CBSE Class 10 English A Letter to God Worksheet Set B

Question: 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) Who is the speaker? Why does he seem so happy to see the rain?
(b) Give reasons why he calls the raindrops ‘coins’?
Answer: (a) The speaker is the farmer Lencho, the protagonist of the story. He is happy because his corn was ready for harvestand he had been waiting for rains.
(b) The raindrops were big and he could see that the rain shower would help his harvest and bring him some money. Thus, to him, the raindrops were coins.

Question: “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.”
(a) Why was the employee laughing? Who was the reason for his laughter?
(b) Give the meaning of the word: Amiable.
Answer: (a) The postmaster was laughing at the letter he had received. Lencho was the reason for his laughter. He had written a letter to God and posted it, expecting a response.
(b) Amiable means pleasant and friendly.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question: How did the postmaster help Lencho ? 
OR
What did the postmaster do to keep the faith of Lencho ? 
Answer: The postmaster collected money from the post office employees, he himself also contributed his share and sent the money-order to Lencho in God’s name to keep his faith.

Question: What did Lencho write in his letter to God?
Answer: Lencho wrote that because of the hailstorm, his crops had been destroyed and he needed a hundred pesos to live until the next crop was harvested. He wrote that if God did not help him, he and his family would die out of hunger.

Question: What were Lencho’s feelings when the hailstorm stopped ?
Answer: Lencho was filled with utter sadness when the hailstorm stopped. He was troubled to see the corn which was totally destroyed. Nothing was left in the fields. He and his family had to go hungry without corn.

Question: ‘All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope.’ What was it? How did he think of it?
Answer: Lencho could not sleep the whole night. His only hope was the help from God. The hailstones had completely destroyed his crops. He felt that God’s eyes could see everything and that he would not behave so unfair with anyone. This help from God was his only hope. He kept assuring himself that no one died of hunger because God was not that cruel. He also kept thinking that one should not be upset even in the times of total loss.

Question: Why did Lencho write a letter to God?
Answer: Lencho’s crops were destroyed by a hailstorm. He had put all his money in farming and therefore, he was left with no money now. But he had strong faith in God that God would definitely solve his problem. So, he wrote a letter to God asking for 100 pesos so that he and his family wouldn’t starve.

Question: Why would you not agree with Lencho calling them ‘a bunch of crooks’ ? 
Answer: Lencho was not at all justified in calling them ‘a bunch of crooks’ because they helped him by collecting money and understanding Lencho’s unshakable faith in God. Each one of them parted with some money for the act of charity which ‘a bunch of crooks’ would never do.

Question: Why did Lencho become angry when he counted the money ? 
Answer: Lencho became angry when he counted the money because the money was not hundred pesos which he had demanded. It was only seventy pesos. Lencho had firm faith in God. Moreover, he knew that God could not make a mistake or deny his request.

Question: What did Lencho write in his second letter ? 
Answer: When Lencho found thirty pesos less, he wrote a second letter to God to send him the remaining amount, but not through the mail as he felt that the employees of the post office were a bunch of crooks.

Question: What is the message given by the poem?
Answer: The poem teaches us that we should not be desperate because there is always an opportunity to change the sad mood into happy mood. Today, when most of the people are living in stressful atmosphere, the poem teaches us to gain happiness from little things.

Question: Who did Lencho write a letter? What did he ask for?
Answer: Lencho wrote a letter to God. He asked God to send him Hundred Pesos to sow his field again and to live until the crops come.

Question: What mood of the poet is reflected in the poem?
Answer: The poet seems to be in a sad and depressive mood. The day offered no comfort or happiness to him. He thinks that the whole day is going to be sad and dull. He can see only negative symbols like the hemlock tree and the crow around him.

Question: Why does the poet hold with those who favour fire?
Answer: The poet takes side with those who believe that the world will be destroyed by fire. Frost connects fire with desire. According to the poet, desire is powerful and would be a quick end. Moreover, the fact that he has had personal experience with desire leads him to first conclude that the world will end in fire.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question: Lencho seemed to be an impulsive man who felt suddenly elated at the rainfall and later became sad to see the destruction which the rain had caused. Did he lack tolerance? Did he not have the courage to face the challenges of life? Elucidate it discussing the values one must possess to face any type of situation in about 100-120 words.
Answer: Lencho was a hard working farmer. He had grown corn in his field and was anxiously hoping for a good rain. He was very happy to see the rain, but he became despaired on seeing the destroyed crop in his field by the storm. No doubt, he had tolerance and the courage to face the challenges in his life. He had a very firm and deep faith in God and after the destruction of his field, he was still hopeful that everything will be all right. Although Lencho was a very strong man and worked hard in his fields, but his firm faith in God made him write a letter to God. And the tolerance in him only kept him waiting for the reply. He asked for hundred Pesos from God and was confident of receiving the amount. He accepted seventy pesos and again faced the situation by writing a second letter, demanding for the rest of the thirty pesos. His faith in God was not shaken. He tackled the situation bravely. In the same way we should face all situations courageously, we should be tolerant and never loose faith in God.

Question: Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like new coins ? How did the same rain change the face of Lencho’s field ?
Answer: Lencho was a poor and hardworking farmer. He hoped for a good crop, but his fields needed rain or atleast a shower. He waited for the rain eagerly. The rain did come. One day it started drizzling. Lencho felt the falling rain drops as ‘new silver coins’. The big drops of rain, according to him, were ten cent coins and the little ones were that of five. He was quite satisfied with the rainfall. But suddenly the strong wind began to blow and with the rain very large hailstones began to fall. It fell for an hour. The rain, which till then, was a hope for better future, changed into destruction. It shattered all his hopes and changed the face of his fields. It destroyed his crop completely. Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness. He feared that he would go hungry for whole year unless someone helped them from imminent starvation.

Question: (i) What did the postmaster need to answer the letter? How did he collect it?
(ii) How did Lencho react to the help?
Answer: (i) The postmaster was a kind man. He wondered at Lencho’s blind faith in God. He did not wish to shake or destroy it. Instead, he wished he had such a faith too. He opened the letter and decided to reply to it. But he needed something more than just writing. Lencho had requested God to send him money. So, the postmaster decided to send money to him. He asked for money from his employees. He himself gave a part of his salary. It was impossible for him to collect the hundred pesos. He was able to collect only seventy pesos. It was then sent to Lencho.
(ii) Lencho came to the post office a bit earlier than usual and asked if there was a letter for him. The postman gave a letter to him. Lencho did not even show slightest surprise on seeing the money. Such was his confidence in God ! Instead, he became very angry when he counted the money. According to him, God could not have made a mistake. He also could not have denied what he had requested. He at once wrote another letter to God. He wrote to God to send the remaining money but not through the mail. He said in his letter that the postmasters were crooks and that they had stolen 30 pesos. Thus, God should not send cash through mail.

Question: What do the metaphors of Ice and Fire convey to the reader? Elaborate. What is the message given by the poet?
Answer: Frost presents the two of the darkest traits of humanity; the capacity to hate and the capacity to be consumed by lust or desire. Of the two, he attributes the greater of the two evils, is desire. In giving desire the foremost position with regard to the destruction of the world, Frost is providing a powerful statement on the subject of greed and jealousy, saying that above all trait of humanity that is most likely to lead to its demise. Desire represents the greatest problem that attributes to the cause of the war. Frost then attributes hatred with the same capacity to do harm. However, he lessens the relative importance of hatred but still presents it as having the ability to lead to the destruction of the world if it were to happen for a second time.

Question: It is our attitude towards a situation that makes it positive or negative. Do you agree with it? Express your views with reference to the poem ‘Dust of Snow’.
Answer: It is true that our attitude towards a problem plays an important role in making it positive or negative. Most of the people in today’s world live a stressful life. They face different types of problems in day to day life. A person can neither keep away from problems completely nor find solutions for them easily. But what makes the situation worse is one’s attitude towards the problems. If we are depressed or sad the whole environment becomes gloomy. But if we are ready to face the problem bravely and positively, it helps in solving the problem also.
The poet in the poem Dust of Snow was in a sorrowful mood. He felt that the whole day was going to be gloomy. But when a crow shook down snowflakes on him, his bitter mood changed into an optimistic one. This small, regular incident wiped away his gloom and made him cheerful. He could have become unhappy when such a thing occurred. But instead of seeing the negative aspect of the incident, he took a positive vibe from it. Thus the the poem teaches us to find happiness from small things and to take everything positively.