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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. Lencho was an ox of a man, working like an animal in the fields, but still he knew how to write. The following Sunday, at daybreak, he began to write a letter which he himself would carry to town and place in the mail. It was nothing less than a letter to God.
“God,” he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year. I need a hundred pesos in order to sow my field again and to live until the crop comes, because the hailstorm....”
Explanation:
Throughout the night, Lencho only considered his one hope: God's assistance. Lencho was sure that God would never fail to help him because he had been told (like everyone else) that God's eyes see everything, including what is deep in one's conscience. After all, as the narrator notes, Lencho was an ox of a man, a metaphor which denotes that he works really hard like an animal in the fields. So, as hardworking as he was, he was sure that he deserved God's help.
The narrator also observes that Lencho knew how to write, despite being a farmer. So, he began writing a letter the following Sunday at dawn, intending to carry it to town and post it himself. It was essentially a letter to God.
In the letter, Lencho had explained his circumstances and had asked for some money. He wrote to God, asking for His help and stating that the failure of doing so would lead him and his family into starvation. He also added that he needed a hundred pesos to resow his farm and live till the crop comes. He had also previously added that he needed the 100 pesos to live for a year, which includes the cost of living as well as farming. The letter goes on, with Lencho explaining how the hailstorm had destroyed his crops.
However, the narrator doesn't complete the letter though. He concludes it with an ellipses (…), as Lencho's letter was possibly filled with the details that are known to the readers. Two of the striking features of the letter's content is the love and responsibility Lencho has on his family, and the faith he has on God.
Sl. No | Words | Meanings |
1 | Instruct | To tell or order someone to do something, especially in a formal or official way |
2 | Conscience | A person's moral sense of right and wrong, viewed as acting as a guide to one's behaviour |
3 | An ox of a man | A man who is very strong and hardworking (of physical nature) |
4 | Daybreak | The time in the morning when daylight first appears |
5 | A system for sending letters and packages from place to place | |
6 | Peso | The basic monetary unit of several Latin American countries and of the Philippines |
7 | Sow | To scatter seeds in or on the ground so that plants will grow |
8 | Ellipsis | A punctuation mark consisting of three dots (…) |
National Council of Educational Research and Training (2007). First Flight. A Letter to God-G.L.Fuentes (pg. 1 - 7). Published at the Publication Division by the Secretary, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi..
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