A Letter to God

Before you read

"A Letter to God" is a short story by the Mexican writer G. L. Fuentes. It is set in a lonely farmhouse on the crest of a low hill, where a farming family depends entirely on its field of ripe corn. The story uses a simple village setting to explore a very large idea: what happens when a person's faith is total and unshaken, even when life is unfair.

Keep two threads in mind as you read. The first is Lencho's faith. The second is the quiet kindness of strangers. The story lets these two threads cross in a way that produces irony — an outcome that is the opposite of what the characters intend.

Scene-by-scene

The story opens with Lencho watching the sky. His corn is ripe and the field only needs a good downpour to guarantee a fine harvest. Rain begins, and Lencho is delighted, comparing the falling drops to coins because they promise money in his pocket.

Then the weather turns. A violent hailstorm batters the field for an hour and leaves it looking as if it had been covered in salt. Not a leaf remains on the trees; the corn is completely destroyed. The family faces real hunger for the year ahead.

But Lencho is not a man without hope, because he has one sure belief: God sees everything and will not let his family starve. That night he writes a letter to God, asking for one hundred pesos to sow his field again and eat until the next harvest. He drops the letter in the town post office.

A postal employee, laughing, takes the letter to the postmaster. The postmaster, a kind and serious man, is moved by the farmer's faith and decides he must not shake it. He resolves to answer the letter. He asks his employees for donations, gives part of his own salary, and manages to collect a little more than half — seventy pesos. He places the money in an envelope addressed to Lencho and signs it "God."

Lencho returns the next Sunday and is not at all surprised to receive a reply — after all, he expected God to help. But when he counts the money, he frowns: only seventy pesos, when God could never make a mistake. He concludes that the missing thirty pesos must have been stolen by the post office staff. He at once writes a second letter, asking God to send the rest of the money, but warning God not to send it through the post office, because the employees there are "a bunch of crooks."

Main idea

The story shows a man whose faith in God is so complete that he cannot imagine God failing him — so when help arrives short, he blames the very people who quietly helped him. Faith and irony run side by side.

Exam-focused summary

Lencho, a hardworking farmer, needs rain for his ripe corn. Rain comes but a hailstorm destroys the crop. Sure that God will help, he writes a letter asking for a hundred pesos. The kind postmaster, touched by such faith, collects money from the staff and himself, but manages only seventy pesos, and signs the reply "God." Lencho is unsurprised by God's answer but, finding the sum short, decides the post office workers stole the rest and calls them crooks. The story ends on this irony: the helpers are blamed, while Lencho's faith stays unshaken.

Themes

• Faith and belief: Lencho's trust in God is absolute; it never bends even when the crop is destroyed.
• Irony: The people who help him are the very ones he accuses of stealing. This gap between reality and Lencho's belief is the heart of the story.
• Human goodness and charity: The postmaster and staff give their own money to a stranger to protect his faith.
• Optimism in hardship: Even after ruin, Lencho does not lose hope; he simply acts on his belief.

Character sketches

• Lencho: A hardworking, ox-like farmer who is honest and deeply religious. He is simple and a little naive — his firm faith makes him unable to imagine that God's help could fall short, so he suspects human dishonesty instead.
• The postmaster: A kind, generous and responsible man. He is amused but genuinely moved by Lencho's faith, and he acts quietly to keep that faith alive. He represents human warmth and quiet goodness.

Important moments / turning points

• The hailstorm destroying the crop — the disaster that sets the plot moving.
• Lencho writing to God — his faith turned into action.
• The postmaster deciding to reply — kindness stepping in.
• Lencho counting only seventy pesos and blaming the post office — the ironic climax.

Title significance

The title "A Letter to God" is fitting because the whole plot turns on a literal letter that a man writes and posts to God. It also hints at the theme: it captures Lencho's childlike, direct faith — he writes to God as naturally as he would write to a neighbour who owes him a favour.

Message / moral

Faith can give people the strength to keep going through ruin. At the same time, the story gently warns that blind faith can blind us to the good that ordinary people quietly do. True goodness often works unseen and expects no thanks.

How to write this answer in exam

Use the structure Point -> Evidence -> Explanation -> Conclusion. Start with a direct answer sentence. Add one piece of evidence from the story (a specific action or detail). Explain how it links to the theme or a character trait. End with the message. For a 3-mark answer keep it to 40-50 words and make one clear point; for a 6-mark answer (100-120 words) make two or three linked points and always mention faith and irony together.

Common CBSE question patterns

• Why is the story titled "A Letter to God"?
• How does Fuentes use irony?
• Character sketch of Lencho / the postmaster.
• What does the story tell us about faith and human kindness?
• Value-based: was the postmaster right to reply?

Questions & model answers

Short answer · 3 marks · 40-50 words

Question: Why did Lencho call the post office employees a bunch of crooks?
Model answer: Lencho received only seventy pesos instead of the hundred he had asked from God. Because he was sure God could never make a mistake, he decided the missing thirty pesos had been stolen, and so he blamed the post office employees.
Examiner looks for: the short amount; Lencho's certainty about God; the wrong conclusion he draws.
Why it works: it states the fact, the belief, and the ironic misunderstanding in three tight sentences.

Short answer · 3 marks · 40-50 words

Question: How did the postmaster try to keep Lencho's faith alive?
Model answer: Moved by Lencho's faith, the postmaster decided to answer the letter himself. He collected donations from the office staff, added part of his own salary, gathered seventy pesos, and posted them to Lencho in an envelope signed "God."
Examiner looks for: his motive (to protect faith); the concrete action (collecting money, signing "God").
Why it works: it names both the feeling and the action, which is what a 3-mark answer needs.

Long answer · 6 marks · 100-120 words

Question: How does the story "A Letter to God" bring out both human kindness and irony?
Model answer: The story blends warmth and irony. Human kindness appears in the postmaster, who is so moved by Lencho's faith that he does not want to disappoint him. He collects money from his employees and gives part of his own salary, then signs the reply "God" so the farmer's belief stays whole. The irony lies in the result: Lencho never doubts God, but when the sum falls short he concludes that people have cheated him, and he calls the helpful post office staff a "bunch of crooks." Thus the very people who quietly performed an act of charity are accused of theft, while Lencho's faith remains completely unshaken.
Examiner looks for: the postmaster's kindness with evidence; the ironic accusation; the link back to Lencho's unbroken faith.
Why it works: it makes two linked points (kindness and irony) and closes on the theme, exactly what a 6-mark answer needs.

Long answer · 6 marks · 100-120 words

Question: Attempt a character sketch of Lencho.
Model answer: Lencho is a hardworking farmer who works his fields like an ox and provides for his family. Above everything, he is a man of deep and simple faith: he believes God sees everyone and will always help. When hail destroys his crop, he does not despair but writes a letter to God asking for a hundred pesos. His faith is so complete that he is not even surprised to receive a reply. Yet his simplicity also makes him a little naive, for he cannot imagine that God's help could be short, and so he wrongly blames the post office staff. Honest, faithful and determined, Lencho drives the whole story.
Examiner looks for: at least three traits (hardworking, faithful, simple/naive) each supported by an action.
Why it works: every trait is backed by evidence from the text, which turns a list into a sketch.

Reference to context · 4 marks

Question: In the scene where the raindrops begin to fall and Lencho happily compares them to new coins, answer: (a) Why is Lencho so pleased? (b) What do the coins suggest about his hopes? (c) How does the mood change soon after?
Model answer: (a) Lencho is pleased because his ripe corn needs exactly this rain for a good harvest. (b) Comparing the drops to new coins shows he is already imagining the money the crop will bring. (c) The mood changes sharply when hail replaces the rain and destroys the entire field, turning hope into ruin.
Examiner looks for: the need for rain; the money-hope in the coin image; the reversal by the hailstorm.
Why it works: it answers all three parts briefly and in order.

Reference to context · 4 marks

Question: Consider the moment when Lencho, unsurprised, sits down to count the money that has arrived signed "God." (a) Why is he unsurprised? (b) What makes him angry? (c) What does his reaction reveal about his character?
Model answer: (a) He is unsurprised because he was certain God would answer his letter. (b) He becomes angry on finding only seventy pesos, since he believes God sent the full hundred. (c) His reaction reveals both his unshakeable faith and his simple, trusting nature, which makes him blame the post office rather than doubt God.
Examiner looks for: his certainty; the short amount; the trait revealed (faith plus naivety).
Why it works: it links each part to a character insight, which is what RTC questions reward.

Vocabulary / glossary