NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 1 A Letter to God

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A Letter to God NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 1

A Letter to God NCERT Text Book Questions and Answers

A Letter to God Oral Comprehension Check

Question 1.
What did Lencho hope for?
Answer:
Lencho hoped for getting a better crop that year.

Question 2.
Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Answer:
Lencho said that the raindrops were like new coins because they were round in shape and almost of the same size. Secondly, he knew that good rain meant good crop which ultimately meant good money.

Question 3.
How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
Answer:
The pleasant and auspicious rain changed into a large hailstorm as a strong wind began to blow. Lencho’s field was covered with snow and it looked white as if it were covered with salt.

Question 4.
What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Answer:
When the hail stopped, Lencho was disappointed to see that the whole crop was spoiled. He felt very sad.

Question 5.
Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Answer:
Lencho had faith in God alone. He wrote a letter to God.

Question 6.
Who read the letter?
Answer:
The postmaster read the letter.

Question 7.
What did the postmaster do then?
Answer:
The postmaster collected some money from the employees and sent it to the poor farmer.

Question 8.
Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Answer:
No, Lencho was not surprised to find a letter for him from God with money in it. He took it very casually.

Question 9.
What made him angry?
Answer:
Lencho became angry to see only seventy pesos instead of hundred pesos.

A Letter to God Thinking about the Text

Question 1.
Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Answer:
Lencho had complete faith in God. The lines which show his extreme faith in God are:
(i) Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God.
(ii) God, if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year.
‘Lencho showed not, the slightest surprise on seeing the money.’
‘God could not have made a mistake’.
‘God: Of the money I asked for, only seventy pesos reached me, send me the rest.’

Question 2.
Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Answer:
The postmaster sent money to Lencho because he was extremely impressed by the extreme faith of a poor farmer in the supreme power of God. He signed the letter God because he didn’t want to shake the poor man’s faith in God.

Question 3.
Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
Answer:
No, Lencho did not try to find out who had sent the money to him because he could not think that anybody other than God could have given him the money.

Question 4.
Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation. (Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it. An ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected.)
Answer:
Lencho thought that the post office employees had taken the money. The irony is that the post office employees donated the money to help Lencho but he accused them of stealing the money from the envelope sent by God.

Question 5.
Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is?
Answer:
Yes, there are people like Lencho, who are innocent enough to think that the God would certainly help them as they have full faith in the supreme power of God. Lencho is a very simple man who had extreme faith in God; he is a man of clear conscience.

Lencho is a simple and innocent fellow who is naive but not stupid. It was his firm faith in God that he thought of writing a letter to God. He has an unquestioning attitude.

Though Lencho has immense faith in God, he is a poor judge of human nature. He lacks the value of gratefulness. What I like most about him is his immense faith in God and his simplicity.

Question 6.
There are two kinds of conflicts in the story ‘A letter to God’: between humans and nature and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?
Answer:
It is true that there are two kinds of conflicts in the story between humans and nature and between humans themselves. In the beginning of the story, Lencho is shocked to see the hailstorm wipe out the happiness along with the crop in the field. The moment Lencho was rejoicing at the rainfall, he did not know that it was the end of his happiness. On the other hand, Lencho who had extreme faith in the power of Almighty does not have the slightest trust in the employees of the post office. He considers them a bunch of crooks though they tried to help him.

A Letter to God Extra Questions and Answers

A Letter to God Reference-to-Context Questions

Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
The house — the only one in the entire valley — sat on the crest of a low hill. From this height one could see the river and the field of ripe corn dotted with the flowers that always promised a good harvest. The only thing the earth needed was a downpour or at least a shower. Throughout the morning Lencho — who knew his fields intimately — had done nothing else but see the sky towards the north-east.

(а) The house was located on the
Answer:
crest of a low hill

(b) The only thing the earth needed was
Answer:
a downpour

(c) One could see huts and the field of ripe corn dotted with the flowers from the height of the hill. (True/False)
Answer:
False

(d) Find the word from the passage which means ‘top of a hill’.
Answer:
crest

Question 2.
“Now we’re really going to get some water, woman.” The woman who was preparing supper, replied, “Yes, God willing”. The older boys were working in the field, while the smaller ones were playing near the house until the woman called to them all, “Come for dinner”. It was during the meal that, just as Lencho had predicted, big drops of rain began to fall. In the north-east huge mountains of clouds could be seen approaching. The air was fresh and sweet. The man went out for no other reason than to have the pleasure of feeling the rain on his body, and when he returned he exclaimed, “These aren’t raindrops falling from the sky, they are new coins. The big drops are ten-cent pieces and the little ones are fives.”

(a) Lencho compared the raindrops with the
Answer:
silver coins

(b) The family was happy as the rain was much needed for a good
Answer:
harvest

(c) The woman heard from Lencho that it was going to rain. (True/False)
Answer:
True

(d) Find the word from the passage which means ‘symbol of prosperity’.
Answer:
new coins.

Question 3.
With a satisfied expression he regarded the field of ripe corn with its flowers, draped in a curtain of rain. But suddenly a strong wind began to blow and along with the rain very large hailstones began to fall. These truly did resemble new silver coins. The boys, exposing themselves to the rain, ran out to collect the frozen pearls.

(a) Lencho was satisfied as the rain outside was much for a good harvest.
Answer:
needed

(b) Suddenly a strong wind began to blow and along with the rain very large began to fall.
Answer:
hailstones

(c) Very large stones that came along with the rain resembled golden pearls. (True/False)
Answer:
False

(d) Find the words from the passage which means ‘hailstones’.
Answer:
‘Frozen pearls’.

Question 4.
“It’s really getting bad now,” exclaimed the man. “I hope it passes quickly.” It did not pass quickly. For an hour the hail rained on the house, the garden, the hillside, the cornfield, on the whole valley. The field was white, as if covered with salt. Not a leaf remained on the trees. The corn was totally destroyed. The flowers were gone from the plants. Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness. When the storm had passed, he stood in the middle of the field and said to his sons, “A plague of locusts would have left more than this. The hail has left nothing. This year we will have no corn.”

(a) Lencho exclaimed with sadness that the ………….. was getting bad as it was raining with hailstones.
Answer:
weather

(b) Lencho was worried about how his family would …………… as the hailstones had completely destroyed the cornfield.
Answer:
survive

(c) The hailstorm not only destroyed Lencho’s cornfield but also damaged the whole valley. (True/False)
Answer:
True

(d) ‘A plague of locusts’ means
Answer:
a large number of insects that can cause great damage to the crops.

Question 5.
That night was a sorrowful one. “All our work, for nothing.”
“There’s no one who can help us.” “We’ll all go hungry this year”. But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a single hope: help from God.
“Don’t be so upset, even though this seems like a total loss. Remember, no one dies of hunger.”
“That’s what they say: no one dies of hunger.” All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God, whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience. Lencho was an ox of a man, working like an animal in the fields, but still he knew how to write. The following Sunday, at daybreak, he began to write a letter which he himself would carry to town and place in the mail. It was nothing less than a letter to God.

(a) The single hope for the family was
Answer:
help from God.

(b) Lencho at last decided to write to God.
Answer:
a letter

(c) Lencho believed that God does not let anyone die of hunger. (TFue/Faise)
Answer:
True

(d) Give the meaning of the word ‘conscience’ with reference to the extract.
Answer:
a person’s moral sense of right and wrong.

Question 6.
“God,” he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year. I need a hundred pesos in order to sow my field again and to live until the crop comes, because the hailstorm….”
He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and, still troubled, went to town. At the post office, he placed a stamp on the letter and dropped it into the mailbox.

(a) Lencho requested God to send him
Answer:
a hundred pesos

(b) At the post office Lencho placed a on the letter and dropped it into the mailbox.
Answer:
stamp

(c) Lencho wrote the letter to God because God will sow his field again. (iVue/False)
Answer:
False

(d) Find the synonym of the word ‘anxious’ from the extract.
Answer:
‘troubled’

Question 7.
One of the employees, who was a postman and also helped at the post office, went to his boss laughing heartily and showed him the letter to God. Never in his career as a postman had he known that address. The postmaster — a fat, amiable fellow — also broke out laughing, but almost immediately he turned serious and, tapping the letter on his desk, commented, “What faith! I wish I had the faith of the man who wrote this letter. Starting up a correspondence with God!”

(a) The postman laughed heartily because he saw the letter to God.
Answer:
addressed

(b) The postmaster became serious suddenly and was impressed to see Lencho’s in God.
Answer:
faith

(c) The postmaster was an amiable man and praised Lencho’s faith in God. (True/False)
Answer:
True

(d) Give the synonym of ‘letter writing’ from the extract.
Answer:
‘correspondence’.

Question 8.
So, in order not to shake the writer’s faith in God, the postmaster came up with an idea: answer, the letter. But when he opened it, it was evident that to answer it he needed something more than goodwill, ink and paper. But he stuck to his resolution: he asked for money from his employees, he himself gave part of his salary, and several friends of his were obliged to give something ‘for an act of charity’.

It was impossible for him to gather together the hundred pesos, so he was able to send the farmer only a little more than half. He put the money in an envelope addressed to Lencho and with it a letter containing only a single word as a signature: God.

(a) It was impossible for the postmaster together together the
Answer:
hundred pesos

(b) When the postmaster opened the letter, he needed something more than, ink and paper.
Answer:
goodwill

(c) The postmaster managed a hundred pesos from his friends. (True/False)
Answer:
False

(d) Give the synonym of ‘grateful’ from the extract.
Answer:
‘obliged’.

Question 9.
The following Sunday Lencho came a bit earlier than usual to ask if there was a letter for him. It was the postman himself who handed the letter to him while the postmaster, experiencing the contentment of a man who has performed a good deed, looked on from his office.
Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money; such was his confidence — but he became angry when he counted the money. God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.

(a) Lencho became angry because he did not get the that he requested God.
Answer:
amount

(b) Lencho came to the post office the following to ask if there was any letter for him.
Answer:
Sunday

(c) The postmaster had performed a good deed by helping Lencho. (True/False)
Answer:
True

(d) Give the meaning of the word ‘a conscious action’ from the extract. ”
Answer:
deed

Question 10.
Immediately, Lencho went up to the window to ask for paper and ink. On the public writing-table, he started to write, with much wrinkling of his brow, caused by the effort he had to make to express his ideas. When he finished, he went to the window to buy a stamp which he licked and then affixed to the envelope with a blow of his fist. The moment the letter fell into the mailbox the postmaster went to open it. It said: “God: Of the money that I asked …. for, only seventy pesos reached me. Send me the rest, since I need it very much. But don’t send it to me through the mail because the post office employees are a bunch of crooks. Lencho.”

(a) Lencho called the post office employees ………. because he thought that they had cheated him.
Answer:
a bunch of crooks

(b) There were wrinkles on his brow because he was ………….
Answer:
angry

(c) Lencho wrote in his second letter that he received seventy pesos only. (True/False)
Answer:
False

(d) Give the meaning of the word’ “creased” from the extract.
Answer:
‘wrinkling’.

A Letter to God Short Answer Questions

Answer the following questions in 30 – 40 words each:

Question 1.
(i) Where was ‘the house’ located?
(ii) Why do you think it is called ‘the’ house and not ‘a’ house?
Answer:
(i) The house was located on the top of a low hill.
(ii) It is called ‘the house’ because it is the only house on the top of the hill.

Question 2.
Why did Lencho keep gazing at the sky?
Answer:
Lencho knew that his fields needed water immediately. He was eagerly waiting for the rain, therefore he gazed at the sky.

Question 3.
“Now we’re really going to get some water, woman.” Is Lencho sure that it is going to rain? Give a reason for your answer.
Answer:
Lencho was sure that it was going to rain because he kept watching the sky throughout the day. Through his experience, he knew that the clouds would certainly bring rain.

Question 4.
(i) How did Lencho feel when it started raining?
(ii) What was the effect of the rain on the crops?
Answer:
(i) Lencho was excited when he came out of his house to have the pleasure of feeling the rain on his body. He compared the raindrops with coins, as he knew that a good rain would mean a good crop and a good crop would mean a lot of money.
(ii) The rain brought with it destruction. There was hailstorm for about an hour and it covered the field. The corn was totally destroyed.

Question 5.
What are the raindrops compared to and why?
Answer:
Raindrops are compared to coins. He compares big raindrops to ten-cent coins and smaller ones to five-cent coins. He knew that the raindrops would certainly be helpful in giving him rich harvest. Naturally, it would make him get more money.

Question 6.
Lencho had only ‘one hope’. What was it?
Answer:
Lencho was a God-fearing man and had a firm faith in the benevolence of God, who he thought would certainly help him. God was his only hope.

Question 7.
Did the letter reach God? Why did the postmaster send a reply to Lencho?
Answer:
The letter did not reach God but it certainly reached the postmaster who was a God-fearing and kind-hearted man. He decided to send a reply to Lencho as he was moved by the firm faith of a farmer in God, and he did not want to disappoint him.

Question 8.
Lencho describes the post office employees as ‘a bunch of crooks’.
(i) Were they ‘a bunch of crooks’?
(ii) How would you describe them?
Answer:
(i) The post office employees were really very good people who tried to help a poor farmer. They were not a bunch of crooks.
(ii) They can be described as kind-hearted, generous, helpful and God-fearing men.

A Letter to God Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
Describe the character of Lencho in the light of his faith and attitude towards God and man.
Answer:
Lencho was a hardworking farmer who had immense faith in God. He had such an immense faith in the existence and helpfulness of God that he started communicating with him. He wrote a letter to God requesting him to send him one hundred pesos. When he received seventy pesos, he was not surprised at all. He even doubted the integrity of the post office employees who, he thought, had stolen his thirty pesos. He was a poor judge of human nature. His attitude towards man was negative. He could not think of a help from man.

Question 2.
Lencho called the post office employees ‘a bunch of crooks’. What does it show about his attitude towards men? Was he not A person of humility, appreciation and gratefulness? Elaborate.
Answer:
Lencho called the post office employees a bunch of crooks as he thought that they had stolen his money sent by God. He was not correct in his assessment of the employees. It shows that he had a negative attitude towards mankind. He was not a fair judge of man’s nature.

It seems he was too naive to have the sense of humility, appreciation and gratefulness. He hurt the feelings of the post office employees unintentionally. He was a simple man who had immense faith in God but could not think of any help from men. His anger and attitude towards them shows that he did not have any faith in men. He did not credit the post office employees for their help out of ignorance but he should not have called them a bunch of crooks.

Question 3.
What kind of people were the post office employees? What do you like about the gesture of the postmaster?
Answer:
The post office employees were very generous, kind and helpful people. When they received the letter for God from Lencho, they were impressed with his faith in God althought initially they made fun of it. They did not want to hurt his feelings and shake his faith in god. They decided to help him by sending him money.

It was a noble gesture on their part. All of them contributed by giving a share of their salaries. It shows their kindness and generosity. They could have told Lencho the truth about God but their sensitivity stopped them from doing so. They did not want to hurt his feelings. They had sympathy and compassion for Lencho. The postmaster’s generosity, his sensitivity, initiative and his noble gesture make him a good human being in the eyes of the readers.


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