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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. 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. 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.
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. 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!
All at once the church-clock struck twelve. Then the *Angelus. 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.
“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!”
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.”
Explanation:
In between writing, the narrator noticed M. Hamel, who sat still and peered at various objects in the little classroom as if he wanted to remember everything before departing. M. Hamel had been teaching there for the past forty years. The only differences were that the desks in the classroom had worn out over time, the walnut trees in the garden outdoors had grown taller, and the hop vines he'd planted himself were twined around the roof's windows. The narrator believes that the teacher must be heartbroken to be moved away from where he has spent his last forty years of life.
Hop vines
As M. Hamel and his sister were prepared to depart the next day, the sound of his sister's packing and moving their baggage had been heard from the room upstairs. M. Hamel had the courage to hear the lesson from the entire class. After the writing task, they had a lesson on history. Later, the babies chanted and sang their rhymes ba, be bi, bo, bu.
On the other hand, Hauser had put on his spectacles and recited the letters with the students while holding the primer in both hands. He was sobbing, and his voice was trembling as he recited. The narrator had mixed emotions: he found it amusing to witness an old man like Hauser crying and trembling, but he also felt emotional like Hauser. This was a lesson the narrator will never forget.
Just then, the church clock struck twelve, and Angelus began. Angelus are the prayers said in the morning, in the middle of the day and in the evening in the Roman Catholic Church. At the same time, the sound of trumpets being played by Prussian soldiers returning from training was heard. M. Hamel's face had become dull and colourless as the class came to an end. He stood up straight and still, and Franz claims he had never been that tall before. Here the term "look so tall" doesn't speak the actual increase in height; instead, height is the symbolic representation of M. Hamel's delight in the language he teaches or his respect. M. Hamel began to talk but could not continue because his emotions overtook him. He got a piece of chalk and scribbled the words "Vive La France," which translates to "Long Live France," on the blackboard as large as he could. Then he stopped writing, leaned his head against the wall, and gestured to the students to go because the class was done.
Meanings of the difficult words:
S.No | Words | Meanings |
1 | Gaze | A long look, usually of a particular kind |
2 | Window | An opening in the wall or roof of a building or vehicle, fitted with glass in a frame to allow light or air and allow people to see out |
3 | Walnut | A nut with a slightly bitter taste, a series of folds in it, and a hard shell |
4 | Emotion | A strong feeling deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others |
5 | Hopvine | The twining stem of the hop plant |
6 | Dismiss | Order or allow to leave; send away |
7 | Gesture | A movement of part of the body, especially a hand or the head, to express an idea or meaning |
Reference:
State Council of Educational Research and Training (2018). Term-1 English Standard-10. The Last Lesson - Alphonse Daudet (pp. 162-178). Published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation.
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