Fire and ice

Q 1) There are many ideas about how the world will ‘end’. Do
you think the world will end some day? Have you ever
thought what would happen if the Sun gets so hot that it
‘bursts’ or grows colder and colder?
Answer: There are definitely many ideas about how the world will
‘end’. I do believe that the world will end some day as anything
that has a beginning will have an end. This stands true for the
world also, if the Sun got so hot that it burst, the whole of the
Earth would perish immediately as no part of the Earth can bear
the heat of that intensity. But if the Sun grew colder and colder,
everything will come to an end as without sunlight, life will end.

Que 3 What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? How does it

help in bringing out the contrasting ideas in the poem?
Answer:
The rhyme scheme of the poem is- a b a a ababa
This rhyme scheme helps in bringing out the contrasting ideas of
‘fire’ and ‘ice’ presented in the poem. The poet mentions that both
fire and ice are probable ends of this world. He talks about how
fire represents desire and can therefore be a cause of the end of
the world. Frost also mentions ice in between to symbolise that
the coldness and indifference towards one another will be enough
to end the world. In the second stanza, he says that he knows of
enough hate in the world to be sure that even destruction through
ice . would be sufficient to bring about the end of the world.
Extra question
1 For Frost, what do ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ stand for?
Answer:
The word ‘fire’ stands for desire. In the poem, it
indicates all types of greed and lust. In today’s world, mankind’s
greed is endangering the very existence of the planet Earth. The
word ‘ice’ in the poem indicates hatred and indifference which is
as cold as ‘ice’.

2.How has Frost brought out the contrasting ideas in the poem?
Answer:
‘Desire’ propels ( to move ) us in hot pursuit of something, hence,
it is compared with fire. ‘Hatred’ makes us cold towards other’s
feelings. The coldness of ice can numb our senses. Similarly, the
coldness of our hearts can numb our kindness. That is why
‘hatred’ has been compared with ice.

Long questions 6 m

1 .Discuss how extreme behaviour can hasten the end of the

world with respect to ‘Fire and Ice’.

Ans: In the poem, ‘Fire and Ice’ the poet highlights that extreme
behaviours can lead to the end of the world. The poet points out
the two different views regarding the end of the world and
associates the extreme behaviours to it.

The first view is fire which symbolises deep emotions of desire,

passion, etc. Desire according to the poet can become so intense
that it can make people lose their calmness. Fire of desires if left
uncontrolled can lead to the destruction of humanity as well as the
world. The other view is ice which represents hatred,
differentiation and insensitivity. Hatred, rigidity and icy reasoning
give rise to contempt. It can end all positive human emotions such
as human warmth, love, sympathy, kindness and consideration
for others. This type of behaviour will only bring death to this
world.

2.How will the world end? Support your answer with scientific
explanation.

Ans. According to the scientists, the two reasons for the

destruction of the world will be either fiery fire or the ice age.
Some scientists believed that the world would be incinerated
(destroyed) from its fiery core, while others were convinced that a
coming ice age would destroy all living things on the earth’s
surface.

In other words, either the deep heat or fire under the earth beds
will lead to natural calamities like volcano eruptions, earthquakes
and tsunamis which will one day end the world, or the melting of
ice from the snowy mountains due to global warming will shrink
the world. As a result, one day the entire world will die of the icy
water.

Frost, thus, tries to warn people against the two greatest

problems being faced by humanity and the consequences of
human vices with an increased effectiveness.

Note : for 6 marks questions add the summay.

Lesson 1 letter to God

Note : Oral Comprehension Check students need to write .

Thinking about the Text

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

Answer

Lencho had complete faith in God. The sentences in the story that
show this are as follows:

1. 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.
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.”

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 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 God. 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 had demanded a hundred pesos from God
and in the letter there was 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.
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:
yes , there are some people like Lencho, in the world . He is such
a person who can go to any extent in his faith in god . he is
resolute , determined and firm . Lencho is also ‘native ‘,‘stupid’
and’ comical.’

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:
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 and Humans: The story also illustrated
another conflict, between humans themselves as the postmaster
alongwith his friends and staff sent Lencho money that Lencho
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 crook”. This shows that man does not have faith
in other man, thereby giving rise to this conflict.

Extra question

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

Answer:
Lencho was a hardworking farmer, who lived on the crest of a low
hill. Due to the hailstorm his crops were destroyed, so he needed
money to sow his field again and support his family. These were
the main problems of Lencho.

Question 2.
Give a brief description of the view from Lencho’s house?
Answer:
Lencho’s house was situated on the crest of a low hill and it was
the only one in the valley. One could easily see the river and the
field of ripe corn from here.

Question 3.
What did Lencho compare the raindrops to and why?
Answer:
Lencho compared the raindrops to new coins because the crop
needed the rain badly and it was the sign of good harvest. Good
harvest meant prosperity for Lencho as he needed the money to
fulfil his basic needs.

Question 4.
Why did Lencho write a letter to God?
Answer:
When.Lencho’s crops were completely destroyed by the
hailstorm, he wrote a letter to God because he was the only hope
in his despair. Lencho asked him to send hundred pesos to sow
his field again and support his family.
Question 5.
Why and how did the postmaster help Lencho?
Answer:
The postmaster was determined to help Lencho. He did not want
Lencho’s faith in God to be shaken so he asked his employees
and friends to help Lencho. He also contributed a part of his
salary for this act of charity.

Question 6.
How much money did Lencho need? How . much did he get?
Answer:
Lencho got seventy pesos. He was angry at the difference as he
needed hundred pesos to sow the crops again and to support his
family till the next harvest.

Long ans :6 M *( home work )

1..Who was Lencho and what circumstances forced him to write a

letter to God?.

Question 2.
Give a character-sketch of Lencho.
person as God who could send him money. He had blind faith in
God and sought solution of his problem’Trom God only.

Question 3.
Sketch the character of the postmaster in the story ‘A Letter to
God”.
(or)
How do you like ,the character of the postmaster in the story ‘A
Letter to God?” Give reason for your answer.
Question 4.
How did the postmaster and post office employees help Lencho?
How did he react to their help?