Question

"Franz was able to understand everything that day". Explain.

Answer 1

That day brought shock for Franz; the shock of sad news about his teacher leaving for ever; the sad news that Alsace and Lorraine had been captured implied living under the Prussian rules and regulations. All this combined together ignited his patriotism. He felt he was far better as a Frenchman; he did not want to become a Prussian, as that meant starting all his life anew; learning everything from scratch. So he gave his hundred percent that day to the last lesson from M. Hamel. As a result he understood everything that day.