A Letter to God - Q&A

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 5)

1. What did Lencho hope for?

Lencho hoped for a good rain (a downpour or at least a shower) for his field of ripe corn, which was needed for a good harvest.

2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like 'new coins'?

Lencho compared the raindrops to 'new coins' because the rain meant a good harvest, and a good harvest meant money and prosperity. He said the big drops were ten cent pieces and the little ones were fives, representing their value to his crops.

3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho's fields?

The rain suddenly changed into a strong wind and large hailstones began to fall along with the rain. The hail rained on the valley for an hour, leaving the field white as if covered with salt. The corn was totally destroyed, and the flowers were gone from the plants.

4. What were Lencho's feelings when the hail stopped?

When the hail stopped, Lencho's soul was filled with sadness. He felt that their hard work had gone for nothing, and he was worried that his family would go hungry that year because there was no corn left.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 6)

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

Lencho had immense faith in God. He believed that God's eyes see everything, even what is deep in one's conscience. Because of this faith, he wrote a letter to God asking for a hundred pesos to sow his field again and to live until the crop came.

2. Who read the letter?

The postmaster read the letter.

3. What did the postmaster do then?

The postmaster was moved by Lencho's faith and did not want to shake it. He decided to answer the letter. He asked for money from his employees, gave part of his own salary, and collected contributions from friends "for an act of charity." He put the money (a little more than half the requested amount) in an envelope addressed to Lencho and signed it "God".

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 7)

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

No, Lencho was not surprised at all to see the money. His confidence and faith in God were so strong that he expected the reply.

2. What made him angry?

Lencho became angry when he counted the money. He had asked for a hundred pesos, but there were only seventy pesos in the envelope. He believed that God could not have made a mistake nor denied his request, so he concluded that the post office employees must have stolen the remaining thirty pesos.

Thinking about the Text

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

Lencho has complete faith in God.
The sentences that tell us this are:
- "But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a single hope: help from God."
- "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."
- "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..."
- "God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested."

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

The postmaster sends money to Lencho because he is deeply impressed by the man's simple and absolute faith. He does not want to shake this faith. He signs the letter 'God' so that Lencho will believe that the money and the reply actually came from God, just as he had hoped.

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

No, Lencho did not try to find out who had sent the money. This was because his faith was so complete that he never suspected it could be anyone other than God. He was certain that God had received his letter and sent the help.

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

Lencho thinks that the post office employees have taken the rest of the money (the missing thirty pesos).
The irony in the situation is that the post office employees are the very people who contributed the money to help him out of kindness. Lencho calls them "a bunch of crooks" when, in fact, they were the ones who performed the act of charity to keep his faith alive.

5. Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is? You may select appropriate words from the box to answer the question.

It is rare to find people with such deep faith in the real world, but they do exist. I would say Lencho is naive and unquestioning. He is not stupid, but his innocence makes him believe that God directly sends cash through the mail.

6. There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?

Conflict between Humans and Nature: This is illustrated by the hailstorm destroying Lencho's hard work. Lencho worked "like an animal" to grow his corn, depending on nature for rain. However, nature turned violent (hailstorm) and destroyed his crops, causing him suffering and the threat of hunger.

Conflict between Humans themselves: This is illustrated by Lencho's reaction to the post office employees. The employees tried to help a fellow human in need, but Lencho mistrusted them. He believed they stole his money, showing a lack of trust and conflict between his expectations and their charitable actions.

Thinking about Language

I. Look at the following sentence from the story.
Suddenly a strong wind began to blow and along with the rain very large hailstones began to fall.
'Hailstones' are small balls of ice that fall like rain. A storm in which hailstones fall is a 'hailstorm'. You know that a storm is bad weather with strong winds, rain, thunder and lightning.
There are different names in different parts of the world for storms, depending on their nature. Can you match the names in the box with their descriptions below, and fill in the blanks?

gale, whirlwind, cyclone, hurricane, tornado, typhoon

1. A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle: cyclone

2. An extremely strong wind: gale

3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds: typhoon

4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel: tornado

5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic Ocean: hurricane

6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage: whirlwind

II. Match the sentences in Column A with the meanings of 'hope' in Column B.

III. Relative Clauses

Join the sentences given below using who, whom, whose, which, as suggested.

1. I often go to Mumbai. Mumbai is the commercial capital of India. (which)

I often go to Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of India.

2. My mother is going to host a TV show on cooking. She cooks very well. (who)

My mother, who cooks very well, is going to host a TV show on cooking.

3. These sportspersons are going to meet the President. Their performance has been excellent. (whose)

These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going to meet the President.

4. Lencho prayed to God. His eyes see into our minds. (whose)

Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.

5. This man cheated me. I trusted him. (whom)

This man, whom I trusted, cheated me.

IV. Using Negatives for Emphasis

Find sentences in the story with negative words, which express the following ideas emphatically.

1. The trees lost all their leaves.

"Not a leaf remained on the trees."

2. The letter was addressed to God himself.

"It was nothing less than a letter to God."

3. The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.

"Never in his career as a postman had he known that address."

V. Metaphors

In pairs, find metaphors from the story to complete the table below. Try to say what qualities are being compared.

Listening

Listen to the letter (given under 'In This Lesson') read out by your teacher/on the audio tape. As you listen fill in the table given below.

(Based on the letter from Jaya to Arti provided on Page 13 of the source text)