Question

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

“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!”

1. Who is ‘he’? Why was he so sentimental? (Understanding and Analysis)
2. What could he not do? Why? (Understanding)
3. What did he write on the blackboard, and why? (Understanding and Analysis)
4. What do you think of this person? (Analysis)
5. ‘Vive La France’. What does it mean and symbolise? What does it show about the speaker? (Analysis and Evaluation)

Answer 1

1. ‘He’ refers to M. Hamel, the French teacher. He was sentimental because it was his last French lesson after forty years of teaching, and he was about to leave the school under foreign rule.
2. M. Hamel could not continue speaking because he was overcome with emotion. The thought of leaving his students, school and beloved language made him deeply emotional.
3. He wrote “Vive La France!” on the blackboard. He wrote it to express his love, patriotism and loyalty towards France and to encourage the people to remain proud of their nation.
4. M. Hamel was patriotic, devoted, emotional and sincere. He deeply valued French language and culture and wanted his students to preserve their national identity.
5. “Vive La France!” means “Long live France!” It symbolises patriotism, national pride and resistance to foreign rule. It shows M. Hamel’s deep love for his country and his unwavering loyalty to France.