Summary of A Letter to God in English
In this part of the article, NCERT Solution A Letter to God Class 10 English, the students will read the summary of A Letter to God. The name of writer of A Letter to God is G.L. Fuentes, the greatest writer of his time and who belonged to Mexico. They say faith can move mountains. The story revolves around the idea that faith in God can’t be questioned. But what should we put our faith in? This is the question this story delicately poses.
Lencho is a farmer who writes a letter to God when his crops are destroyed, asking for a hundred pesos. He wants God to compensate his loss partially. Does Lencho’s letter reach God? Does God send him the money? Do you think that God will help him by sending money? Think what your answers to these questions would be, and guess how the story continues, before you begin to read it.
Lencho was a dedicated and hardworking farmer, like other farmers. He had sown his crops and expected that they would be beneficial this year. A farmer knows that all his crops depend on God’s grace. But unfortunately, a hail storm completely ruined his crop, and he became sad. So he decided to write to God, hoping that He might help him. He wrote a letter to God due to his faith in God. Like other farmers, he was simple and straightforward and posted the letter to God. In the letter, he demanded that God send him one hundred pesos. Therefore, he went to the post office and dropped the letter into the letter box.
The postman took out the letters and found that one was addressed to God. He laughed at it and went to the postmaster and showed him the strange letter. The postmaster also laughed in the same way as the postman. Soon, he realised that the man had just demanded money from God, and he was moved by the farmer’s faith in God. So he didn’t want to shatter the farmer’s faith in God. Thus, he asked the post office employees to collect some money and send the money to the farmer as charity. He donated a part of his salary. In this way, the postmaster put the money in an envelope and sent it to Lencho.
On Sunday, Lencho went to the post office. He inquired if there was a letter for him. The postmaster handed the letter to Lencho. Lencho was not surprised upon looking at the money. and he started counting the money and became angry.
Therefore, he again wrote the letter. The postmaster and other employees of the postoffice read the letter and found that Lencho had complained to God that he had received only 70 pesos God that he had received only 70 pesos. He asked God to send him the remaining funds. He further wrote to God not to send the money through the post office, as the employees there are a bunch of crooks and they might have stolen the money.
Conclusion
So, while God’s faith is paramount, humanity must also be respected.
“A Letter to God”: Lesson We Learn
The chapter “A Letter to God” by G.L. Fuentes offers several valuable lessons to students:
- Faith and Hope: The story emphasizes the importance of faith and hope. Lencho’s unwavering belief in God’s help, despite his dire situation, teaches students the value of maintaining faith during difficult times.
- Optimism in Adversity: Lencho’s response to the destruction of his crops by the hailstorm is one of resilience. Instead of succumbing to despair, he writes a letter to God, demonstrating optimism and proactive behavior in the face of adversity.
- Charity and Kindness: The actions of the postmaster and his colleagues show the significance of kindness and charity. Their collective effort to help Lencho by pooling money highlights the importance of helping others in need, even if anonymously.
- Irony and Human Nature: The story also teaches about irony. Lencho, despite his deep faith in God, distrusts the people who helped him, calling the post office employees “a bunch of crooks.” This illustrates the complexity of human nature and the sometimes contradictory behavior of individuals.
- Perspective and Understanding: It encourages students to look at situations from different perspectives. While Lencho sees the world through his simple and devout lens, the postmaster sees an opportunity to perform a good deed, even if it means pretending to be God.
- Humility and Gratitude: The story subtly critiques Lencho’s lack of gratitude. Although his faith is commendable, his inability to appreciate the efforts of the post office employees teaches students the importance of humility and gratitude for the kindness received from others.
- Communication and Expression: Through Lencho’s act of writing a letter, students learn the value of clear communication and the power of the written word to express one’s deepest concerns and hopes.
In summary, “A Letter to God” imparts lessons on maintaining faith, being optimistic and proactive, practicing kindness, understanding human nature, adopting multiple perspectives, showing gratitude, and valuing communication. These lessons are crucial for personal growth and developing a compassionate and resilient outlook on life.
30 Difficult words from the text “A Letter to God”
30 difficult words from the text “A Letter to God” along with their meanings, synonyms, antonyms, and meanings in Hindi: Updated on June 7, 2024
- Faith
- Meaning: Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
- Synonyms: Trust, belief, confidence.
- Antonyms: Doubt, mistrust, disbelief.
- Hindi: विश्वास
- Crest
- Meaning: The top of a hill or wave.
- Synonyms: Peak, summit, pinnacle.
- Antonyms: Base, bottom, valley.
- Hindi: शिखर
- Ripe
- Meaning: Fully grown and ready to be eaten or used.
- Synonyms: Mature, developed, ready.
- Antonyms: Unripe, immature, green.
- Hindi: पका हुआ
- Intimately
- Meaning: Closely and familiarly.
- Synonyms: Closely, personally, deeply.
- Antonyms: Distantly, formally, remotely.
- Hindi: निकटता से
- Supper
- Meaning: An evening meal.
- Synonyms: Dinner, evening meal.
- Antonyms: Breakfast, lunch.
- Hindi: रात का खाना
- Exclaimed
- Meaning: Cry out suddenly in surprise, strong emotion, or pain.
- Synonyms: Shouted, cried, yelled.
- Antonyms: Whispered, murmured.
- Hindi: चिल्लाया
- Regarded
- Meaning: Consider or think of someone or something in a specified way.
- Synonyms: Considered, viewed, looked at.
- Antonyms: Ignored, neglected, disregarded.
- Hindi: माना
- Hailstones
- Meaning: Small, hard balls of ice that fall from the sky like rain.
- Synonyms: Ice pellets, frozen rain.
- Antonyms: Raindrops.
- Hindi: ओले
- Plague
- Meaning: A contagious bacterial disease.
- Synonyms: Epidemic, pestilence.
- Antonyms: Cure, remedy.
- Hindi: महामारी
- Locusts
- Meaning: Large insects that travel in swarms and destroy crops.
- Synonyms: Grasshoppers.
- Antonyms: Beneficial insects.
- Hindi: टिड्डियाँ
- Solitary
- Meaning: Done or existing alone.
- Synonyms: Alone, single, isolated.
- Antonyms: Social, accompanied.
- Hindi: अकेला
- Conscience
- Meaning: An inner feeling acting as a guide to rightness or wrongness.
- Synonyms: Moral sense, scruples.
- Antonyms: Immorality, unscrupulousness.
- Hindi: अंतःकरण
- Amiable
- Meaning: Having a friendly and pleasant manner.
- Synonyms: Friendly, pleasant, agreeable.
- Antonyms: Unfriendly, disagreeable.
- Hindi: मित्रतापूर्ण
- Correspondence
- Meaning: Communication by exchanging letters.
- Synonyms: Communication, letters, mail.
- Antonyms: Silence.
- Hindi: पत्राचार
- Resolution
- Meaning: A firm decision to do or not to do something.
- Synonyms: Determination, resolve, decision.
- Antonyms: Indecision, hesitation.
- Hindi: संकल्प
- Obliged
- Meaning: Make someone legally or morally bound to do something.
- Synonyms: Compelled, required, bound.
- Antonyms: Freed, excused.
- Hindi: बाध्य
- Charity
- Meaning: Voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money.
- Synonyms: Philanthropy, generosity, aid.
- Antonyms: Greed, selfishness.
- Hindi: दान
- Contentment
- Meaning: A state of happiness and satisfaction.
- Synonyms: Satisfaction, happiness, pleasure.
- Antonyms: Discontent, dissatisfaction.
- Hindi: संतोष
- Confidence
- Meaning: The feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something.
- Synonyms: Trust, belief, faith.
- Antonyms: Doubt, distrust, suspicion.
- Hindi: आत्मविश्वास
- Wrinkling
- Meaning: Form or cause lines or folds in something, especially fabric or the skin.
- Synonyms: Creasing, folding.
- Antonyms: Smoothing.
- Hindi: सिलवट
- Brow
- Meaning: Forehead.
- Synonyms: Forehead.
- Antonyms: Back of head.
- Hindi: भौं
- Affixed
- Meaning: Stick, attach, or fasten something to something else.
- Synonyms: Attached, stuck, glued.
- Antonyms: Detached, removed.
- Hindi: लगाया
- Troubled
- Meaning: Showing distress or anxiety.
- Synonyms: Distressed, anxious, worried.
- Antonyms: Calm, relaxed, peaceful.
- Hindi: परेशान
- Prediction
- Meaning: A statement about what will happen in the future.
- Synonyms: Forecast, prophecy, prognostication.
- Antonyms: Retrospection.
- Hindi: भविष्यवाणी
- Satisfaction
- Meaning: Fulfillment of one’s wishes, expectations, or needs.
- Synonyms: Contentment, gratification.
- Antonyms: Dissatisfaction, disappointment.
- Hindi: संतुष्टि
- Exposing
- Meaning: Make something visible by uncovering it.
- Synonyms: Revealing, uncovering, disclosing.
- Antonyms: Concealing, hiding.
- Hindi: उजागर
- Destruction
- Meaning: The action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired.
- Synonyms: Ruin, devastation, demolition.
- Antonyms: Construction, creation.
- Hindi: विनाश
- Helpless
- Meaning: Unable to defend oneself or to act without help.
- Synonyms: Powerless, defenseless, vulnerable.
- Antonyms: Powerful, strong, capable.
- Hindi: असहाय
- Skeptical
- Meaning: Not easily convinced; having doubts or reservations.
- Synonyms: Doubtful, dubious, suspicious.
- Antonyms: Convincing, credulous, certain.
- Hindi: संदेहास्पद
- Unexpected
- Meaning: Not expected or regarded as likely to happen.
- Synonyms: Surprising, unforeseen, sudden.
- Antonyms: Expected, anticipated.
- Hindi: अप्रत्याशित
These words, along with their meanings, synonyms, antonyms, and Hindi translations, will help in understanding the text better and enriching vocabulary.
Reading Comprehension of A Letter to God Class 10 English
1 Attempt ANY ONE of two extracts given. 5
1. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
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.
1. What was needed by the earth?
A. The earth needed sunlight.
B. The earth needed downpour.
C. The earth needed at least a shower.
D. Both B and C
Ans. D. Both B and C
2. Where was Lencho looking towards?
Ans. He was looking towards sky.
3. Fill in the blank with ONE WORD only.
The house sat on the ……..of a low hill.
Ans. crest
4. What did Lencho hope for?
A. He hoped for rain.
B. The earth needed downpour.
C. The earth needed at least a shower.
D. All
Ans. D. All
5. Select the word from the passage that has the meaning, ‘whole’
Ans. entire
2. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
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.’’
Q. 1. What did Lencho predict?
Ans. He had predicted rain.
Q.2. When did rain start?
Ans. The rain started during the meal.
Q.3. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Ans. The raindrops were like ‘new coins’ as they were helpful for the crops.
Q.4. Who said these words, “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.’’?
Ans. Lencho spoke these words.
Q.5. What is the name of the chapter?
Ans. A Letter to God
3. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
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.
‘‘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.
4. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
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.’’
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.”
1. How was Lench feeling?
Ans. Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness.
2. What happened to Lencho’s fields?
Ans. Lencho’s fields were destroyed by the hail storm.
3. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Ans. The hail has left nothing and he became sad.
4. “A plague of locusts would have left more than this”. What does this mean?
Ans. the storm had spoilled his crops more than the locusts.
5. What happened to the crops?
A. Not a leaf remained on the trees
B. The corn was totally destroyed
C. The flowers were gone from the plants
D. All
Ans. D. All
5. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
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.
1. Who or what did Lencho have faith in?
Ans. Lencho had full faith in God.
2. What did Lencho do?
3. What does this phrase mean? “Don’t be so upset, even though this seems like
a total loss. Remember, no one dies of hunger.”
Ans. God always helps the affected people.
4. What is the single hope left for Lencho?
Ans. The single hope left for Lencho is God.
5. Which word has the same meaning of spoilled?
Ans. total loss
6. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
“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.
1. Who wrote the letter to God?
Ans. Lencho wrote the letter to God.
2. Who read the letter?
Ans. The postmaster read the letter.
3. What did the postmaster do then?
Ans. He sent money to lencho.
4. How much money Lencho demanded?
Ans. Lencho demanded 100 pesos.
5. Why did Lencho need money?
Ans. He wanted money to help his family.
Passages for Practice
7. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
“What faith! I wish I
had the faith of the man who wrote this letter.
Starting up a correspondence with God!”
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’.
1. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
2. Who read the letter?
3. What did the postmaster do then?
4. Why did the postmaster decide to send the money?
5. How did the postmaster manage the money?
8. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
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.”
1. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
2. What made him angry?
3. “God: Of the money that I asked
for, only seventy pesos reached me. Send me the
rest, ” What does it show about Lench?
4. Which word has the same meaning of ‘cheaters’ in the passage?
5. What is the name of the author?
30 multiple-choice questions (MCQs): “A Letter to God”
30 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) along with their answers based on the chapter “A Letter to God” by G.L. Fuentes:
- What was Lencho’s profession?
- A) Teacher
- B) Farmer
- C) Carpenter
- D) Fisherman
- Answer: B) Farmer
- What natural event destroyed Lencho’s crops?
- A) Flood
- B) Drought
- C) Hailstorm
- D) Earthquake
- Answer: C) Hailstorm
- What did Lencho hope for as he watched the sky?
- A) Sunshine
- B) Rain
- C) Snow
- D) Wind
- Answer: B) Rain
- What did Lencho compare the raindrops to?
- A) Coins
- B) Diamonds
- C) Pearls
- D) Stars
- Answer: A) Coins
- How much money did Lencho ask for in his letter to God?
- A) Fifty pesos
- B) One hundred pesos
- C) Seventy pesos
- D) Twenty pesos
- Answer: B) One hundred pesos
- To whom did Lencho address his letter?
- A) The President
- B) His friend
- C) God
- D) The Postmaster
- Answer: C) God
- What did the postmaster do upon reading Lencho’s letter?
- A) Ignored it
- B) Laughed at it
- C) Decided to help Lencho
- D) Sent it back
- Answer: C) Decided to help Lencho
- How much money did the postmaster manage to collect for Lencho?
- A) Fifty pesos
- B) One hundred pesos
- C) Seventy pesos
- D) Thirty pesos
- Answer: C) Seventy pesos
- What was Lencho’s reaction upon receiving the money?
- A) He was grateful
- B) He was angry
- C) He was confused
- D) He was indifferent
- Answer: B) He was angry
- Who did Lencho think had taken the rest of the money?
- A) The government
- B) The post office employees
- C) His neighbors
- D) The bank
- Answer: B) The post office employees
- What did Lencho call the post office employees in his second letter?
- A) Thieves
- B) Angels
- C) Crooks
- D) Helpers
- Answer: C) Crooks
- Why did Lencho write a second letter to God?
- A) To thank Him
- B) To ask for more money
- C) To complain about the missing money
- D) To seek forgiveness
- Answer: C) To complain about the missing money
- Where did Lencho drop his letter?
- A) In a postbox
- B) At the church
- C) At the town hall
- D) At the market
- Answer: A) In a postbox
- What did the postmaster feel upon reading Lencho’s second letter?
- A) Anger
- B) Satisfaction
- C) Amusement
- D) Guilt
- Answer: B) Satisfaction
- What was the weather like as the hailstorm began?
- A) Calm and clear
- B) Windy and cold
- C) Fresh and sweet
- D) Hot and dry
- Answer: C) Fresh and sweet
- What was the expression on Lencho’s face when he received the money?
- A) Surprise
- B) Joy
- C) Disappointment
- D) Anger
- Answer: D) Anger
- Who helped the postmaster collect money for Lencho?
- A) His family
- B) The townspeople
- C) His employees and friends
- D) The government officials
- Answer: C) His employees and friends
- What was the main crop in Lencho’s field?
- A) Wheat
- B) Corn
- C) Rice
- D) Barley
- Answer: B) Corn
- What did Lencho write on the envelope?
- A) To the President
- B) To God
- C) To the Postmaster
- D) To the Bank
- Answer: B) To God
- How did Lencho describe the hailstones?
- A) White pearls
- B) Silver coins
- C) Frozen jewels
- D) Hard stones
- Answer: B) Silver coins
- What filled Lencho’s soul with sadness?
- A) The destruction of his house
- B) The loss of his animals
- C) The ruined cornfield
- D) The illness of his wife
- Answer: C) The ruined cornfield
- What did Lencho expect from God?
- A) Guidance
- B) Food
- C) Money
- D) Shelter
- Answer: C) Money
- How did Lencho address God in his letter?
- A) As a friend
- B) As a savior
- C) With respect and faith
- D) With anger
- Answer: C) With respect and faith
- What did Lencho predict before the rain started?
- A) A thunderstorm
- B) A shower
- C) A hailstorm
- D) A drought
- Answer: B) A shower
- What did Lencho say about the raindrops?
- A) They were a blessing
- B) They were like gold coins
- C) They were like new coins
- D) They were like diamonds
- Answer: C) They were like new coins
- How long did the hailstorm last?
- A) Half an hour
- B) One hour
- C) Two hours
- D) Three hours
- Answer: B) One hour
- What did Lencho do the morning after the hailstorm?
- A) Planted new crops
- B) Wrote a letter to God
- C) Prayed
- D) Went to the town for help
- Answer: B) Wrote a letter to God
- What lesson can be learned from Lencho’s story?
- A) Always trust others
- B) Have faith and hope
- C) Never ask for help
- D) Work hard without expecting help
- Answer: B) Have faith and hope
- What emotion did the postmaster feel when he saw Lencho’s faith?
- A) Envy
- B) Awe
- C) Pity
- D) Disbelief
- Answer: B) Awe
- What is the main theme of “A Letter to God”?
- A) The importance of communication
- B) The power of faith and hope
- C) The impact of natural disasters
- D) The role of community support
- Answer: B) The power of faith and hope
These MCQs cover the main events, characters, and themes of the story, “A Letter to God,” and provide a comprehensive review for students.
Theme of A Letter to God Class 10 English
G.L. Fuentes, the greatest writer of his time and who belonged to Mexico, wants to covey that the innocent faith in God always brings the results. Pious love can move the mountains, Lencho wanted the money from God and he got it even though the money was sent by the postmaster who didn’t want to shatter Lencho’s faith in God.
The whole story revolves around the idea that faith in God can’t be questioned. But what should we put our faith in? This is the question this story delicately poses. Lencho is a farmer who writes a letter to God when his crops are destroyed, asking for a hundred pesos. He wants God to send him 100 pesosto sow his fields again. Does Lencho’s letter reach God? Does God send him the money?
Lencho was a dedicated and hardworking farmer, like other farmers. He had sown his crops and expected that they would be beneficial this year. A farmer knows that his crops will grow only when there is a rain and the rain depends on God’s grace. But unfortunately, a hail storm completely ruined his crop, and he became sad. So he decided to write to God, hoping that He might help him. He wrote a letter to God due to his faith in God. Like other farmers, he was simple and straightforward and posted the letter to God. In the letter, he demanded that God must send him one hundred pesos. Therefore, he went to the post office and dropped the letter into the letter box.
Lencho’s faith in God was too much, so the post master coolected seventy pesos and sent to Lencho. Unfortunately, they couldn,t send him 100 pesos and he got angry on post office emplyees and called them as cooks but agin, he wrote another letter to God and demanded the balance money, Thus, we can say that the author wants us to understand that God’s faith can’t be shattered so easily if one believes in God.
Textual Questions Solutions A Letter to God Class 10 English
Oral Comprehension Check
Short Question and Answers(40-50 words) A Letter to God Class 10 English
1. What did Lencho hope for?
Ans. Lencho was a dedicated and hardworking farmer, like other farmers. He had sown his crops and expected that they would be beneficial this year. A farmer knows that all his crops depend on God’s grace. So he decided to write to God, hoping that He might help him. He wrote a letter to God due to his faith in God.
2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Ans. ‘‘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.’’
He thought that rain would boost his crops’ growth. Thus, he considered raindrops as “new coins.”
3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
Ans. Lencho was a dedicated and hardworking farmer, like other farmers. He had sown his crops and expected that they would be beneficial this year. A farmer knows that all his crops depend on God’s grace. But unfortunately, a hail storm completely ruined his crop, and he became sad. So he decided to write to God, hoping that He might help him.
4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Ans. 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. Thus, Lencho became very sad as his crops were totally spoilled by the storm.
5. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Ans. The whole story revolves around the idea that faith in God can’t be questioned. But what should we put our faith in? Lencho is a farmer who writes a letter to God when his crops are destroyed, asking for a hundred pesos. He wants God to compensate his loss partially. So he decided to write to God, hoping that He might help him.
6. Who read the letter?
Ans. The postman took out the letters and found that one was addressed to God. He laughed at it and went to the postmaster and showed him the strange letter. The postmaster also laughed in the same way as the postman. Soon, he realised that the man had just demanded money from God, and he was moved by the farmer’s faith in God. So he didn’t want to shatter the farmer’s faith in God.
7. What did the postmaster do then?
Ans. He realised that the man had just demanded money from God, and he was moved by the farmer’s faith in God. So he didn’t want to shatter the farmer’s faith in God. Thus, he asked the post office employees to collect some money and send the money to the farmer as charity. He donated a part of his salary. In this way, the postmaster put the money in an envelope and sent it to Lencho.
8. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Ans. No, Lencho was not surprised upon looking at the money. and he started counting the money and became angry.
Therefore, he again wrote the letter. The postmaster and other employees of the postoffice read the letter and found that Lencho had complained to God that he had received only 70 pesos God that he had received only 70 pesos. He asked God to send him the remaining funds. He further wrote to God not to send the money through the post office, as the employees there are a bunch of crooks and they might have stolen the money.
9. What made him angry?
Ans. Lencho was not surprised upon looking at the money. and he started counting the money and became angry. Therefore, he again wrote the letter. The postmaster and other employees of the postoffice read the letter and found that Lencho had complained to God that he had received only 70 pesos God that he had received only 70 pesos. He asked God to send him the remaining funds. He further wrote to God not to send the money through the post office, as the employees there are a bunch of crooks and they might have stolen the money.
Long Question and Answers(100-120 words) A Letter to God Class 10 English
Thinking about the Text of A Letter to God Class 10 English
1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Answer:
The whole story revolves around the idea that faith in God can’t be questioned. But what should we put our faith in? Lencho is a farmer who writes a letter to God when his crops are destroyed, asking for a hundred pesos. He wants God to compensate his loss partially. So he decided to write to God, hoping that He might help him.
“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….”
Lencho was a dedicated and hardworking farmer, like other farmers. He had sown his crops and expected that they would be beneficial this year. A farmer knows that all his crops depend on God’s grace. But unfortunately, a hail storm completely ruined his crop, and he became sad. So he decided to write to God, hoping that He might help him. He wrote a letter to God due to his faith in God. Like other farmers, he was simple and straightforward and posted the letter to God. In the letter, he demanded that God send him one hundred pesos. Therefore, he went to the post office and dropped the letter into the letter box.
2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Answer:
The postman took out the letters and found that one was addressed to God. He laughed at it and went to the postmaster and showed him the strange letter. The postmaster also laughed in the same way as the postman. Soon, he realised that the man had just demanded money from God, and he was moved by the farmer’s faith in God. So he didn’t want to shatter the farmer’s faith in God. Thus, he asked the post office employees to collect some money and send the money to the farmer as charity. He donated a part of his salary. In this way, the postmaster put the money in an envelope and sent it to Lencho.
Thus, he signs the letter “God,” as he didn’t want Lencho to know that the money was sent by the postmaster. They say faith can move mountains. The story revolves around the idea that faith in God can’t be questioned. But what should we put our faith in? This is the question this story delicately poses.
3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
Answer:
No, Lencho didn’t try to find out who had sent the money to him as he was sure that the was sent by God due tho his 100 % faith in God.
Lencho was a dedicated and hardworking farmer, like other farmers. He had sown his crops and expected that they would be beneficial this year. A farmer knows that all his crops depend on God’s grace. But unfortunately, a hail storm completely ruined his crop, and he became sad. So he decided to write to God, hoping that He might help him. He wrote a letter to God due to his faith in God. Like other farmers, he was simple and straightforward and posted the letter to God. In the letter, he demanded that God send him one hundred pesos. Therefore, he went to the post office and dropped the letter into the letter box.
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:
On Sunday, Lencho went to the post office. He inquired if there was a letter for him. The postmaster handed the letter to Lencho. Lencho was not surprised upon looking at the money. and he started counting the money and became angry.
The irony is that the postmaster sent money to Lencho but unfortunately, Lencho called them “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.”
Therefore, he again wrote the letter. The postmaster and other employees of the postoffice read the letter and found that Lencho had complained to God that he had received only 70 pesos God that he had received only 70 pesos. He asked God to send him the remaining funds. He further wrote to God not to send the money through the post office, as the employees there are a bunch of crooks and they might have stolen the money.
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:
There are many people in the world who have full faith in God, like Lencho. Lencho is a simple and hardworking farmer who has full faith in God. Lencho is a simple and naive fellow. He can’t be called selfish as he just asked for 100 pesos to sow the crops again.
“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….”
Lencho was a dedicated and hardworking farmer, like other farmers. He had sown his crops and expected that they would be beneficial this year. A farmer knows that all his crops depend on God’s grace. But unfortunately, a hail storm completely ruined his crop, and he became sad. So he decided to write to God, hoping that He might help him. He wrote a letter to God due to his faith in God. Like other farmers, he was simple and straightforward and posted the letter to God. In the letter, he demanded that God send him one hundred pesos. Therefore, he went to the post office and dropped the letter into the letter box.
6. There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?
Answer:
Lencho was a farmer who expected a good crop and prayed to God that there should be rain. Fortunately, rain started, but it continued, and the hail storm ruined his crop completely. Here, Lencho wanted good rain, but unfortunately, nature’s act of heavy rain spoiled his crops completely. Here comes the conflict between nature and humans, in which nature does not act in accordance with human desires.
Lencho wrote a letter to God, pleading with him to send him the funds he needed to replant the crops.We know that God can’t send the money directly. Therefore, the postmaster arranged the money for Lencho just to save his faith in God, but later on, Lencho called them all crooks. Thus, he asked God not to send money through the post office but to send the money directly to him. Here, we came to know that the humans were helping another human, but the fellow called them crooks.
Hence, the author clearly depicts a conflict between nature and humans. There is also conflict among humans.
Thinking about Language (Page 8,9,10,11)
I. Look at the following sentence from the story.
Suddenly a strong wind began to blow and along with the rain very large
hailstones began to fall.
‘Hailstones’ are small balls of ice that fall like rain. A storm in which
hailstones fall is a ‘hailstorm’. You know that a storm is bad weather with
strong winds, rain, thunder and lightning.
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:
__ __ cyclone __ __ __ __
2. An extremely strong wind : __ gale __ __
3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds : __ __ typhoon __ __ __ __
4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel:
__ __ __ tornado __ __ __
5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic
Ocean: __ __ hurricane __ __ __ __ __ __
6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and
causes a lot of damage: __ __ __ __ whirlwind __ __ __ __
Question 7.
Match the sentences in column A with the meaning of ‘hope’ in column B.
Answer:
| 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. | 1 hope you don’t mind my saying this but 1 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. | 1 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 a 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)
III. Relative Clauses
Join the sentences given below using who, whom, whose, which, as suggested.
Question 1. 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.
Question 2. My mother 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.
Question 3. These sportsperson are going to meet the President. Their performance has been excellent, (whose)
Answer: These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going to meet the President.
Question 4. Lencho prayed to God. His eyes see into our minds, (whose)
Answer: Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.
Question 5. This man cheated me. I trusted him. (whom)
Answer: This man whom I trusted cheated me.
IV. 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.
5. 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 of clouds | The mass or ‘hugeness’ of mountains |
| Raindrops | ||
| Hailstones | ||
| Locusts | An ox of a man | An epidemic (a disease) (hat spreads very rapidly and leaves many people dead |
Answer:
| Object | Metaphor | Quality or Feature Compared |
| Cloud | Huge mountains of clouds | The mass or ‘hugeness’ of mountains |
| Raindrops | Coins | Money that a good crop will bring |
| Hailstones | Frozen pearls | brightness of pearls |
| Locusts | a plague of locusts | An epidemic (a disease) that spreads very rapidly and leaves many people dead |
| Lencho | An ox of a man | strong |
III. Relative Clauses
Speaking
Have you ever been in great difficulty, and felt that only a miracle could help you? How was your problem solved? Speak about this in class with your teacher.
In the 10th grade, I suddenly felt that I had some problems with English reading comprehension. My exam was the next day. I tried hard but couldn’t succeed in solving the reading comprehension problem. I couldn’t contact my teachers to get a solution to my problem. Suddenly, I came to know about readlearnexcel.com, and my friend told me to search for the solution to my problem by browsing the website. I checked the website, and to my surprise, I found the solution to my problem in the board practise paper. I found the solution. The next day, I appeared in the examination, and fortunately, I got the same question in my paper. I was so happy, and I attempted the question, and I got 100% in my English paper. Hence, it was a miracle that I got the solution on readlearnexcel.com.
Writing
Lencho suffered first due to drought and then by floods. Our country is also facing such situations in the recent years. There is flood and there is drought. There is a need to save water through water harvesting. Design a poster for your area on how to save water during summer and when it is available in excess.
- Water is our life.
- Save Water for future generation.
- Save Water: Save Environment
“A Letter to God,” Poetic Devices
In the novella “A Letter to God,” numerous poetic elements are utilised to enrich the language and create a more vivid and interesting narrative. Here are a few examples of poetic devices found in the text:
A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different objects by utilising the words “like” or “as.” Lencho in the novel compares rains to “new coins.” This simile paints a vivid picture of raindrops as priceless and precious, emphasising their importance to Lencho.
A metaphor is a figure of speech that directly compares two distinct things. While no explicit metaphors are used in the novel, Lencho’s unwavering faith in God can be viewed metaphorically as a light that guides him through difficult situations.
Hyperbole: A poetry device that involves exaggeration for emphasis or dramatic impact is hyperbole. When Lencho characterises the hailstones as “as large as chicken eggs,” he is using exaggeration. This exaggeration emphasises the hailstorm’s destructive power.
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are close in proximity. There aren’t many instances of alliteration throughout the novel, but one is the line “band of crooks.” The repetition of the letter “b” emphasises Lencho’s claim.
Personification is a poetry method in which human attributes are ascribed to non-human phenomena. There is a personification of Lencho’s letter in the story when it is described as having “the faith that moves mountains.” The letter gains power and agency as a result of its personification.
Symbolism: The use of symbols to symbolise ideas or traits is known as symbolism. The rain represents optimism and supernatural involvement in the plot. It expresses Lencho’s faith in God’s goodness and his expectation of help in his time of need.
These are some of the literary devices utilised in “A Letter to God” to enhance the story’s depth, imagery, and emotional impact.
