they can only continue their
domination through that. A ruling nation always tries to spread its own
language and culture in the subject nation. Sometimes the slave nation begins
to feel inferiority about its own language and culture. And that is the worst
stage of slavery when the mind and soul of the nation also become enslaved.
So language
and culture of the slave nation becomes a sort of guarantee that soon after in
future it will be free. Mr. Hamel, the French teacher in the story tells his
young students the same golden principle of history when he tells them: “when a nation has become enslaved, she
holds the key which shall unlock her prison as long as she preserves her native
tongue”. Mr. Hamel is also aware about the punishment of losing their
language and freedom, thus, he says to Franz: “thy punishment will be great enough”.
When the
nation loses its language, it loses its identification, glory, splendor and
place in the other nations. Other nations laugh at its poor condition. One
stage comes, when subdued nations can neither speak nor write its own language,
because they consider that learning of their language is inferior to ruling
nation language. Same thing is said by Hamel to Franz in these words: “what! You profess to be Frenchmen, and can
neither speak nor write your own language?”
People
understand one another in better way by their native language; it units them;
it encloses them; it develops brotherhood, affection and sympathy among them.
People can learn it easily and comfortably. Hamel says about French language
same thing: “it was the strongest,
clearest, most beautiful language in the world”. In fact, native language
keeps heritage and asset of the nation. It keeps tradition, beliefs, rituals
and conventions of that nation, therefore loss of language means loss of
culture and past heritage. Hamel is aware about this reality and expresses: “which (language) we must keep as our
heritage never allowing it to be forgotten”
A culture
always goes hand in hand with language. The songs, the dress, the behavior all are expressed through language. Just
see how little Franz realizes the importance of his French language: “On the roof of the schoolhouse the
pigeons were cooing softly, and I thought to myself as listened, and must they
also be compelled to sing in German”.
The story
inspires feelings of affection and patriotism for one’s father land. Hamel
loves his country passionately and is shocked at his defeat. He writes “France
Alsace” in class room and “Long Live France” on the blackboard. He inculcates
love for his country in his students, because he is aware about it that
language and culture of a nation are its hall marks through which it identifies
itself as a separate nation and the identification paves way for future freedom
if the nation has become slave for the time being. So, the theme of the story
has a direct relation with the subject of language and culture.
Q.2. Does
this patriotic tale of a French school boy make us conscious about the value of
our own native language?
“The last
lesson” by Alphonse Daudet is a patriotic tale of a French school-boy and it
makes us conscious about the value of our own native language. Although a
strange tragedy about us Pakistanis is that we honour English language and
don’t give our own native language the value and importance that this deserves,
yet we are aware that native language is soul and life of a nation; it
expresses our culture; it is heritage of our traditions, customs, beliefs,
desires and knowledge. Without our own language we are bodies without soul;
brain without thinking; heart without feelings and a nation without
identification.
It is said
that a blessing is only valued when it has been lost. Only the blind realizes
what great blessing eyesight is, and no one. A famous American writer, Helen
Keller, has written a marvelous essay “Three Days to See” on the same subject .
Well, that is also the theme of “The Last Lesson” by Alphonse Daudet, the
famous French writer. Freedom is the great blessing of Allah Almighty but we
only value it after its loss. The people of Alsace and Lorraine realized about
the value of freedom when their land was occupied in 1870 by German forces in
Franco-Prussian war. Soon after the military occupation of the area, orders came
from Berlin that “henceforth in the
schools of Alsace and Lorraine, all instructions shall be given in the German
tongue only”. The people realized the value and importance of French
language only after that announcement.
A ruling
nation always tries to subdue the minds and souls of the subject nation by
different ways and means. They know that they can only continue their
domination through that. A ruling nation always tries to spread its own
language and culture in the subject nation. Sometimes the slave nation begins
to feel inferiority about its own language and culture. And that is the worst
stage of slavery when the mind and soul of the nation also become enslaved.
Language is
God’s special gift to mankind. Native language is the the best means of self-expression.
It is through language that humans express their thoughts, desires, emotions,
and feelings; it is through it that they store knowledge, transmit messages,
knowledge and experience from one person to another, from one generation to
another. Most of the activities in the world are carried on through it or by
it. It is through it that humans interact. It is language again that yokes the
present, the past and the future together. It is a means of nourishing and
developing culture and establishing human relations. We learn a language as
members of the society using that language, or because we want to understand
that society, or to be understood by that speech community. If a language is
not used in society it dies out.
The story of
Daudet is an eye-opener for us. It is the native language by force of which
even a slave nation can break the chain of its slavery. The French teacher in
the story, Mr. Hamel tells his class pupil about the importance and value of
native language, “When a nation has
become enslaved, she holds the key which shall unlock her prison as long as she
preserves her native language”
We, as a
nation, are proud of English and English-medium schools. Everybody wishes to
educate his sons and daughters in English-medium schools and the Urdu-medium
schools are looked down upon as of inferior quality. This is not a reasonable
attitude. We are losing our identity; losing our language; losing our culture
and tradition. There is craze for
English, western or Chinese things. Our music, foods, dishes are vanishing.
Burger, pizza, and doughnut these were unusual and meaningless words in our
society, but now almost everyone living in cities knows these words. This is
not at all a healthy sign for us if we wish to continue our national life in the
realm of freedom. On the other hand, other nations those progressed and brought
themselves on the top of the list in the world nations preferred their
language, culture and heritage. Those nations instruct their children in their
native languages; speak in native languages; prefer native languages. They have
comprehended that secret of progression and success is hidden in the follow
suit of their own languages.
When the
nation loses its language, it loses its identification, glory, splendor and
place in the other nations. Other nations laugh at its poor condition. One
stage comes, when subdued nations can neither speak nor write its own language,
because they consider that learning of their language is inferior to ruling
nation language. Same thing is said by Hamel to Franz in these words: “what! You profess to be Frenchmen, and
can neither speak nor write your own language?”
People
understand one another in better way by their native language; it units them;
it encloses them; it develops brotherhood, affection and sympathy among them.
People can learn it easily and comfortably. Hamel says about French language
same thing: “it was the strongest,
clearest, most beautiful language in the world”. In fact, native language
keeps heritage and asset of the nation. It keeps tradition, beliefs, rituals
and conventions of that nation, therefore loss of language means loss of
culture and past heritage. Hamel is aware about this reality and expresses: “which (language) we must keep as our
heritage never allowing it to be forgotten”
A culture
always goes hand in hand with language. The songs, the dress, the behavior all are expressed through language. Just
see how little Franz realizes the importance of his French language: “On the roof of the schoolhouse the
pigeons were cooing softly, and I thought to myself as listened, and must they
also be compelled to sing in German”.
Language of
a nation is its hallmark through which it identifies itself as a separate
nation and the identification paves way for future freedom if the nation has
become slave for time being. The patriotic tale of Franz tells us the native
language is soul and life of freedom. We must value our native language and
give it importance that it deserves if we are going to maintain our freedom
among the brotherhood of free nations.
