CLASS 10 NCERT SOLUTIONS ENGLISH

CHAPTER: A LETTER TO GOD 

BY G L Fuentes

This story is about hard life and extreme faith in God of a poor farmer named Lencho who had lost his crop due to heavy rain and hailstones. It was the only source of income to fulfil his family's desires. He firmly believed that God would help him in such a difficult situation and would not let him and his family die of hunger. He wrote a letter to God to seek help. Some kind employees of the post office helped him. This story tells us to have faith in God and never lose hope in adverse situations.

LENCHO

CHARACTERS:

LENCHO - He is a poor farmer who lived on the peak of a low hill with his family. He was a firm believer of God. He was innocent, hopeful, caring and responsible.

POSTMASTER: He is a fat, amiable or friendly fellow who helped Lencho to retain his faith in God. He gave a part of his salary in the charity for Lencho on behalf of God.

POST OFFICE EMPLOYEES: They were the people who helped Lencho on postmaster's call. They laughed at Lencho when they saw the letter but helped him in his need. Lencho called them 'a bunch of crooks.'

WORD MEANING

PAGE - 3
entire - complete
valley - a low area of land between hills or mountains
crest - top of a mountain or hill
ripe - developed to the point of readiness for harvesting and eating.
corn - a kind of grain
downpour - a heavy fall of rain
shower - drizzle
intimately - in a private and personal way
supper - an evening meal, typically a light or informal onne
God willing - by grace of God

PAGE - 4
predict - guess
approaching - coming close to someone or something
pleasure- - a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment
satisfied - pleased
expression - the action of making one's thoughts or feelings
regard - consider or think of in a specified way
draped - covered with something (cloth)
curtain - a piece of material suspended at the top to form a screen
hailstones - pallet of hails
resemble - have a similar appearance to or qualities in common with someone or something
exposing - making visible by uncovering it
frozen - covered or rigid with ice
quickly - at a fast speed
hillside - inclined side of hill
destroyed - ruined
plague - an unusually large number of insects infesting a place and causing damage
locust - insects which fly in big swarms and destroy crops

PAGE - 5
solitary - done or existing alone
upset - unhappy; disappointed or worried
instructed - ordered someone to do something especially in a formal way
conscience - an inner sense of right or wrong
daybreak - dawn
peso - currency of several Latin American countries

sow - to plant the seeds of  a crop
envelope - paper cover to mail a letter
heartily - loudly
amiable - having or displaying a friendly and pleasant manner

PAGE - 6
serious - thoughtful
tapping - to hit in gentle strokes
correspondence - letters sent or received
evident - clearly seen or understood
resolution - a firm decision to do or not to do something
charity - help or money given to those in need
contentment - a state of happiness and satisfaction
deed - a brave or noble act
slightest  - quiteless
deny - refuse
wrinkling -  a slight line or fold in something, especially fabric or the skin of the face
lick - to strike with tongue gently
affixed - attached to something else

PAGE - 7
blow - cause to move
bunch - a number of things, typically of the same kind
crooks - dishonest  people or criminal

A LETTER TO GOD 

ORAL COMPREHENSION CHECK

1. What did Lencho hope for?
Answer: Lencho hoped for a good rain as it was much needed for a good harvest.

2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like 'new coins?'
Answer: Lencho compared the raindrops with new coins because they were promising him a good harvest resulting in more prosperity.

3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho's fields?
Answer:  The rain changed into hailstorm as a strong wind began to blow and huge hailstones began to fall alongwith the rain.
All the crops in Lencho's field got destroyed because of the weather conditions.

4. What were Lencho's feelings when the hail stopped?
Answer: Lencho was filled with grief after the hail stopped as everything was ruined and there was nothing that he could feed his family with. He could see a bleak future for him and his family.

5. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Answer: Lencho had firm faith in God. He believed that God sees everything, even what is deep in one's conscience and helps one in one's problems. 
He wrote a letter to God demanding Him a hundred pesos to sow his field again.

6. Who read the letter?
Answer: Postmaster read the letter.

7. What did the postmaster do after reading a letter?
Answer: The postmaster laughed when he read Lencho's letter but soon he became serious and was moved by the writer's faith in God. He didn't want to shake Lencho's faith in God. So, he decided to collect money and send it to Lencho on behalf of Gpd.

8. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Answer: No, Lencho was not surprised to find a letter with money from God as he believed that God will help him.

9. What made Lencho angry?
Answer: There were only seventy pesos in the envelope whereas Lencho had demanded a hundred pesos. The difference in the amount made him angry.

THINKING ABOUT THE TEXT

1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Answer: Lencho has complete faith in god as he is instructed that God knows everything and helps us in our problems. There are a few sentences which show this:

• 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.
• 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.
• "God", he wrote, "if you don't help me, my family and I will go hungry this year."
• He wrote "To God" on the envelope, put the letter  inside and still troubled, went to town.
• God could not have made a mistake, nor could He have denied Lencho what he had requested.
• 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."

2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter  God?

Answer: The postmaster sends money to Lencho in order to keep Lencho's faith in God alive and firm as he was completely moved by it.

When the postmaster reads the letter of Lencho to god, he becomes serious and does not want to shake his faith and decides to answer the letter. He gathers money with the help of his post office employees and friends on behalf of God and signs the letter 'God' so that Lencho's faith does not get shaken.

3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why or why not?
Answer: Lencho did not try to find out who had sent the money to him because he never  suspected the presence of God and had complete faith in Him. He could not believe that it could be anybody else other than Him who would send him the money. His faith in God was so strong that he believed that He had sent money to him for his help in his problem. 

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 thinks that the post office employees have taken the rest of the money as he demanded a hundred pesos from God and in the letter there are only seventy pesos and God cannot make such a mistake. So, he assumes that they have stolen the money.
The irony in this situation is that Lencho suspects those people who helped him in his problem and tried to keep his faith alive in God.

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 given below to answer the question.

Greed, Naive, Stupid, Ungraceful, Selfish, Comical, Unquestioning

Answer: It is almost impossible to find a person like Lencho as he is an unquestioning and naive kind of person.
He is almost stupid if he doesn't know who has sent him money or a letter will reach God without any address. It is Lencho's faith in God. In real world, people are selfish and greedy and Lencho is totally lovable and different.

6. There are two kinds of conflict in the story between humans and nature and between humans themselves. how are these conflicts illustrated?
Answer: Conflict between Humans and Nature
The conflict between humans and nature is illustrated by the destruction of Lencho's crop by the hailstorm as Lencho was expecting a good rain to have good harvest as that was the only hope he had for his earning. He worked so hard to feed his family, but nature turned violent and destroyed everything.

Conflict between Humans 
The story also illustrated another conflict, between humans themselves as the postmaster alongwith his friends and staff sent Lencho money that Lencho had demanded from God although they didn't know Lencho.
Lencho blamed them for taking away some amount of money. he called them 'a bunch of crooks'. This shows that man does not have faith in other man, thereby giving rise to this conflict.

THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE: 

I. 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?
           

gale,  whirlwind,  cyclone,  hurricane,  tornado,  typhoon

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

Answer: cyclone.

2. An extremely strong wind __ a __ __

Answer: gale

3. A violent tropical storm with very strong wind __ __ p __ __ __ __

Answer: typhoon

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

Answer: tornado

5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the Western Atlantic Ocean __ __ r __ __ __ __ __ __

Answer: hurricane

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

Answer: whirlwind

7. Match the sentences in column A with the meaning of 'hope' in column B.

   

A	B
1. Will you get the subjects you want to study in college? I hope so	a. a feeling that something good will probably happen.
2. I hope you don’t mind my saying this but I don’t like the way you are arguing	b. thinking that this would happen (it may or may not have happened).
3. This discovery will give new hope to HIV/AIDS sufferers	c. stopped believing that this good thing would happen.
4. We were hoping against hope that the judges would not notice our mistakes	d. wanting something to happen (and thinking it quite possible).
5. I called early in the hope of speaking to her before she went to school	e. showing concern that what you say should not offend or disturb the other person s way of being polite.
6. Just when everybody had given up hope, the fishermen came back, seven days after the cyclone	f. wishing for something to happen, although this is very unlikely.

Answer:

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

8. Join the sentences given below using who, whom, whose, which, as suggested.

(i) I often go to Mumbai. Mumbai is the commercial capital of India. (which)

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

(ii) My moter is going to host a TV show on cooking. She cooks very well. (who)

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

(iii) These sportspersons are going to meet tehe President. Their performance has been excellent . (whose)

Answer: These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going to meet the President.

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

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

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

Answer: This man, whom I trusted, cheated me.

9. Find sentences in the story with negative words, which express the following ideas emphatically.

(a) The trees lost all their leaves.

(b) The letter was addressed to God himself.

(c) The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.

Answer: 

(a) Not a leaf remained on the trees.

(b) It was nothing less than a letter to God.

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

10. In pairs , find metaphors from the story to complete the table below. Try to say what qualities are being compared.

Answer:

  

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

1. Who was Lencho? What were his main problems?

Answer: Lencho was a hardworking farmer who lived on the crest of a low hill with his family. His was the only house in the entire valley. He eagerly waited for a good rain to have a good harvest but hailstorm destroyed his crops, so he needed money to sow his field again and support his family.

2. What did Lencho compare the raindrops to and why?

Answer: Lencho compared the raindrops to new coins. the big drops were ten cents pieces and the little ones were five because the crop needed the rain badly and the rain was the sign of good harvest.

3. Why did Lencho write a letter to God?
Answer: Lencho's crops were completely destroyed by the hailstorm. But there was no one to help him in his difficult situation. Being a firm believer of God, he wrote a letter to God, as He was the only hope in his despair. Lencho asked him to send hundred pesos to sow his field again and support his family till the next crop.

4. Why and how did the postmaster help Lencho?
Answer; The postmaster was mesmerised to see Lencho's faith in God and he didn't want his faith to be shaken. He asked his employees and friends to help Lencho. He was so determined to help Lencho that he himself contributed a part of his salary for this act of charity. He collected seventy pesos and put them in an envelope containing only a single word as a signature: God.

5. How much money dd Lencho need? How much did he get?
Answer: Lencho asked God to send him hundred pesos to sow the crops and support his family till the next harvest but when he received the letter from God which was sent by the post office employees, he saw only seventy pesos in it, less than he had demanded from god.

6. Why did Lencho not want the money to be sent through mail?
Answer: Lencho did not want rest of the money to be sent through mail because he knew that God could not do such a mistake and send him only seventy pesos as he asked Him to send hundred pesos. Due to his firm faith in God, he blamed the post office employees to steal his money from the  envelope. He also called them a 'bunch of crooks', who actually helped him in his difficult situation.

7. Do you think that Lencho was right to call the post  office employees a bunch of crooks? Why or why not?
Answer: Lencho was a simple and poor farmer who had a firm faith in God. When he asked God to send him hundred pesos, he received only seventy pesos in reply. Due to his firm faith in God, he blamed the post office employees for stealing his money as he could not believe that God could send him any less money. He doubted these employees. But he was not right to call them a bunch of crooks as they helped him in his problem. 

8. How does the character of Lencho inspire us to have faith in God and remain calm in difficult situation?
Answer: Lencho, a hardworking and poor farmer, always worked as an ox in his field to support his family and fulfil their needs. He was an optimist, so when his crops were completely destroyed by the hailstorm, he became worried about his family. But he believed that God would help him in his difficult situation.
Lencho was an innocent atheist who did not know that there was no such a living person as God who could send him money to fulfil his needs. But due to his firm faith in God, he requested him to send him hundred pesos.
His firm faith in God made him angry when he found only seventy pesos in the envelope and he called the post office employees a 'bunch of crooks'. He believed that they had stolen the money because God could not do such a mistake.
This all shows shows his blind but firm faith in God and gives him a hope in his despair. We believe that people should have such kind of faith and attitude in difficult situation and should try a solution of their problems.

9. Describe Lencho's qualities in light of his faith in God. Do you have in God like Lencho? Was Lencho's reaction towards post office employees right?
Answer: Lencho was a poor farmer who totally depended on the harvest to survive and fulfil basic needs of his family. Once his crops were destroyed due to heavy rainfall and hailstones, and he was afraid to think how his family would survive. He believed that God would help him in this plight.
He had firm faith in God, he believed that God would not let him be hungry. Nowadays faith in God like Lencho's is almost impossible and unseen. People are very much aware that nobody is willing to help others without any self-interest.
Lencho's reaction towards post office employees was not right or justified but it was just because of his innocence as he could not believe that God had done such a mistake. He thought post employees had stolen his money.  

10. Are there people like post office employees in real world? How did they help Lencho? What would you do if you were in place of the postmaster?
Answer: The postmaster and the post office employees were very generous as they contributed for the act of charity. First they laughed when they saw Lencho's letter to God, but soon they were impressed by his faith in God. They decided to send some money to Lencho. They collected seventy pesos and sent it it Lencho.
Nowadays it is very rare to find such a person like the postmaster. If I were in place of the postmaster, I would have done that so because it is always pleasing to help others and to keep their firm faith in humanity. Difficult situations can come to anyone and everyone wants a helping hand to overcome that condition.

SOME MORE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

1. What could one see from Lencho's house?

Answer: One could see the river, the fields with ripe corn dotted with flowers from the height of Lencho's house where situated.

2. Did the rainfall fulfil Lencho's expectation?

Answer: No, the rain did not satisfy his desires because along with rain very large hailstones began to fall which demolished his crops.

3. Why did Lencho see the sky towards the north-east?

Answer: Lencho constantly saw the sky towards the north-east since he was anticipating some signs of rain.

4. How did the pleasant rain turn into devilish one for Lencho?

Answer: The rain went with very large hailstones which proved to be devilish for Lencho.

5. What were the adverse impacts of hailstones on Lencho's crops?

Answer: The falling of hailstones completely destroyed his crops.

6. What made Lencho so dejected and depressed?

Answer: The hailstones completely destroyed Lencho's crops which made him very dejected and depressed.

7. Why did Lencho compare the hailstones with a plague of locusts?

Answer: Lencho compared hailstones with a plague of locusts as a plague of locusts also destroys the crops.

8. Did Lencho and his family go hungry that year?

Answer: No, Lencho and his family did not go hungry. He got the help of 70 pesos from the post office employees to support his family and sow his field again.

9. Who lived in that solitary house?

Answer: Lencho lived with his family in that solitary house.

10. What single hope Lencho ‘had’ left with?

Answer: Lencho had left with the single hope of getting some help from God.

11. How did Lencho console his family?

Answer: Lencho consoled his family by reminding that no one ever dies of hunger.

12. Describe the loss caused by the heavy fall of hailstones in general and to Lencho in particular.

Answer: For an hour, the hailstones rained on the house, the garden, the hillside and the cornfield. As a matter of fact, the entire valley was covered with them. Leaves and flowers were destroyed. Lencho’s fields were covered with a white layer. The corn was totally destroyed. The hail had left practically nothing. There was no chance of any corn that year for Lencho.

13. Why did the postmaster become serious?

Answer: The postman became serious as he was deeply moved by the faith the sender had in God.

14. What unusual act was done by Lencho on the following Sunday?

Answer: On the following Sunday, he reached the post office a bit earlier than usual to ask if there was a letter for him.

15. Who handed over the letter to Lencho?

Answer: The postman himself handed over the letter to Lencho.

16. Were the post office employees indeed ‘a bunch of crooks’?

Answer: No, the post office employees were not 'a bunch of crooks'. They were generous men as they helped Lencho.

17. What was Lencho doing throughout the 

morning?

Answer: Lencho was looking at the clouds in the northeast throughout the morning.

18. Who could not have made a mistake in Lencho’s eyes?

Answer: In Lencho's eyes God could not have made a mistake. 

19. Why did Lencho go out in the rain?

Answer: Lencho went out in the rain to have the happiness of feeling the rain on his body.

20. What does ‘Lencho was an ox of a man’ imply?

Answer: It implies Lencho was very hardworking—he worked like an ox.

21. What kind of person was the postmaster?

Answer: The postmaster was an amiable, kind, pleasant and friendly person.

22. Who was Lencho?

Answer: Lencho was a hard-working farmer.

23. How did Lencho’s field look after the hails had rained?

Answer: Lencho's field looked as if covered with salt after the hails had rained.

24. Why did Lencho go a bit earlier than usual to the post office the following Sunday?

Answer: Lencho had firm faith in God and His kindness. He did expect a reply from Him. So, on the following Sunday, he went to the post office a bit earlier than usual.

25. What did Lencho write in his second letter to God? Why did he ask Him not to send the rest of the money by post mail?

Answer: Lencho wrote to God that he got just seventy pesos out of the hundred that he had requested. He asked God to send him the rest of the money as he required it very much. He even asked God not to send the money through the postal mail. He said that the post office employees were dishonest and ‘a bunch of crooks’.

26. Lencho has great faith in God. Does he have the same kind of faith in man? Taking examples from the story describe his attitude towards God and man.

Answer: Lencho’s crop was totally destroyed. He had incredible faith in God. He wrote a letter to God requesting a hundred pesos as help. The postmaster and the employees collected seventy pesos and sent the money to him. Lencho thought that the employees had stolen thirty pesos. He wrote another letter to God asking for thirty pesos more however not through the post office. He called the employees ‘a bunch of crooks’. This highlights Lencho’s attitude to God and man. He had full faith in God yet doesn’t have any faith in man.