"When a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language
it is as if they had the key to their prison."
Comment on the basis of the story "The Last Lesson"
please write it for 5 marks and in simple wording
Answers
Explanation:
Political enslavement is a curse for any nation as it deprives it of its identity. The natives of the country do not enjoy any kind of freedom, be it physical or mental. The ruling government or the powerful compels them to abide by the rules justified or unjustified. At such time it is their language, mother tongue which keeps their identity alive. It is their language which unites them against the foreigners who have invaded their motherland. It is also the key to their prison as the mother tongue binds them together. It constantly reminds them to their enslavement and brings them together to fight for liberation of their motherland. M. Hamel in the chapter "the last lesson" reminds his countrymen to safeguard their language after they received orders from Berlin banning the teaching of French in Alsatian school. The natives can liberate themselves only if they recognize and maintain their identity through their mother tongue.