📊 RBSE Class 12 English - Official Marks Distribution 2025-26

Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan, Ajmer

⏱️ Exam Duration: 3 Hours 15 Minutes | 📚 Prescribed Books: Flamingo & Vistas (NCERT)

📚 RBSE Class 12 English - Complete Notes Series

Flamingo Prose (This Article) | Flamingo Poetry (Coming Soon) | Vistas (Coming Soon) | Grammar (Coming Soon) | Writing Skills (Coming Soon)

📑 Table of Contents

1. Exam Pattern - Flamingo Prose
2. Chapter 1: The Last Lesson
3. Chapter 2: Lost Spring
4. Chapter 3: Deep Water
5. Chapter 4: The Rattrap
6. Quick Revision Table
7. PDF Download

📚 Flamingo Prose - All 8 Chapters at a Glance

✅ Chapters 1-4 covered in this PDF | Part 2 (Ch 5-8) Coming Soon

✍️ About the Author

Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897) was a French novelist and short-story writer. The story is set during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) when France lost Alsace and Lorraine to Prussia (Germany).

📖 Summary

Franz, a young schoolboy, arrives late to school expecting to be scolded by his teacher M. Hamel. Instead, he discovers this is the last French lesson – an order from Berlin mandates that only German will be taught from tomorrow. M. Hamel explains the importance of one's mother tongue: "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." Franz regrets not learning French properly. The lesson ends dramatically when M. Hamel writes "Vive La France!" (Long Live France!) on the blackboard.

🎯 Main Theme

Linguistic Patriotism – Language is the key to a nation's identity and freedom. The story teaches us not to take our mother tongue for granted.

💎 Key Quote

"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."

✍️ About the Author

Anees Jung (born 1944) is an Indian journalist known for writings on social issues, particularly focusing on marginalized women and children in India.

📖 Summary

Part 1: Saheb's Story – Saheb-e-Alam ("Lord of the Universe") is a ragpicker in Seemapuri, Delhi. Despite his grand name, he lives in extreme poverty. He eventually gets a job at a tea stall (₹800/month) but loses his freedom and the spark in his eyes.

Part 2: Mukesh's Story – Mukesh is from Firozabad, India's bangle-making capital. Unlike others trapped in the cycle of poverty, Mukesh dares to dream – he wants to become a motor mechanic and drive a car.

🎯 Main Themes

• Child Labor & Stolen Childhood
• Vicious Cycle of Poverty
• Hope vs. Hopelessness (Mukesh represents hope)

💎 Key Quote

"I will be a motor mechanic... I will learn to drive a car." – Mukesh's dream represents hope and determination.

✍️ About the Author

William O. Douglas (1898-1980) was an American Supreme Court Justice. This extract is from his autobiography "Of Men and Mountains" (1950).

📖 Summary

Douglas describes his journey from deep fear of water (hydrophobia) to conquering it. At age 10-11, he nearly drowned at the Y.M.C.A. pool when a big boy threw him into the deep end (9 feet). This traumatic experience left him with permanent fear. Years later, he hired an instructor, learned swimming techniques, and finally conquered his fear by swimming across Warm Lake.

🎯 Main Theme

Conquering Fear through Determination – Any fear can be overcome with willpower and persistent effort.

💎 Key Quote

"The only thing to fear is fear itself." – Franklin D. Roosevelt (quoted by Douglas)

✍️ About the Author

Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was a Swedish author and the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1909).

📖 Summary

A poor rattrap peddler believes the world is like a rattrap offering baits. He steals thirty kronor from a kind old crofter. Later, he is mistaken for Captain von Stahle by an ironmaster and taken to his manor. The ironmaster's daughter, Edla Willmansson, treats him with kindness even after his true identity is revealed. Her compassion transforms him – he returns the stolen money with a rattrap as Christmas gift, signing as "Captain von Stahle."

🎯 Main Themes

• "The World is a Rattrap" – Central metaphor
• Power of Kindness & Trust
• Redemption & Second Chances

💎 Key Quote

"The whole world is a rattrap. It sets baits for people."

1. Who wrote "The Last Lesson"?

(A) William Douglas   (B) Anees Jung   (C) Alphonse Daudet   (D) Selma Lagerlöf

✓ Answer: (C) Alphonse Daudet

2. What does "Saheb-e-Alam" mean?

(A) King of Kings   (B) Lord of the Universe   (C) Master of All   (D) Prince of Earth

✓ Answer: (B) Lord of the Universe

3. How deep was the Y.M.C.A. pool at the deep end?

(A) 6 feet   (B) 7 feet   (C) 9 feet   (D) 12 feet

✓ Answer: (C) 9 feet

4. Who was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature?

(A) Anees Jung   (B) Selma Lagerlöf   (C) A.R. Barton   (D) Pearl Buck

✓ Answer: (B) Selma Lagerlöf (1909)

5. How much money did the peddler steal from the crofter?

(A) Ten kronor   (B) Twenty kronor   (C) Thirty kronor   (D) Fifty kronor

✓ Answer: (C) Thirty kronor

🎯 Exam Tips for Flamingo Prose

1. For Extract Questions: Read carefully, identify the chapter first, answer MCQs before short answers
2. For Short Answers (2 marks): Stick to 20-30 words, be direct and clear
3. For Long Answers (3 marks): Write about 60 words, include examples from text
4. Memorize Author Names: Daudet (French), Jung (Indian), Douglas (American), Lagerlöf (Swedish)
5. Key Quotes: Learn at least one important quote from each chapter
6. Themes: Understand the central message – this helps in answering any question

📚 RBSE Class 12 English

Flamingo Prose - Complete Notes

Chapters 1-4 | Part 1 of 2

✅ Chapter Summaries ✅ Character Analysis ✅ Themes ✅ Important Quotes
✅ Vocabulary ✅ Extract-Based Questions ✅ MCQs ✅ Short & Long Answers

Format: PDF | Size: ~590 KB | Pages: 35

📋 What's Inside the PDF?

🚀 Coming Soon - RBSE Class 12 English Series

📖 Flamingo Prose Part 2 (Ch 5-8) | 📝 Flamingo Poetry | 📚 Vistas Complete | ✍️ Grammar | 📄 Writing Skills

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