A Letter to God

 

         A LETTER TO GOD

 

Q 1: What did Lencho hope for?
Answer: Lencho hoped for rains as the only thing that his field of ripe corn needed was a shower.

 

Q 2: Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Answer: Lencho’s crops were ready for harvest. However, they required a good downpour before harvesting. After a downpour, he could sell the harvest and get money. That is why he compared the raindrops to ‘new coins’. This also shows that the appearance of the raindrops was round and silver in colour like new coins.

 

Q 3: How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
Answer: The rain changed into hail and Lencho’s crops were destroyed. There was not a single leaf left on the trees and the flowers were gone from the plants.

 

Q 4: What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Answer: When the hail stopped, Lencho’s soul was filled with despair. He looked around at his fields and said that even a plague of locusts would have left more than what was left after the hailstorm. He said that they would have no corn that year and they would go hungry. He was full of sorrow.
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Q 5: 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.

 

Q 6: Who read the letter?
Answer: When the postman saw that the letter was addressed to God, he laughed and took the letter to the postmaster, who then read it.

 

Q 7: What did the postmaster do then?
Answer: In order to keep Lencho’s faith in God alive, the postmaster decided to answer the letter. When he read that Lencho needed hundred pesos, he asked for money from his employees. He himself gave a part of his salary. He could not gather the entire amount, but managed to send Lencho 70 pesos. He put the money in an envelope addressed to Lencho and signed it ‘God’.

 

Q 8: Who does Lencho have complete faith in? give instances from the story to support your answer?
Answer: Lencho had complete faith in God. After his crop was completely destroyed by the hailstones, he had absolute and complete faith in God that He would send help. His faith was so unshakable that he wrote a letter to God asking for 100 pesos. Even after he got 70 pesos because of the generosity of the postmaster and the post office staff he firmly believed that God had not made a mistake by sending him less amount and blamed the postoffice staff of stealing the money.

 

Q 9: Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Answer: The postmaster sent money to Lencho in order to keep Lencho’s faith in God alive. He turned serious when he read Lencho’s letter and wished he had the same faith in God. Even after he saw that Lencho had requested for money, he stuck to his resolution of answering the letter. He gathered as much money as he could and sent it to Lencho. He signed it ‘God’ so that Lencho’s faith would not get shaken.

 

Q 10: Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
Answer: No, Lencho did not try to find out who had sent the money to him. This is because he never suspected that it could be anybody else other than God who would send him the money. His faith in God was so strong that he believed that God had sent him the money.

 

Q 11 How did Lencho react to the help of the post office employees?
Answer: When Lencho got the envelope and opened it to count money, he became angry. He again wrote a letter to God demanding the remaining thirty pesos. He thought that post office employees had taken away the remaining money and called them a bunch of crooks, which was not justified at all as they were the people who had helped him. But it shows his innocence and firm faith in God.

 

Q 12: Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation?

Or

Lencho had faith in God but lacked faith in humanity. Comment.

Answer: Lencho thought that the post office employees had taken the rest of the money. The irony of the situation was that the employees whom he called a “bunch of crooks” and suspected of taking some of the money were the same people who had contributed and sent him the money in the first place. Instead of being thankful to them, Lencho accused them of stealing.

 

Q 13: Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say
he is?
Answer: There might be a few people like Lencho in the real world. He is an unQing, naïve kind of a person.

 

Q 14: There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?
Answer: The conflict between humans and nature is illustrated by the destruction of Lencho’s crops by the hailstorm. Lencho had worked really hard on his fields and the harvest was really important for him. He required the money to feed his family. However, the nature turned violent. The rains were accompanied by a hailstorm, which destroyed the crops.

 

The story also illustrates another conflict, between humans themselves. The postmaster, along with the help of the other post office employees, sent Lencho the money that they could manage to collect. They were not related to Lencho in any manner. It was an act of kindness and selflessness on their part. Even though they did a good deed, Lencho blamed them for taking away some amount of money. He called them “a bunch of crooks”. This shows that man does not have faith in his fellow humans, thereby giving rise to this conflict.

 

SAMPLE PAPERS

Q15     What does the postmaster’s reaction to Lencho’s letter reveal about his character?

Ans      The postmaster does not mock or dismiss Lencho’s faith. On the contrary, he is deeply moved by it. This shows his high regard for individual faith and personal conviction. He thinks outside his conventional administrative duties and creatively devises a plan to maintain Lencho’s faith. His willingness to contribute his own money and encouraging his staff to do the same, illustrates a personal commitment to helping others in need.

Q16     Describe the devatation caused by the hailstorm.

Ans      There was not even a single leaf or flower left on the trees. Lencho’s crops were completely destroyed. There was a sense of emptiness and loss as the corn was hos only source of livelihood. The emptiness and desolation of the landscape serves as a powerful metaphor for Lencho’s inner state of mind, emphasizing the magnitude of his disappointment and hopelessness.

 

Q17 Give a brief description of the view from Lencho’s house?
Ans: 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.

 

Q18. Why did Lencho not want the money to be sent through mail? CBSE 2016
Ans: Lencho wrote in his second letter that he received only seventy pesos but he needed a hundred pesos. He requested God not to send rest of the money by post since the post office employees were a bunch of crooks and would steal the money.

 

Q19     Why would Lencho have preferred a plague of locusts to a hailstorm?

Ans      The hailstorm completely destroyed Lencho’s crop. Lencho felt that a plague of locusts would have left atleast something. The devastation would have been a little less.

 

Q 20. Give a character-sketch of Lencho.
Ans: Lencho was a simple man and a hardworking farmer. He worked like an ox in his field. When Lencho’s entire crop was ruined by the hailstorm, he became very sad as he was worried about his family. He had a firm and unshakable faith in God and was confident that God would help him in his distress. He was innocent and simple to the point of being naïve as he failed to recognize the generosity and kindness of the postmaster.

 

Q 21. Sketch the character of the postmaster in the story ‘A Letter to God”.
Ans: The postmaster was a fat and friendly fellow. He was a sensible human being. He first laughed looking at the letter which had a strange address. But soon he became serious. He was surprised at the faith that Lencho had in God. He wanted his faith not to be shaken.
The postmaster himself gave a part of his salary and also requested his employees and a few friends to contribute for charity. He felt happy and satisfied when Lencho received the money. This shows that he was a kind and empathetic person as well. He loved to help others.

 

Self attempt

Imagine you are the postmaster. You saw Lencho’s reaction to the letter you sent to him as “God”. Write a diary entry describing your feelings after the incident. Mention if Lencho’s response has shaken your faith in kindness and generosity.

04 Apr XXXX

10.00 pm

 

Dear Diary

Today, I feel a mix of confusion and disappointment. I’ve always believed in the power of kindness, but Lencho’s reaction has made me Q whether people truly understand the spirit of generosity. His response has shaken me, though I don’t want to lose hope entirely.

Lencho wrote to God, asking for help after his crops were destroyed. My colleagues and I pooled together money to send him, hoping to restore his faith in humanity. However, when he received it, he was angry, accusing the post office of taking some of the money. His reaction was one of frustration, not gratitude.

Despite this, I’ve decided not to let his response affect my belief in kindness. In the future, I’ll continue to help others when I can, knowing that the act of generosity itself holds value, regardless of how it’s received.

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