A Letter to God is the chapter written by G.L. Fuentes which depicts the firm faith of a poor and simple-minded farmer named Lencho in God. He was poor but a dedicated farmer. He was hoping for a decent harvest. To his dismay, a hailstorm came suddenly which fully destroyed all his crops and harvest.
Lencho was hoping for a good rain because it was much needed for a good harvest at that time.
The Lencho compared the raindrops to coins because the rain helps in getting a good harvest which means money.
Lencho's crops were ready for harvest. After a downpour, he could sell the harvest and get money.
The rain changed and suddenly a strong wind started blowing and large hailstones started falling along with the rain.
Due to the hailstorm the Lencho's field was fully destroyed. There was no leaf remaining on the trees, the flowers were gone from the plants.Lencho was shattered after the destruction caused by the hailstorm.
Lencho was filled with pain or grief after the hail stopped which ruined everything and there was nothing left for the survival of his family.
He became very sad because all the crops got destroyed.Due to all this, he imagined his future dark.
Lencho had complete faith in God. He believed that God has his eye on everyone, even and helps in one’s problems to all.
Therefore, a letter was written by Lencho to God expressing his need for a hundred pesos ant to sow his crops again that are destroyed in the hailstorm.
Postmaster tried to help Lencho by collecting some amount of pesos for him. He didn't want to break Lencho’s faith.That's why he decided to collect money and send it to Lencho on behalf of God.
Lencho was not surprised to find a letter with money from God as he believed that God will help him. His confidence and faith in God was such that he had expected that God would definitely send money and help him out of this situation.
The difference in amount made him angry. After finishing counting the money, he found only seventy pesos in it. But the demand is a hundred pesos. He was confident that God could neither make a mistake nor refuse him what he had requested. So,he was definitely sure that the remaining thirty pesos were taken by the employees of the post office.
Lencho had full faith in God. This is shown in some of the following sentences : “God,” he wrote, “if you don't help me, my family and I will go hungry this year.” He wrote 'To God' on the envelope, put the letter inside and, still troubled, went to town. Lencho has full and complete faith in God as he said that God knows everything and helps us in the problems. There few sentences showing this:
1)But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, the help from God was a single hope for Lencho.
2)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.
3)“God”, he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year”.
4) He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and, still troubled, went to town.
5) God couldn't have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.
The money was sent by the postmaster to Lencho for keeping alive Lencho's trust in God. As he read Lencho's letter he became serious and wished he had the same faith in God.
He gathers money with the help of the employees in the post office and friends on behalf of God and signs the letter ‘God’ so that Lencho’s faith in God does not get broken.
No, Lencho didn't try to find out about the person who had sent the money to him because he had a very strong faith or trust in God. Lencho thought that God would help him by sending the money.He could not believe that it could be – anybody else other than him who would send him the money.
His faith in God was so strong that he believed that he helped him in his problem by sending the money.
Lencho thinks that the post office employees have taken the rest of the money as demand is of a hundred pesos from God and but only seventy pesos was written in the letter and such mistakes cannot be done by God.
According to the employee's situation, the irony is that to whom he called a “bunch of crooks” and suspected of taking some of the money sent by god, were the same people who had contributed and sent him the money.
It is totally impossible to find a person like Lencho as he is an unquestioning kind of man but not stupid if he doesn’t know who has sent him money or a letter will reach God without any address. Lencho has faith in God. In the real world, people are selfish and greedy and Lencho is totally lovable and different.
Conflict between Humans and Nature: The conflict between humans and nature is depicted by the destruction of Lencho’s crop by the hailstorm as Lencho had expected a good rain to have good harvest as it was the only hope for his earning. He worked so hard for the survival of his family, but nature turned violent and due to this, everything was destroyed.
Lencho felt sad and gloomy because of the the damaged crops and could foresee his dark future.This appropriately shows the conflict between nature and man.It also shows another conflict, between humans themselves.The postmaster could manage to collect some money with the help of his colleagues and then sent it to Lencho.They were not related to Lencho in any manner. It shows acts of kindness and selflessness on their part. Even though they did a good deed, they were blamed by Lencho for taking away some amount of money. This shows that man does not have trust in his fellow humans which has given raise to this conflict.
Match the sentences in Column A with the meanings of ‘hope’ in Column B.
| A | B |
|---|---|
| 1. Will you get the subjects you want to study in college? I hope so | – a feeling that something good will probably happen |
| 2. I hope you don’t mind my saying this, but I don’t like the way you are arguing. | – thinking that this would happen (It may or may not have happened.) |
| 3. This discovery will give new hope to HIV/AIDS sufferers | – stopped believing that this good thing would happen |
| 4. We were hoping against hope that the judges would not notice our mistakes. | – wanting something to happen (and thinking it quite possible) |
| 5. I called early in the hope of speaking to her before she went to school. | – showing concern that what you say should not offend or disturb the other person: a way of being polite |
| 6. Just when everybody had given up hope, the fishermen came back, seven days after the cyclone. | – wishing for something to happen, although this is very unlikely |
1. (b)
2. (e)
3. (a)
4. (f)
5. (d)
6. (c)
1. I often go to Mumbai which is the commercial capital of India.
2. My Mother who cooks very well, is going to host a TV show on cooking.
3. These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going to meet the President.
4. Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.
5. This man whom I trusted cheated me.
1. No leaf remained on the trees.
2. It was nothing, just a letter written for God.
3. In his career as a postman he had never seen that address.