G.L. Fuentes narrates a story about Lencho, a farmer who lives in a small house on a hilltop. For Lencho, everything depends on the crops he grows. If his crops get destroyed, he has no choice but to ask God for assistance in the form of a hundred pesos. God wants him to believe that help will come, and so Lencho they will not be let down. When the postmaster observes Lencho’s faith in God, he decides to take matters into his hands and solicits financial aid from his coworkers. The coterie raises 70 pesos and sends it to Lencho. But in his mind, God only passes on 70 pesos because all the rest is taken by unscrupulous postal workers. This can equally be seen as not completely fulfilling the expectations of other workers. The cover encompasses the faith of Lencho, human goodness, and some bitterness as Lencho misses his point of praise.
NCERT Solutions for ‘A Letter to God’
Question 1: What did Lencho hope for?
Answer:-Lencho believed that persistent rains were needed for the corn fields because they were near harvest time, and would bring good yield. His entire family depended on the crops as their main source of income, hence the earnest pull of rain was exciting to him.
Question 2: Why does Lencho say that the raindrops resembled new coins?
Answer:-As Lencho said, the raindrops were comparable to new coins because each of them represented a hope for good crops. To him, every drop of rain was as valuable as a silver or gold coin, for it had the potential to give them a good crop and hence, wealth.
Question 3: How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
Answer:-Instead of just rain, the skies turned dark and a hailstorm broke out. From the heavens fell hailstones which completely ruined Lencho’s crop. His fields that were once teeming with hope for a good harvest were now in ruins and this left him heartbroken.
Question 4: What was Lencho’s reaction when the hail ended?
Answer:-After the hailstorm had ended, a feeling of hopelessness and despair consumed him. He thought that nothing was left for him as the flood had wiped out all his income. Lencho was anxious about how he and his family will manage to live in absence of the harvest.
Question 5: Who or what did Lencho believe could come to his aid? What action did he take?
Answer:-Lencho had tremendous trust in the Almighty. He was confident that God was omniscient and he would render assistance to him when required. He penned down a letter to God in which he asked for 100 pesos to help his family until the following crop was ready.
Question 6: Who was the target audience of this letter?
Answer:-The letter was addressed to God but it was the postmaster who opened the letter. It was interesting for him to see someone actually addressing god in a letter and this evidence of faith touched him deeply.
Question 7: After reading the letter, what actions did the postmaster take?
Answer:-After Reading Lencho’s letter, the postmaster decided to assist him because he was moved by Lencho’s faith. In order not to loose Lencho’s trust in God, he invited his coworkers to donate money. They were able to gather up seventy pesoss which is what the postmaster sent the Lencho and signed it “God”.
Question 8: Did Lencho expect to get a letter containing money and therefore, a bit of disbelief to come?”
Answer:-No Lencho, did not expect with amazement to have received the letter with the money because he had all the faith that God would answer his prayers. As he waited, he also grew impatient and when he received seventy peso instead of 100 he which he had anticipated, he was dissatisfied.
Question 9: Who or what Was the consequence that made Lencho turn his temper in ballast.
Answer:-Lencho was annoyed because he thought God had indeed sent him the sum of dollars he had asked for, indeed dollars, but it was only the postal workers who had taken away thirty dollars. In his eyes they did “steal” from him, thus demonstrating his misunderstanding of the postmaster’s benevolence.
Question 10: The postmaster is referred to by the appellation “God.” What is the reason?
Answer:-The postmaster refers himself as God while addressing the letter because he wants to protect Lencho’s belief in God. By this, he meant God had answered Lencho’s worries. Through these actions, the postmaster wished to keep lencho’s firm hope in the hands of God safe and sound.
Long Answer Questions
- Elicit Lencho’s outlook towards God. Why and how was it useful for him in trying hours?
Answer:-Lencho’s conviction in God was unquestionable. To him, there was never a point of despair because God knew how to solve all problems. When drought ruined his crops, instead of despairing, he wrote a letter requesting a hundred pesos from God. And never losing hope, he prayed to God. His strong belief moved the postmaster, who decided single handedly to fulfill Lencho’s expectations and raise funds to do so, suggesting faith can motivate goodwill from others too.
- How do faith and irony weave themselves into the narrative of the story “A Letter to God”?
Answer:-The story demonstrates the religious faith and irony from Lencho’s perspective towards God and the post office workers. In spite of all his troubles, Lencho does not lose faith in God since he believes that help will come. The irony is that Lencho does not acknowledge that the income he obtains comes from the people he charges with theft. He views them as dishonest people without appreciating their goodwill. This emphasis on faith is, however, accompanied by the dangers of the abuse of blind faith in the people that surround you and their potential goodwill which leads to erroneous judgment.