Answers to NCERT Class 10 English Chapter 1 – A Letter to

God
A Letter to God

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 5)

Question 1:

What did Lencho hope for?

Answer:

Lencho had hoped for a downpour or at least a shower for his ripe corn
fields as it was needed for a good harvest.

Question 2:

Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?

Answer:

Lencho compared the raindrops to ‘new coins’ – the big drops as ten-cent
pieces and the little ones as fives. As his crops were ready for harvest, he
hoped that the rains would bring him prosperity; so he felt the raindrops
were like ‘new coins’.

Question 3:

How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?

Answer:

The rain started pouring down. But suddenly a strong wind blew and very
large hailstones, like frozen pearls, began to fall along with the rain. The
hailstorm continued for an hour and destroyed Lencho’s corn fields and
washed away the flowers from the plants too.

Question 4:

What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?

Answer:
After the hailstones stopped, Lencho’s soul was filled with grief and
dismay. He realised that everything was ruined by the hailstorm and
nothing was left to feed his family for the entire year. He could visualize
the bleak future of his family.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 6)

Question 1:

Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?

Answer:

Lencho had a strong faith in God. He believed that God’s eyes see
everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience. Hence, he wrote a
letter to God citing that he needed a hundred pesos to sow his field that
was destroyed by the hailstorm.

Question 2:

Who read the letter?

Answer:

The postmaster read Lencho’s letter addressed to God.

Question 3:

What did the postmaster do then?

Answer:

Initially, the postmaster broke out into laughter but was soon moved by
the seriousness of Lencho’s faith in God. He didn’t want to shake the
writer’s faith in the Almighty, so he came up with an idea to collect money
from his employees and friends, gave a part of his salary and sent it to
Lencho.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 7)

Question 1:

Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Answer:

No, Lencho was not at all surprised to receive a letter from God with
money in it. He was very confident and had firm faith in God that his
request would definitely be taken care of by the Almighty.

Question 2:

What made him angry?

Answer:

When Lencho counted the money, he found only seventy pesos, instead of
the hundred pesos demanded by him from God. He was confident that
God could neither make a mistake in sending him less money, nor could
he have denied Lencho what he had requested. Therefore, he came to the
conclusion that the post office employees must have taken the remaining
thirty pesos from the envelope.

Thinking about the Text (Page 7-8)

Question 1:

Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story
tell you this?

Answer:

Lencho had complete faith in God as he was instructed that God could see
everything and helped whoever was in deep trouble. Given below are a
few sentences which exhibit his faith in God:

1. But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the
valley, there was a single hope of help from God.
2. 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.
3. “God”, he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this
year”.
4. He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and still troubled,
went to town.
5. God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what
he had requested.
6. 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”.
Question 2:

Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the
letter ‘God’?

Answer:

The postmaster was deeply moved by Lencho’s faith in God. Hence, he

decided to send some money to Lencho in order to avoid shaking the
latter’s faith in God. So, he collected some money from his colleagues and
friends and signed the letter as ‘God’. The postmaster felt it was an ideal
ploy to convey a message to Lencho that God has sent him the money
and that God himself signed it.

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 him the money because
he was confident that God had sent it to him. Not for a moment did he
suspect that someone else other than God could have sent the money to
him. His faith in the Almighty was so rock-solid that he knew that nothing
escapes God’s eyes. Lencho felt that God was aware of the unfortunate
incident faced by him and requested him to save him from this difficult
situation.

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:

Upon counting the money, when Lencho found only seventy pesos in the
envelope instead of the hundred pesos that he had requested from God,
he was confident that the Almighty couldn’t have made such a big
mistake. From this situation, he suspected that the post office employees
could have stolen the remaining thirty pesos from the envelope. Hence,
he called them crooks.

The element of irony in this situation is that Lencho ends up suspecting

those very people who helped him in his crisis, in order to avoid shaking
his faith in God.

Question 5:

Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person
would you say he is? You may select appropriate words from the box to
answer the question.

greedy naive stupid ungrateful

selfish comical unquestioning

Answer:

It is not easy to find people like Lencho in the real world as he has a naïve
and unquestioning nature. From the story, we can conclude that he is not
stupid. He is a literate person who wrote a letter to God without any
address requesting for money. Lencho had deep faith in God and was
confident that he would definitely receive some financial help from the
Almighty.

Question 6:

There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature,
and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?

Answer:

The conflicts between humans and nature are shown in the story when
Lencho’s crops are destroyed by the hailstorm. He had expected some
good rain for a good harvest. However, when his crops were damaged by
the hailstorm, he lost all hope and became sad at the sight of his
destroyed field.
However, the story also depicts conflicts of humans between themselves.
The postmaster collected some money from his colleagues and friends
and gave a part of his salary to help Lencho so that the latter’s faith in
God is not shaken. It was a beautiful act of selflessness and kindness on
their part. Despite their noble act, when Lencho received the money, he
blindly believed that God had sent him the money, and he blamed the
post office employees for stealing some money from the envelope. This
implies that man lacks faith in his fellow human beings, which gives rise to
conflicts among themselves.

Thinking about Language (Page 8-11)

Question 1:

There are different names in different parts of the world for storms,
depending on their nature. Can you match the names in the box with their
descriptions below, and fill in the blanks? You may use a dictionary to help
you.

gale, whirlwind, cyclone,

hurricane, tornado, typhoon

1. A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle: __ __ c __

__ __ __

2. An extremely strong wind: __ a __ __

3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds: __ __ p __ __ __ __

4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel: __ __ __

n __ __ __

5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western

Atlantic Ocean: __ __ r __ __ __ __ __ __

6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and
causes a lot of damage: __ __ __ __ l __ __ __ __

Answer:
1. A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle: _c_
_y_ c _l_ _o_ _n_ _e_

2. An extremely strong wind: _g_ a _l_ _e_

3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds: _t_ _y_ p _h_ _o_ _o_
_n_

4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel: _t_ _o_
_r_ n _a_ _d_ _o_

5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western

Atlantic Ocean: _h_ _u_ r _r_ _i_ _c_ _a_ _n_ _e_

6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and
causes a lot of damage: _w_ _h_ _i_ _r_ l _w_ _i_ _n_ _d_

Question 2:

Match the sentences in Column A with the meanings of ‘hope’ in Column

B.

A B

1. Will you get the subjects you – a feeling that something good will
want to study in college? I hope so. probably happen

2. I hope you don’t mind my saying – thinking that this would happen (It
this, but I don’t like the way you are may or may not have happened.)
arguing.

3. This discovery will give new hope – stopped believing that this good
to HIV/AIDS sufferers. thing would happen

4. We were hoping against hope – wanting something to happen (and

that the judges would not notice our thinking it quite possible)
mistakes.

5. I called early in the hope of – showing concern that what you say
speaking to her before she went to should not offend or disturb the other
school. person: a way of being polite

6. Just when everybody had given – wishing for something to happen,

up hope, the fishermen came back, although this is very unlikely
seven days after the cyclone.

Answer:

A B

1. Will you get the subjects you – wanting something to happen (and
want to study in college? I hope so. thinking it quite possible)

2. I hope you don’t mind my saying – showing concern that what you say
this, but I don’t like the way you are should not offend or disturb the other
arguing. person: a way of being polite

3. This discovery will give new hope – a feeling that something good will
to HIV/AIDS sufferers. probably happen

4. We were hoping against hope – wishing for something to happen,

that the judges would not notice our although this is very unlikely
mistakes.

5. I called early in the hope of – thinking that this would happen (It
speaking to her before she went to may or may not have happened.)
school.

6. Just when everybody had given – stopped believing that this good
up hope, the fishermen came back, thing would happen
seven days after the cyclone.

Question 3:

Relative Clauses: Join the sentences given below using who, whom,
whose, which, as suggested.
1. I often go to Mumbai. Mumbai is the commercial capital of India.
(which)

2. My mother is going to host a TV show on cooking. She cooks very well.

(who)

3. These sportspersons are going to meet the President. Their

performance has been excellent. (whose)

4. Lencho prayed to God. His eyes see into our minds. (whose)

5. This man cheated me. I trusted him. (whom)

Answer:

1. I often go to Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of India.

2. My mother, who cooks very well, is going to host a TV show on cooking.

3. These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going

to meet the President.

4. Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.

5. This man, whom I trusted, cheated me.

Question 4:

Using Negatives for Emphasis: Find sentences in the story with negative
words, which express the following ideas emphatically.

1. The trees lost all their leaves.

___________________________________________________________

2. The letter was addressed to God himself.

___________________________________________________________

3. The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.

___________________________________________________________

Answer:
1. The trees lost all their leaves.

Not a leaf remained on the trees.

2. The letter was addressed to God himself.

It was nothing less than a letter to God.

3. The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.

Never in his career as a postman had he seen that address.

Question 5:

Metaphors: In pairs, find metaphors from the story to complete the table
below. Try to say what qualities are being compared. One has been done
for you.

Object Metaphor Quality or Feature Compared

Cloud Huge mountains The mass or ‘hugeness’ of mountains

of clouds

Raindrops

Hailstones

Locusts

An epidemic (a disease) that spreads very

rapidly and leaves many people dead

An ox of a man

Answer:

Object Metaphor Quality or Feature Compared

Cloud Huge mountains The mass or ‘hugeness’ of mountains
of clouds

Raindrops Coins The money that the good crops will bring
when sold

Hailstones Frozen pearls Resembles the colour, hardness and

brightness of pearls

Locusts A plague of The destruction caused by plague and its

locusts consequences

Locusts A plague of An epidemic (a disease) that spreads very

locusts rapidly and leaves many people dead

Lencho An ox of a man Strong and hardworking nature resembles

the working of an ox in the fields