CLASS 10 NCERT ENGLISH FIRST SLIGHT Chapter 1 A Letter to God

Chapter-1-A-Letter-to-God

A Letter to God

Page no-5

Question 1. What did Lencho hope for?
Lencho wished for good rain since it was very important for his crops and a successful harvest.

Question 2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Lencho thought the raindrops were like new coins because they promised him a rich harvest and more wealth.

Question 3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
At first, Lencho welcomed the rain. Suddenly, strong winds brought hailstones instead. The hail destroyed all the crops in Lencho’s field, leaving nothing behind.

Question 4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Lencho was deeply sad. After the hail finished, he saw that everything was ruined. He had nothing left to feed his family and saw only poverty ahead.

Page no-6

Question 1. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Lencho had absolute faith in God. He believed God could see all and help anyone in need. So, he wrote a letter to God, asking for a hundred pesos to start his crop again.

Question 2. Who read the letter?
The postmaster read Lencho’s letter.

Question 3. What did the postmaster do after reading the letter?
At first, the postmaster laughed at the letter, but soon he was touched by Lencho’s faith. He collected money from his coworkers and sent it to Lencho on God’s behalf.

Page no-7

Question 1. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Lencho was not surprised at all, since he believed God would help him.

Question 2. What made Lencho angry?
Lencho became angry because the envelope contained only seventy pesos, not the hundred he had asked for.

Thinking about the Text

Question 1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Lencho has total faith in God. Examples from the story:

  • “Help from God was the only hope in every heart.”
  • “Throughout the night, Lencho kept hoping for help from God, whose eyes see everything.”
  • “God, if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year.”
  • “He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope.”
  • “God could not have made a mistake, nor denied Lencho what he asked for.”

Question 2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
The postmaster sends money so Lencho’s faith in God stays strong. He signs as ‘God’ to make Lencho think God really answered his prayer.

Question 3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why or why not?
Lencho did not try to find out because he was certain it was from God. His faith was so complete that he suspected no one else.

Question 4. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation?
Lencho believes the post office workers took the rest of the money as he found only seventy pesos. The irony is: Lencho blames the very people who tried to help him and keep his faith alive.

Question 5. Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is?
People like Lencho are rare. He is unquestioning, naive, and innocent in his faith. Most people today are not as trusting.

Question 6. There are two kinds of conflict in the story—between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts shown?
Human vs Nature: Lencho’s work was destroyed by the hailstorm—despite his hard work, natural forces ruined everything.
Human vs Human: The postmaster and his friends helped Lencho, but Lencho accused them of theft—showing distrust between people.

Thinking about Language

Match the storm types with their description:

  1. Cyclone
  2. Gale
  3. Typhoon
  4. Tornado
  5. Hurricane
  6. Whirlwind

Match the meaning of ‘hope’:

  1. (b)
  2. (e)
  3. (a)
  4. (f)
  5. (d)
  6. (c)

Sentence Joining Examples:

  • I often go to Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of India.
  • My mother, who cooks very well, is going to host a TV show on cooking.
  • These sportspersons, whose performance was excellent, are going to meet the President.
  • Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.
  • This man whom I trusted cheated me.

Negative words expressing ideas:
(a) Not a leaf remained on the trees.
(b) It was nothing less than a letter to God.
(c) Never in his career had he seen that address.

Metaphors from the story:

  • Cloud: Huge mountains of clouds—the massiveness of mountains
  • Raindrops: Coins—money from harvest
  • Hailstones: Frozen pearls—bright, destructive
  • Locusts: Plague of locusts—widespread destruction
  • Lencho: An ox of a man—strength