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

 Selected Qs Ans: A Letter to God

Q1.What did Lencho hope for?

Ans: Lencho hoped for rain because his dry field of ripe corn needed it very much. He and his family would remain hungry for the whole year if his crop was not saved.

Q2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?

Ans: Lencho’s crops were ripe and ready for harvesting. Lencho imagined that he would get money by selling his crops in the market. So he called the raindrops new coins.

Q3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?

Ans: Lencho was very happy when the rain started falling down in his fields. But soon, a strong wind blew and the raindrops changed into hailstones. His crops were destroyed.

Q4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?

Ans: When the hailstones stopped, Lencho was full of sadness. His crops were destroyed. He was shocked and full of worry. He thought that his family would remain hungry if no help reached him.

Q5. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?

Ans: Lencho had full faith in God. He believed that God knows everything. God would certainly (surely) help him. So he wrote a letter to God requesting Him to send him 100 pesos to sow his crop again in his fields.

  Q6. What did the postmaster do after he got Lencho’s letter from the postman?

Ans: First, the postmaster laughed heartily. But after a few seconds, he became serious. His firm faith in God had a deep effect on the postmaster. So he did not want to shatter (shake/break) Lencho’s faith in God. So he decided to collect money to help him.

Q7. Why did the postmaster not want to shake Lencho’s faith in God?       or

What did the postmaster do to help Lencho?

Ans. The postmaster did not want to shatter (shake/break) Lencho’s faith in God. So he collected money from his employees for charity. He also gave some part of his salary. But he could collect only 70 pesos. He put that money in an envelope.

Q8.Was Lencho surprised to find an envelope for him with money in it?
Ans: No, Lencho was not at all surprised to see the envelope from God with money inside it. He was fully confident that god would surely help him.

Q9. What made Lencho angry?
Ans: When Lencho finished counting money, he found only seventy pesos. But he had demanded hundred pesos. He was confident that God could never deny him the requested money. So, he thought that the post office employees had stolen his thirty pesos.

Q10. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Ans: The postmaster was emotionally moved by Lencho’s faith in God. So, he decided to send money to him. The postmaster did not want to shake Lencho’s faith in God. So, he signed the letter ‘God’. It was a good trick to make Lencho believe  that God himself had written that letter.

Q11. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Whynot?
Ans: No, Lencho did not try to find out who had sent the money to him. This is because he had great confidence in God. So he could never have the idea that human beings would help him. His faith in God was so strong that he believed that God had sent him the money.

Q12. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation? Ans: Lencho thinks that the post office people have taken the money. But they are the people who collect money to help him. Lencho thinks they have stolen his money. He calls them ‘ a bunch of crooks’. Thus there is an element of irony in this situation.

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Long Qs.

Q1. Why did Lencho write a letter to God? Why did he call the post office employees 'a bunch of crooks’?

Ans. Lencho’s ripe cornfields were destroyed by hailstones. He knew his family would die of hunger if no help reached him. He hoped that God would surely help him with money. So he wrote a letter to God.

The postmaster did not want to break Lencho’s faith in God. So he collected money from his employees to help Lencho. He put the money in an envelope to give it to Lencho the next Sunday. He came to get his letter and the envelope was delivered to him. He counted the money. He found less than 30 pesos. It made him angry. He wrote another letter to God in which he called the post office employees ‘a bunch of crooks’. He thought them dishonest persons and doubted that they had stolen his 30 pesos. This is also the irony in the story.

Q2. There are two kinds of conflicts in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?
Ans: The conflict between humans and nature is shown by the destruction of Lencho’s crops by the hailstorm. The storm of hailstones stands for nature while Lencho represents human beings. This is really the first conflict.

The second conflict in this story occurs when Lencho counts the money that he received in an envelope. He finds it short by 30 pesos. It made him angry. He believed that God could not have sent him less amount. He was sure that the post office employees must have stolen his 30 pesos from the envelope.

But the truth was that the postmaster really wanted to see him happy. So he collected money, put it into an envelope, and managed to deliver it to him. Ironically, Lencho thinks them all dishonest. This is the second conflict that was caused by a lack of faith among human beings.

 [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.]