Teaching Learning with Poornima: A Letter to God class 10 CBSE

A Letter to God

Gegorio Lopez y Fuentes

Analysis:

· The story 'A Letter to God' is witten by Gegorio Lopez y Fuentes, a Mexican novelist, a fisherman by profession

· It depicts unwavering / unquestionable faith of Lencho in God.

· The story portrays an incessant struggle between humanity and nature which has been foiling human endeavours and devastating his dreams since eternity. The story also highlights conflict between man and his fellow beings who he fails to trust.

Lencho, the protagonist is an innocent, hardworking and a God fearing person who is a naive and his beliefs can't be questioned.

Summary / Synopsis

· Lencho was a poor farmer who lived on the top of a hill. It was a solitary house on that hill and from that hill he could see entire valley along with his field. He had grown corn crop in his field. He prayed for rain showers to get a good crop in his corn field. His crop was ripe with flowers and it was promising a good harvest.

· It started raining making him happy and his children danced in the rain. in happiness he started comparing rain drops to new coins which were shiny and beautiful. He compared small drops to 5 cents and bigger ones to 10 cents. He hoped good rain would result in good crop. He started dreaming that good crop of corn would make him rich.

· Suddenly the rain drops turned into hail stones which were looking like silver coins. In a while hail stones covered his entire crop of corn. It appeared as if his entire field is covered with salt. He thought even the locusts could have left something but the hail stones destroyed his entire crop.

· Now, he was worried how he would feed his family. Then, he recalled what his elders had told him about God in his childhood. They told that God sees everyone and no one's pain is hidden from God. Since he had robust faith in God, he decided to write a letter to God. He explained his condition how his crop was destroyed and requested God to send him 100 pesos. He addressed his letter ‘To God’ and went to the post office to post it.

· One of the postmen noticed it and was amused to find that it was addressed to God. He showed the letter to the Postmaster who could not restrain his curiosity and started reading it.

· The Post Master, being a genuine person, was moved by Lencho’s problem and his faith in God. He didn't want that Lencho's faith in God should be broken and decided to help him by sending the money

· He motivated his colleagues to contribute but could only collect 70 pesos as they were not earning good. He put the money in an envelope and sent it on Lencho’s address.

· When Lencho received the envelope, he was not at all shocked; he knew the reply with money will come as he had immense faith in God.

· But, when he counted the money and found only 70 pesos, he got angry with post office employees as he believed God can’t commit mistake. He could also not deny his request.

· He wrote to God, again. The postmaster was curious to know what Lencho might be writing. But, ironically he wrote that the post office employees are ‘a bunch of crooks’ who had stolen his 30 pesos and suggested God that next time he should not send money through post office.

Irony in the chapter

The Post Master and other employees who displayed a high sense of charity and spirit of compassion, and helped Lencho ignoring their own needs and expenses deserved great admiration and applause. However, their generosity and sincere efforts were abused and questioned by the same Lencho who called them as ‘ a bunch of crooks’.

Conflicts in the chapter

The story discusses two conflicts - one between man and nature and the other among humans themselves.

It portrays an incessant struggle between humanity and nature which has been foiling human endeavours and devastating his dreams since eternity. Lencho dreams to have good crop and seeks the help of God in form of rain. But, hailstorm destroyed his crop crushing his dreams. Man proposes; God disposes.

The story also highlights conflict between man and his fellow beings. He fails to trust his own brothers. Similarly, Lencho blindly trusts God who he has never seen but cannot see the help of his brethren who have done the work entrusted to God. Ironically, they got abused. This is a pathetic conflict.

Important Question Answers

Q1. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is irony in the situation?

Ans. Lencho thinks that post office employees have taken the rest of the money. He demanded hundred pesos from God and received only seventy pesos. He cannot doubt God and, is certain that God must have given full amount and post office employees have stolen the rest of his money, therefore, called them ‘a bunch of crooks’.

It is very ironical that the people who should be praised and awarded for their charitable spirit and self-sacrificing nature are being abused, distrusted and condemned. We, as readers feel unable to decide whether to laugh at the innocence and foolishness of Lencho or feel sorry at the sad state of goodness being abused.

Q2. Draw a character sketch of Lencho with reference to the story ‘A Letter to God. Are there people like Lencho in the real world?

Ans. Lencho, a poor farmer possesses unquestionable and unshakeable faith in God. He is also naïve as he strongly believes in what he has been learning and nourishing since his childhood. He has nourished a belief that if God has given us birth, he would feed us, too. Such people are difficult to be changed or moulded.

He is literate enough to write his name and letter. Though he worked like an ox in his field, he could learn how to read and write.

He is very innocent and doesn’t question his beliefs. He doesn’t try to find out how he received the money, nor he bothers to think how his letter would reach God.

People like Lencho may be there in the real world, but very rare. The people like Lencho might exist in this world and we might find it difficult to accept them.

Q3. Draw a character sketch of Postmaster with reference to the story ‘A Letter to God.

Ans. Postmaster was a fat and amiable person. He was kind and helpful who motivates his colleagues and friends to help Lencho by donating money whatever they could. He was concerned and thoughtful about Lencho’s problem as well as impressed with his robust faith in God. He tried his best that Lencho's faith should remain intact. He was a fine gentleman who takes the trouble of reading the letter and helping an unknown man. He was a good natured and shares a good rapport with his colleagues who listen to him and follow him.

Q4. Which qualities of the post office employees are highlighted in the chapter? Why would you not agree with Lencho calling them ‘a bunch of crooks’?

Ans. The post office employees displayed high sense of generosity, empathy, care, sensitivity and helpfulness. I certainly don’t agree with Lencho calling them a bunch of crooks as they are generous and highly sensitive people. They have sacrificed a part of their hard earned income to help a poor farmer and keep his faith intact in God. They deserve sincere applause and great compliment, and certainly not the abuse what they received at the hand of Lencho who failed to know about their kind act.

Q5. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?

Ans. When it started raining as he expected and prayed for, he was dancing happily. He was so happy to see the raindrops falling that he called them ‘new coins’ because he considered them to bring a lot of money in form of rich crop of corn. He said that small coins were 5 cents and bigger ones as 10 cents He started dreaming that he would get very good crop which he would sell in the market and earn lot of money. Hence, he called them ‘new coins’.

Q6. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it? What made him angry?

Ans. No, Lencho was not at all surprised to find the letter with money as he had unquestionable faith in God. He had requested God to send him money and knew very well that God would send him the money. But, when he counted the money, he became very angry because there were only 70 pesos. He became furious to think that the post office employees had stolen rest of the amount i.e. 30 pesos. He knew that God could not make a mistake nor He could deny his request. He concluded that the post office people had stolen his money so he became angry.