THE LAST LESSON
INTRODUCTION
The language of any country is the pride of that country. It not only defines the culture but also tells us about the people, literature and history of of the country. Language for some people is just the medium of communication but for others it is the question of life and death.
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War (19 July 1870 – 10 May 1871) was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and Bavaria. The complete Prussian and German victory brought about the final unification of Germany under King Wilhelm I of Prussia. It also marked the downfall of Napoleon III and the end of the Second French Empire, which was replaced by the French Third Republic. As part of the settlement, the territory of Alsace-Lorraine was taken by Prussia to become a part of Germany, which it would retain until the end of World War I when it was given back to France in the Treaty of Versaillesath.
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- Why was Franz afraid of going to school? What other distractions tempted him to miss school?
- What was the significance of the bulletin board? What had been put up that day?
- What difference did Franz notice when he entered his class?
- What was unusual about M Hamel’s dress on his last day in the school?
- Why the order from Berlin is called a ‘thunder clap’ by Franz?
- Who occupied the back benches during M Hamel’s last lesson? Why?
- Ans: Franz was afraid to go to school that day because he had not prepared the test on participles in the least. Mr. M Hamel was a strict teacher. So he was scared of being embarrassed and punished by his teacher. Besides, the warm, bright weather, the chirping of birds and the sight of the marching Prussian soldiers also tempted him to stay away from school.
- Ans: A bulletin board had been put up at the Town Hall for every news and announcement. the details of lost battles, the draft and the order of the commanding officers, all were put up on the bulletin board. The bulletin board was the carrier of all the bad news for the district of Alsace and Lorraine. That day also the bulletin board carried the information that German will be taught instead of French in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine.
- Ans: Usually, there was a great commotion of the opening and closing of desks, of lessons repeated in unison, and the teacher’s huge ruler rapping on the table. But that particular day, it was as quiet as Sunday morning. When Franz entered his school, he found a pin-drop silence. This was very surprising for him. Secondly, M. Hamel asked him to enter the class and take his seat politely. Thirdly, he …
MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX
THEME
“My Mother at 66” is an ironical expression of the inevitability of Death. Kamla Das very skillfully portrays this theme of ageing, death and isolation through a narration involving her mother. The poem is an intricate mixture of the two very fundamental human tendencies– Love and the Fear of isolation– which puts the poet on the highest pedestal of reflective poetry. These two emotions are inseparable, intertwined with one-another for eternity; the feeling of Love gives rise to the fear of isolation and loss, and the fear of isolation itself nourishes the Love as it buds in the human heart.
The poem deals with advancing age and the fear of loss and separation associated with it. The poet undergoes a plethora of emotions when she sees her mother aging, and feels the pangs of separation at the thought of losing her. She must be feeling guilty of not being able to stay with her mother in her old age.
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- What childhood fears do you think the poet is referring to in the poem?
- What kinds of pain and ache did the poet feel?
- Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?
- What sort of activities did the poet see outside the car window?
- What is the poet’s familiar ache and why does it return?
- Ans: It is a childhood fear of every kid that he might be isolated from her mother; an emotion that grows even more intense with Age because as a child the fear is of mere isolation but as Age starts catching up, this fear turns into the fear of losing one’s mother forever.
- Ans: The emotional pain and ache that the poet feels is due to the realization that her mother has gone old and has become frail and pale like a corpse. She is dependent on her children. The ache also refers to the old familiar ache of the childhood that revisits the poet due to the mother’s old age and her approaching end.
- Ans: The young trees are personified in the poem. They seem to be running in the opposite direction when seen through the window of the moving car. The movement is juxtaposed with the expression on the mother’s face i.e. ashen like a corpse. The movement of the children and the trees is in stark contrast with the stillness associated with the mother.
THE THIRD LEVEL
THEME
‘The Third Level’ is a story that weaves together a psychological journey of the narrator into past, present and moves towards future. There is always a natural human tendency to constantly move between the past, the present and the future. Past, present and future are strategically and organically interconnected.
Man is mortal and has many good and bad aspects of life like love, profit, loss, good, bad, etc. All these aspects tend to affect the human mind. Then existential worries act like a catalyst for making the human mind constantly move between the past, the present and the future. ‘The Third Level’ is a study of human mind caught in this cycle of time…
SUMMARY
Charley was 31 years old man married to Louisa. Several times he had lost himself in the Grand Central Station. He always found himself bumping into new doorways and new corridors. Every time he had a new experience. He even had begun to believe that the Grand Central was like a huge tree ever pushing new tunnels and new corridors like the roots under the ground. Once he got into a mile long tunnel and came out in the lobby of a hotel. At another time, he came up into the building of an office…
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- What does the third level refer to? What is the significance of the third level?
- What was Charley’s strange experience at the Grand Central Station?
- What convined Charley that he had reached the third level at Grand Central Station?
- How did Charley ascertain that he had reached the 1894 world?
- In which context did Charley say, “eggs were thirteen cents a dozen in 1894”?
- Why did Charley run away from the third level?
- Ans: The third level refers to the Grand Central Station subway which will carry passengers to Galesburg, Illinois. The station’s third stage was a means of relief from the harsh realities of everyday life for Charley, the narrator. Modem life is devoid of peace and tranquility so man in his quest to seek solace escapes to a place where his aim is to seek the realization of his dreams and unfulfilled wishes of his subconscious mind.
- Ans: One night, while in a hurry to catch a subway train from the Grand Central Station, Charley took a path, which led him to the third level of Grand Central Station. On arriving here, he encountered something, which appeared outright strange to him. The information booth was made of wood, the lights were open flame gaslight and therefore dim. There where old fashioned railway engines, men and women in old fashioned clothes, carrying old fashioned accessories, such as the gold pocket watch. There were brass spittoons on the floors. By now Charley had an inkling that the path had brought him to the past. In order to confirm his doubt he decided to check the newspaper. The newspaper was ‘The world’ and the date on it read June,11, 1894. Publication of the same had been stopped hundred years ago. When Charley went to buy two tickets to Galesberg, Illinois, the clerk refused to sell him tickets because he did not recognise the new currency, which Charley was offering.
