Question

Who occupied the back benches in the classroom on the day of the last lesson? Why?

Answer 1

Hint:
i) "In his short story "The Last Class," Alphonse Daudet reveals the concepts of liberty and patriotism.
ii) Courage, the importance of knowledge, and the preciousness of one's own language are interrelated themes.
iii) It also tells that they have now taken their rights from the people of the city and of Alsace.

Complete answer:
Some old people filled the back benches on the day of the last lesson in the short story 'The Last Lesson' by Alphonse Daudet, as they entered the French class as a show of reverence for their native tongue. They decided to thank the teacher from France, M. Hamel, for his important commitment over more than forty years to teaching their mother tongue to their children. M. Hamel is a French man and a teacher at Alsace for over forty years. He never blamed his students alone for the poor learning and was an honest teacher. He encouraged a deep patriotism sentiment in order to be free from Persians and urged his countrymen to preserve their mother tongue.

This story emphasizes the importance of education and the need for one's own language to be respected and studied. The unjust practice of linguistic chauvinism draws our attention to this story. Although dismissing all the other languages as inferior, it relates to an irrational confidence in one's own tongue.

Note:
-The last lesson in French, taught by M. Hamel symbolizes the lack of language and France's loss of liberty.
-It's becoming an emotional lesson offered by M. Hamel to the peasants, which represents the evolving order of life and its effect on people's sensibilities and emotions.