A Letter to God (Class 10 English)

TL;DR: A humble farmer writes a letter to God requesting 1,000 pesos compensation for his damaged crops destroyed by hail. The story explores faith, hope, an…

A humble farmer writes a letter to God requesting 1,000 pesos compensation for his damaged crops destroyed by hail. The story explores faith, hope, and the

A Letter to God — Summary

Lencho is a poor farmer whose maize field is completely destroyed by a devastating hailstorm. Despite his loss, he maintains unwavering faith in God and writes a letter asking for 1,000 pesos to survive until the next harvest. The letter reaches the local postmaster, who is moved by Lencho's faith and decides to collect money from friends and colleagues. He sends 970 pesos back to Lencho. When Lencho receives less than the requested amount, instead of being grateful, he accuses God of being a thief for keeping back 30 pesos. The story reflects on how faith can be blind and how expectations often overshadow gratitude.

Characters

• Lencho: A poor Mexican farmer with simple but unshakeable faith in God. He is hardworking, honest, and trusts in divine providence above all else.
• The Postmaster: A kind-hearted official who is moved by Lencho's faith and tries to help him. He represents human compassion and practical goodness.

Themes

• Faith and belief in God
• Consequences of unfounded expectations
• Human kindness and charity
• Poverty and hardship
• Ingratitude and skepticism

Poetic and Literary Devices

Irony

The men who actually help Lencho are the ones he ends up calling thieves.

Simile

The raindrops are compared to new coins — "the big drops were ten-cent pieces, the little ones were fives" — turning rain into money before the hail destroys it.

Personification

The hail is described as an army of locusts falling on the field, given the intent of a destroyer.

Imagery

The field white with hail "as if covered with salt" makes the ruin visible in a single stroke.

Symbolism

The letter stands for absolute, uncomplicated faith — and for how blind such faith can be to the human kindness in front of it.

NCERT Textbook Questions — Answered

Q1. What did Lencho hope for?

He hoped for a good downpour of rain, which his ripe field of maize needed badly. He had been watching the sky from the north-east all morning and was pleased when the rain finally began, because it would guarantee a good harvest.

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

Because the rain meant a good harvest and therefore money. He looked at the falling drops in terms of what they would earn him — the big drops ten-cent pieces and the small ones fives — so the comparison shows how directly his livelihood depended on the weather.

Q3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho's fields?

A strong wind began to blow and large hailstones started falling with the rain. For an hour hail battered the valley, and afterwards the field was white, as if covered with salt. Not a leaf remained on the trees, the maize was totally destroyed and the flowers were gone from the plants, leaving the family facing a year of hunger.

Q4. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?

He had complete faith in God. Believing that God sees everything and that no one dies of hunger while God provides, he wrote a letter addressed to God asking for a hundred pesos to sow his field again and live until the next crop, and posted it at the town post office.

Q5. Who read the letter, and what was their reaction?

The postmaster read it, and he laughed at first but then became serious, moved by the writer's faith. Determined not to shake that faith, he asked his employees and friends for contributions and gave part of his own salary, collecting seventy of the hundred pesos and sending them to Lencho signed "God".

Q6. Why was Lencho not surprised on seeing the money? What was his reaction?

He was not surprised because his faith was absolute — he had expected God to answer, so the arrival of money confirmed what he already believed. On counting it, however, he became angry that it was only seventy pesos, concluded that God could not have made a mistake, and wrote again asking for the rest and warning God not to send it through the post office because "the post office employees are a bunch of crooks".

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Lencho write a letter to God?

Lencho wrote to God because his entire maize crop was destroyed by a hailstorm and he had no money to support his family until the next harvest. He believed only God could help him.

What does Lencho's final reaction reveal about his character?

His reaction reveals that while Lencho has strong faith, he is also suspicious and ungrateful. He doubts that God would cheat him rather than feeling thankful for receiving 970 pesos from kind strangers.

More Class 10 English Chapters

• Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
• Two Stories about Flying
• From the Diary of Anne Frank
• The Hundred Dresses
• Glimpses of India
• Mijbil the Otter

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