A Letter to God
Notes
· Written by Gegorio Lopez y Fuentes, a
Mexican novelist, a fisherman by profession
· It depicts unwavering / unquestionable
faith of Lencho in God.
·
The story also portrays an incessant
struggle between humanity and nature which has been foiling human endeavours and devastating his dreams since eternity.
Summary / Synopsis
·
Lencho was a poor farmer who lived on the
top of a hill.
·
He prayed for rain showers for a good
crop in his corn field.
·
It started raining making him happy and
his children dance in the rain.
·
He compared rain drops to new coins as
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 he compared to silver coins.
·
It appeared as if his field is covered with
salt. He thought even the locusts could have left something but the hail storm
destroyed his entire crop.
·
Now, he was worried how he would feed
his family.
·
Since he had robust faith in God, he
decided to write a letter to God.
·
He explained his condition and requested God to send him 100 pesos.
·
He addressed his letter ‘To God’ and
went to the post office to post it.
·
The post master noticed it and was
amused to find that it was addressed to God. He 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 and decided to help him by
sending the money.
·
He motivated his colleagues to
contribute but could only collect 70 pesos. 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 wrote to God, again. 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
Irony
The Post Master and
other employees who displayed 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’.
Important Question Answers
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.
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. Nevertheless, he is very innocent
and doesn’t question his beliefs. He doesn’t try to find out how he received
the money, neither he bothers to think how his letter would reach God. The
people like Lencho might exist in this world and we might find it difficult to
accept them.
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