A LETTER TO GOD CLASS X ENGLISH

 A LETTER TO GOD

CHARACTER SKETCH 

 Lencho- Lencho is the main character of the story “A Letter to God”. He is a poor farmer who is the sole bread-earner of the family. He had faith in God. Lencho lived in a small house which was situated on the crest of a low hill in the valley. Throughout the morning Lencho sat in his house and waited for the rain to come. He wished for the rain or the shower for his field in which he had grown his crops but due to hailstorm his crops were destroyed. Lencho wrote the letter to God as he thought that he would be the only one to help him in his bad times. He wrote a letter addressing to God to send him hundred pesos so that he and his family can survive in such a difficult situation.

 Postmaster - The postmaster was a fat and amiable fellow. He was a sensible and a compassionate human being who was amazed by the depth of faith in God that is shown by Lencho. Although at first, he was amused by Lencho’s letter to God, he became serious and wanted to help Lencho because he didn’t want his faith 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.

Intext Questions –  Page no.5

Q1. What did Lencho hope for?

 Answer – Lencho hopes for a downpour or at least a shower. 

 Q2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like “new coins”? 

 Answer – Lencho said the raindrops were like “new coins” because he hoped for a good harvest.

 Q3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s field? 

 Answer – At first the big drops of rain began to fall. then suddenly a strong wind begins to blow and along with the rain very large hailstones begin to fall. The corn was totally destroyed. Lencho’s fields turned white as if covered with salt. 

 Q4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped? 

 Answer – When the hail stopped, Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness because the hailstones had completely destroyed his crop. He feared his family would starve that year. Thus, his hopes were shattered. However, Lencho had only one hope. It was the help of God.  

Intext Questions – Page  no 6 

 Q1. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do? 

 Answer – Lencho had faith in God, whose eyes see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience. He said ‘no one dies of hunger’. He decided to write a letter to God to seek his help. In his letter, he represented God to send him a hundred pesos. 

 Q2. Who Read the Letter? 

 Answer – The postmaster read the letter which was given to him by the postman. 

 Q3. What did the Postmaster do then? 

 Answer – The postmaster read the letter. He was highly impressed by the writer’s faith in God. So, in order not to shake the writer’s (Lencho’s) faith in God, he decided to answer the letter and help the man in distress. He collected 70 pesos and sent them to Lencho.

Intext Questions – Page no.7

 Q1. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it? 

 Answer – Lencho showed not the slightest surprise to find a letter for him with money in it, because such was his faith in God. He believed that God sees everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience. He had also heard people say, “No one dies of hunger”. 

 Q2. What made him (Lencho) angry? 

 Answer – When Lencho received the letter and counted the money, he became very angry. The envelope contained only seventy pesos, whereas he had requested God to send him a hundred pesos. God could not make a mistake. He thought that the post office employees had cheated him and kept the rest of the money. 

THINKING ABOUT THE TEXT 

1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this? 

 Answer: Lencho had unwavering faith in God. The lines which tell us this are:  

‘But in the hearts of all who lived in the solitary house in the middle of valley was a hope: help from God.’ 

 ‘All through that night, Lencho thought of his one hope: the help from God…’ 

 “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… 

 ‘Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money: such was his confidence …God could not have made a mistake…’ 

2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’? 

 Answer: The postmaster initially laughed at the letter addressed to God, but immediately turned serious in admiration of Lencho’s immense faith in God. So, he decided to collect money and give it to Lencho, in name of God, as an act of charity in respect for his devotion to God. He signed the letter ‘God ‘ to reinstate Lencho’s faith in God. 

 3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not? 

 Ans. No, Lencho did not try to find out the source from where the money came. Lencho had immense faith in God and believed that God could never deny his request nor could he ever make a mistake. There was not a sliver of doubt in him about God. Such was his confidence that he did not show the slightest surprise when he received the money sent by God.

4. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation? (Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it. An ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected.) 

 Answer. Lencho believed that the post office staff had taken his money. The irony in the situation was that it was the employees of the post office who had given a part of their hard-earned money to retain Lencho’s unshakable faith in God. However, the faith turned to be so unshakable that Lencho thought that God could never make a mistake of sending him only seventy pesos instead of the hundred that he had requested. He came to the conclusion that it must be the post office employees who had taken the money instead of the other way around.