The chapter "A Letter to God" by Gregorio López y Fuentes is a deeply moving story about faith, hope, and human kindness. Below is a detailed and beautiful answer covering all aspects of the chapter:
Summary of "A Letter to God"
The story revolves around Lencho, a poor yet hardworking farmer, who places immense faith in God. His house is the only one in a valley, and his fields are filled with ripening corn, promising a good harvest. However, he desires a downpour to nourish his crops.
As expected, it begins to rain, and Lencho is overjoyed. He metaphorically describes the raindrops as “new coins”—a symbol of his prosperity. However, his joy is short-lived as the rain turns into a devastating hailstorm that destroys everything. The once-promising harvest is reduced to nothing, leaving Lencho and his family in despair.
Lencho’s Faith and the Letter to God
Despite the destruction, Lencho refuses to give in to hopelessness. He believes that only God can help him, so he writes a letter to God, requesting a hundred pesos to replant his crops and survive until the next harvest. He addresses the letter simply "To God" and drops it into the mailbox.
The postman, surprised and amused, shares it with the postmaster, who is deeply moved by Lencho’s faith. Instead of dismissing it, the kind-hearted postmaster decides to answer Lencho’s letter by collecting money from his employees and donating a part of his salary. However, they can only gather seventy pesos—less than what Lencho asked for.
Lencho’s Reaction
Upon receiving the money, Lencho is not surprised; his faith in God is so strong that he never doubts for a moment that God sent it. However, when he counts the money and finds only seventy pesos instead of a hundred, he assumes that the post office employees must have stolen the rest.
He writes another letter to God, asking for the remaining amount but requests God not to send it through the post office, as he believes they are "a bunch of crooks." This ironic conclusion highlights both the innocence and unwavering faith of Lencho and the irony that the very people who helped him were the ones he suspected of dishonesty.
Vocabulary List
- Crest – the top of a hill or ridge
- Draped – covered with cloth or something similar (like rain)
- Locusts – large insects that fly in swarms and destroy crops
- Plague – a destructive event or calamity, often a large infestation or epidemic
- Solitary – alone; single; isolated
- Conscience – an inner sense of right and wrong
- An ox of a man – metaphor meaning a strong, hardworking man
- Pesos – currency of some Latin American countries
- Amiable – friendly and pleasant
- Hailstones – balls or lumps of ice that fall from the sky during a hailstorm
- Frozen pearls – metaphor for hailstones
- Downpour – a heavy rain
- Shower – a short duration of rain
- Intimately – closely or thoroughly
- Supper – evening meal
- Exclaimed – said something with strong emotion or surprise
- Satisfied expression – a look that shows contentment or happiness
- Troubled – worried or anxious
- Mail (verb) – to send something via postal service
- Heartily – with great laughter or enthusiasm
- Tap (verb) – to gently strike or touch
- Harvest – the process or result of gathering crops
- Valley – a low area between hills, often with a river
- Intensely – strongly or deeply
- Sow – to plant seeds
- Entire – whole; complete
- Predicted – said what would happen in the future; forecasted
- Regarded – looked at or considered
- Nothing else but – only
- For no other reason than – only for the stated reason
- Not the slightest – no sign at all; absolutely none
Let me know if you want this in table form or need meanings in Hindi or another language!
Textual and Thematic Analysis
-
Faith and Innocence
Lencho’s faith is absolute and unquestioning. He believes that God will provide for him in his time of need. His innocence is evident when he assumes that the post office employees stole from him, unaware that they were his real benefactors. -
Irony
The situational irony in the story is that Lencho’s faith is rewarded by humans, but he unknowingly mistrusts them, thinking they are dishonest. This adds humor while also making the reader reflect on the unexpected ways in which kindness operates in the world. -
Human Kindness
The postmaster and his colleagues demonstrate selfless kindness. They help Lencho, even though he doesn’t realize it. This act shows that sometimes, God’s help comes through human hands. -
Struggles of Farmers
The story sheds light on the hardships of rural farmers who depend entirely on nature for their survival. Lencho represents many farmers who suffer due to natural calamities.
Moral of the Story
- Faith can be powerful and give people hope even in difficult times.
- Human kindness exists, even in unexpected places.
- Sometimes, help comes in ways we don’t recognize, and we must learn to appreciate it.
- Irony plays a role in life, and misunderstandings can happen even when good deeds are done.
This story beautifully portrays faith, irony, and human generosity, making it a timeless piece of literature.
Textual Questions
1. What did Lencho hope for?
Lencho hoped for rain to water his crops so he could have a good harvest.
2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Lencho compared the big raindrops to ten-cent coins and the small ones to five-cent coins because he believed the rain would ensure a prosperous harvest, bringing him wealth.
3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
The rain soon turned into a destructive hailstorm, which completely ruined Lencho’s crops, leaving him with nothing to harvest.
4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Lencho was filled with sorrow and despair because he realized that his family would have no food or money due to the loss of their crops.
5. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Lencho had unshakable faith in God. He wrote a letter to God, asking for 100 pesos to help him survive and replant his crops.
6. Who read the letter? What did the postmaster do then?
A postman read the letter and showed it to the postmaster. The postmaster, touched by Lencho’s faith, decided to help him by collecting money from his employees and giving part of his salary.
7. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
No, Lencho was not surprised, as he had complete faith that God would respond to his request.
8. What made Lencho angry?
Lencho became angry when he counted the money and found only 70 pesos instead of 100. He believed that the post office employees had stolen the remaining 30 pesos.
9. Why does Lencho think the post office employees are “a bunch of crooks”?
Lencho thought the post office employees were dishonest because he believed they had kept part of the money he requested from God. He didn’t realize they were actually the ones who had helped him.
10. What is the irony in the story?
The irony is that Lencho had immense faith in God but doubted the honesty of the very people who helped him. He called them “a bunch of crooks,” unaware that they were the ones who collected the money for him.
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 show this are:
- “It was during the meal that, as Lencho had predicted, big drops of rain began to fall.” (Shows his belief in God’s power.)
- “God: if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year.” (Shows his trust in divine assistance.)
- “God: Of the money that I asked for, only seventy pesos reached me. Send me the rest, since I need it very much.” (Shows his unwavering belief that God sent him money.)
2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
The postmaster is moved by Lencho’s deep faith in God and does not want to disappoint him. He collects money from his colleagues and contributes from his own salary.
He signs the letter as ‘God’ to maintain Lencho’s faith, ensuring that he believes his prayer has been answered.
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 sent the money.
He was so convinced that God had answered his prayer that he didn’t question the source. His faith was so strong that he never doubted it came from God.
4. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation?
Lencho thinks the post office employees stole the missing 30 pesos.
The irony is that the same people he accuses of being "a bunch of crooks" are the ones who helped him.
He believes in God’s kindness but doubts human generosity, even though humans answered his prayer, not God directly.
5. Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is?
Yes, there are people like Lencho in the real world—those who have unquestioning faith in a higher power and believe in divine help during difficult times.
Lencho can be described as:
- Unquestioning – He completely trusts that God will send him money.
- Naïve – He does not realize that humans, not God, sent him the money.
- Ungrateful – Instead of appreciating the help, he calls the post office employees “a bunch of crooks.”
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: Lencho and his family rely on farming for survival. However, the hailstorm destroys their crops, leaving them in despair. This represents man’s struggle against nature’s unpredictable forces.
- Conflict between humans themselves: The post office employees help Lencho, but instead of gratitude, Lencho accuses them of stealing. This highlights misunderstandings and mistrust among people, even when kindness is shown.
Thinking about the text
I. Matching Storm Names with Their Descriptions
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 center 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. Understanding the Word ‘Hope’
Hope as a verb: "I hope it (the hailstorm) passes quickly." → Here, hope means to wish for something to happen.
Hope as a noun: "There was a single hope: help from God." → Here, hope means a chance or expectation for something positive.
Match the sentences in Column A with the meanings of ‘hope’ in Column B.
1. Will you get the subjects you want to study in college?
I hope so. → Thinking that this would happen (It may or may not have happened.)
2. I hope you don’t mind my saying this, but I don’t like the way you are arguing.
→ Showing concern that what you say should not offend or disturb the other person: a way of being polite.
3. This discovery will give new hope to HIV/AIDS sufferers.
→ A feeling that something good will probably happen.
4. We were hoping against hope that the judges would not notice our mistakes.
→ Wishing for something to happen, although this is very unlikely.
5. I called early in the hope of speaking to her before she went to school.
→ Wanting something to happen (and thinking it quite possible).
6. Just when everybody had given up hope, the fishermen came back, seven days after the cyclone.
→ Stopped believing that this good thing would happen.
Relative Clauses
Look at these sentences
(a) All morning Lencho — who knew his fields intimately — looked at
the sky.
(b) The woman, who was preparing supper, replied, “Yes, God willing.’’
The italicised parts of the sentences give us more information about Lencho and the woman. We call them relative clauses. Notice that they begin with a relative pronoun who. Other common relative pronouns are whom, whose, and which.
The relative clauses in (a) and (b) above are called non-defining, because we already know the identity of the person they describe. Lencho is a particular person, and there is a particular woman he speaks to. We don’t need the information in the relative clause to pick these people out from a larger set.
A non-defining relative clause usually has a comma in front of it and a comma after it (some writers use a dash (—) instead, as in the story). If the relative clause comes at the end, we just put a full stop.
Join the sentences given below using who, whom, whose, which, as suggested
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 is the man whom I trusted and who cheated me.
IV. Find sentences in the story with negative words, which express the following ideas emphatically.
-
The trees lost all their leaves.
→ Not a leaf remained on the trees. -
The letter was addressed to God himself.
→ It was during the meal that, as Lencho had predicted, big drops of rain began to fall. 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. -
The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.
→ It was during the meal that, as Lencho had predicted, big drops of rain began to fall. It was during the meal that, as Lencho had predicted, big drops of rain began to fall.
V. Metaphors
The word metaphor comes from a Greek word meaning ‘transfer’. Metaphors compare two things or ideas: a quality or feature of one thing is transferred to another thing. Some common metaphors are
• the leg of the table: The leg supports our body. So the object that supports
a table is described as a leg.
• the heart of the city: The heart is an important organ in the centre of our body. So this word is used to describe the central area of a city.
In pairs, find metaphors from the story to complete the table below. Try to say what qualities are being compared. One has been done for you.
