CHARACTERS
Lencho : He is a dedicated, hard working farmer. He is devoted to god and believed in divine help.
Postmaster: He is described to be an amiable person. He helps Lencho and so he is compassionate. He also wishes for faith in god which shows he is not a firm believer in divine presence.
THEME
The story has many themes but the major one is faith in God. A sub-theme that also turns the plot is compassion, sympathy and humanitarian feeling of helping somebody.
SUMMARY
The story, "A letter to the God", revolved around the idea of having unquestionable belief in God.
Lencho, a dedicated farmer - in a Latin- American country- is the protagonist of this story.
He was expecting a decent downpour and a good harvest.
Lencho was very sad. However, he had a strong belief in God. He was certain that God would help him.
The hope, nevertheless, was not lost. With his unwavering faith in God, he decided to mail a letter to God.
He addressed the letter to God demanding 100 pesos to sow and reap his field again. He sadly expressed that his family would be starved to death if the demand remained unfulfilled.
The postman removed the letter from the letter-box. He read the address on it and laughed very much.
Also, he rushed to the postmaster and demonstrated that strange letter to him. He laughed at the daring of a man to strike a conversation with god.
But, the postmaster was a friendly man and appreciated Lencho's faith in God. After reading the letter he got very serious. He lauded this man who had unquestioning faith in God and decided to help him in terms of money.
He asked the employees of the post office and his friends to contribute to charity. He gave a part of his salary too.
Unfortunately, they were able to collect only a little more than 50 pesos as requested for by Lencho.
The postmaster put the money in an envelope and signed it as God. It was addressed to Lencho.
Lencho once again came to the post-office. He asked if there was a letter for him. The postmaster took out the letter and handed it to Lencho.
Lencho was not surprised after seeing the money. But when he counted the money, he became angry at God. He was sure that God could not have made a mistake.
He took paper and ink and wrote one more letter to God. Then he put it into the letter-box.
In the letter, Lencho had complained to God that he had received only seventy pesos. Also, he requested God to send him the rest of the money this time.
He asked God not to send the money through the mail.
He wrote that the post-office employees were a bunch of crooks and thus might have stolen the money.
In a nutshell, faith has the power to give us what we want but one must realise that humanity still prevails.Example 1
Question:
Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Answer:
Lencho has complete faith in God. He had been told and taught that God is supreme and knows everything. 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. He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and, still troubled, went to town Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money; such was his confidence — but he became angry when he counted the money. God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.
Example 2
Question:
Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Answer:
The postmaster is an amiable and jolly man. He is compassionate and understanding. He is helpful and resourceful. When he finds the letter addressed to God by Lencho, he is instantly surprised and adores the faith of Lencho. He believed that in the adversity, Lencho had shown courage and faith and demanded help from God. So, he appreciates Lencho's firm belief in God and sends him money so that his faith remains unshaken. He signs the letter 'God' to highlight the presumption that Lencho's request had been heard.
Example 3
Question:
Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
Answer:
No, Lencho did not try to find who had sent him the money because he believed in God's help. He was not even surprised to see a reply from God but was annoyed for not receiving the whole amount. His faith in the presence and compassion of God was so unwavering that he had expected a reply and the money.
Example 4
Question:
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 stolen his rest of the money. The irony in the situation is that post office employees helped him and gathered money for him and sent it to him in the name of God who clearly didn't but Lencho could not understand this due to his blind faith in God and blamed the employees for having stolen his rightful money. The ones who helped were ultimately called "a bunch of crooks" i.e. criminals. That is the irony of the situation
Example 5
Question:
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, selfish ,naive, stupid, ungrateful, comical, unquestioning .
Answer:
It is difficult but not impossible to find people like Lencho in the real world. The adjectives that define Lencho are naive and unquestioning. He also seems ungrateful because he us not thankful for the amount he got.
Example 6
Question:
There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?
Answer:
The conflicts in the story are highlighted through various instances. First conflict between humans and nature is illustrated with the help of the hailstorm. Lencho was a farmer and needed downpour to grow his crops and to ensure a good harvest. He was dependent on nature for his food and livelihood. However, nature turned violent without any recompense for Lencho and destroyed his crops. Lencho was left shattered and aghast. His family was left without any help. The second conflict between humans is illustrated with the irony at the end of the story. The post office employees show compassion and sympathy and try to help Lencho by collecting money for him out of their own pockets. However, Lencho is shown to be ungrateful and disgraces the help given to him by calling them all "crooks". Humans don't trust each other and are ungrateful to each other. That is the conflict.
Example 7
Question:
What did Lencho hope for?
Answer:
Lencho hoped for the rain or shower desperately as he is a farmer who is waiting for his ripe corns to grow and harvest.
Example 8
Question:
Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Answer:
Lencho's corn fields were ready to be harvested. His fields needed shower before harvesting. He would be able to earn a good amount of money by selling the harvest. Thus, the raindrops looked like 'new coins' to him.
Example 9
Question:
How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s field?
Answer:
The rain was pouring down. But suddenly, a strong wind began to blow and very large hailstones began to fall along with the rain. The hail rained on the valley for an hour, because of which Lencho's fields were destroyed. There was not a single leaf left on the trees and the flowers were gone from the plants.
Example 10
Question:
What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Answer:
Lencho was sad and upset when it stopped hailing. He thought that there was no one to help him. He was worried about how he will feed his family as hailstorm had destroyed his corn Field.
Example 11
Question:
Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Answer:
Lencho had faith in God. He had been instructed that God's eyes see everything, even what is deep in one's conscience. Therefore, he wrote a letter to God expressing his need for a hundred pesos so that he could sow his field again and live until the crop grew again. Lencho was help from god.
Example 12
Question:
Who read the letter?
Answer:
The postmaster and the postman, who was an employee, read the letter.
Example 13
Question:
What did the postmaster do then?
Answer:
In order not to shake the Lencho’s faith in God, the postmaster came up with an idea: answer the letter. The postmaster decided to answer the letter. He put the money in an envelope addressed to Lencho and signed it 'God'.
Example 14
Question:
Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Answer:
No, he wasn't surprised to get the money. He was very confident that God would definitely help him.
Example 15
Question:
What made him angry?
Answer:
When he counted the money that God had sent him. He found that the money amounted to seventy pesos only whereas he had asked for hundred pesos. He believed that the post office employees have stolen the rest of the amount because God could never make a mistake.
Example 16
Question:
Give a character-sketch of Lencho.
Answer:
Lencho was a family man and a hardworking farmer. He worked like an ox in his field. Lencho’s entire crops were devastated by the hail. So, he became very sad as he was worried about his family, food and income. He was an optimistic person. Although his only source of living was taken away, he didn’t lose hope. His last resort was God. He has been instructed to think that God can peep into the conscience of people and Lencho was a devout. He was confident that God would help him in his distress. Lencho was an innocent theist who didn’t know that there was no such living person as God who could send him money. He had blind faith in God and sought solution of his problem from God only.
Example 17
Question:
What did Lencho compare the raindrops to and why? [ CBSE 2011]
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.
GLOSSARY
Crest(n)- the top of a mountain or hill.
Supper(n) - an evening meal, typically a light or informal one.
Downpour(n)- a heavy rainfall
locusts(n)- insects which fly in big swarms (groups) and destroy crops.
draped(v)-covered (with cloth).
Solitary(adj)- done or existing alone.
conscience(n)- an inner sense of right and wrong.
amiable(adj)-friendly and pleasant.
contentment(n)- satisfaction
Crook(n)-a person who is dishonest or a criminal.
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