A Letter to God | CBSE Class 10 English Notes
On this page
Who wrote "A Letter to God" and what is it about?
"A Letter to God" is a short story about Lencho, a farmer who lives with his family in a lonely house on a hilltop above a valley.
The story follows what happens when a hailstorm destroys his entire corn crop and he responds by writing a letter addressed directly "To God", asking for a hundred pesos to replant his field and feed his family until the next harvest.
The story turns on how other people respond to Lencho's extraordinary faith. A postmaster reads the letter, is moved by it, and tries to make sure the farmer's belief is not shaken, even though he cannot raise the full amount asked for.
He organises genuine charity from his staff and friends, and his own salary, so that Lencho will continue to believe his prayer has been answered.
The story closes on a sharply ironic note that invites the reader to think about trust, generosity and human nature, rather than resolving neatly or explaining what Lencho learns afterwards.
The setting is rural and agricultural: a single house in a valley, a river, a cornfield, and a post office in the nearby town. The narrative mixes everyday domestic dialogue with moments of high emotion, moving from hope, to despair, to a strange and bittersweet resolution involving money, faith and misplaced suspicion.
What happens in the story, part by part?
The house on the hill and the hope of rain
The story opens with a description of "the only one [house] in the entire valley", sitting "on the crest of a low hill", overlooking a river and a field of "ripe corn dotted with the flowers that always promised a good harvest." The only thing missing is water.
Lencho, who "knew his fields intimately", spends the morning watching the sky towards the north-east.
He tells his wife, "Now we're really going to get some water, woman," and she replies, "Yes, God willing." Their older boys work in the field while the younger ones play, until the family is called in for dinner.
Rain, then disaster
During the meal, "big drops of rain began to fall," just as Lencho had predicted, and "huge mountains of clouds" approach from the north-east.
Delighted, Lencho goes out to feel the rain and exclaims, "These aren't raindrops falling from the sky, they are new coins.
The big drops are ten cent pieces and the little ones are fives." But a strong wind rises, and the rain turns into a hailstorm. The boys run out to collect the "frozen pearls", not yet understanding the danger.
The hail falls for an hour over "the house, the garden, the hillside, the cornfield, on the whole valley." When it stops, "the field was white, as if covered with salt," "not a leaf remained on the trees," and the corn is "totally destroyed." Lencho tells his sons, "A plague of locusts would have left more than this.
The hail has left nothing. This year we will have no corn."
A sorrowful night and an unusual letter
That night the family grieves: "All our work, for nothing," "There's no one who can help us," "We'll all go hungry this year." Yet someone reminds them, "Don't be so upset, even though this seems like a total loss.
Remember, no one dies of hunger." All through the night Lencho thinks only of "the help of God, whose eyes… see everything, even what is deep in one's conscience." Though he is "an ox of a man, working like an animal in the fields," he knows how to write.
The following Sunday he writes a letter asking God for "a hundred pesos in order to sow my field again and to live until the crop comes," writes "To God" on the envelope, and posts it himself in town.
The postmaster's charity
A postman shows the oddly addressed letter to his boss, the postmaster, "a fat, amiable fellow," who laughs but then turns serious: "What faith! I wish I had the faith of the man who wrote this letter." To protect that faith, the postmaster decides to answer the letter himself.
Finding he needs "something more than goodwill, ink and paper," he collects money from his employees, gives part of his own salary, and asks friends for "an act of charity." He can only gather "a little more than half" of the hundred pesos, which he sends to Lencho in an envelope signed simply "God."
Anger, accusation, and a second letter
The next Sunday Lencho collects his letter, showing "not the slightest surprise on seeing the money," so complete is his confidence.
But when he counts it, he becomes angry, certain that "God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested." He writes back at once, demanding the rest and adding, "don't send it to me through the mail because the post office employees are a bunch of crooks." The postmaster, who has just performed a quiet act of generosity, is left reading this accusation against himself and his staff.
Who are the characters?
Lencho
Lencho is the farmer at the centre of the story, described as "an ox of a man, working like an animal in the fields." He is intimately familiar with his land and watches the weather closely.
His defining trait is his absolute, unquestioning faith in God, which is strong enough that he writes a formal letter asking for exact financial help, "a hundred pesos," and feels no surprise when money actually arrives.
However, this same faith makes him incapable of imagining that human generosity, rather than divine delivery, lies behind the money, and he turns his anger against the innocent post office staff.
The postmaster
The postmaster is "a fat, amiable fellow" who first laughs at the letter's strange address but is quickly moved by the writer's sincerity: "What faith! I wish I had the faith of the man who wrote this letter." He chooses to answer the letter so as "not to shake the writer's faith in God," and organises a genuine act of charity, collecting money from employees, his own salary, and friends.
He represents practical kindness carried out quietly and without any wish for recognition or thanks.
Lencho's wife
Lencho's wife appears briefly, preparing supper and answering Lencho's hopeful remark about rain with "Yes, God willing." She calls the children in for dinner and shares in the family's shared religious outlook, though the story gives her very few lines beyond this quiet domestic role.
The postman
The postman is a minor character who first discovers the letter addressed "To God" and takes it to his boss "laughing heartily," since "never in his career as a postman had he known that address." He later hands Lencho the reply containing the money, while the postmaster watches from his office.
What themes does the story explore?
Faith and its limits
The story's central theme is faith, specifically Lencho's unwavering belief that God will answer his letter with exactly the sum he requested.
His faith survives the hailstorm's devastation and is never shaken by the postmaster's imperfect gift; instead, it is so absolute that it leaves no room for suspecting human involvement, turning trust into something close to entitlement.
Human generosity and goodness
Against Lencho's rigid faith stands the postmaster's practical, improvised kindness. He gives up part of his own salary and persuades others to do "an act of charity," purely "in order not to shake the writer's faith in God." This quiet, unrewarded goodness contrasts with the suspicion Lencho later directs at the post office staff.
Irony
The story's ending turns on situational irony: the reader knows the postmaster gave his own money to help Lencho, yet Lencho concludes that "the post office employees are a bunch of crooks" who must have stolen the rest.
The very people who helped him are accused of robbing him, which is the irony the "Thinking about the Text" questions explicitly ask readers to notice.
Conflict between humans and nature
The hailstorm represents a conflict between Lencho's family and the natural world. Despite a season of promise, with "the flowers that always promised a good harvest," the hail leaves the field "white, as if covered with salt" and the corn "totally destroyed," showing how helpless human effort can be against sudden natural disaster.
Conflict between human beings
A second, quieter conflict runs between people: the postmaster's genuine charity is met with Lencho's ingratitude and accusation. This human conflict, born from Lencho's inability to imagine kindness from strangers, is as central to the story as the storm itself.
What are the key quotations from the story?
"These aren't raindrops falling from the sky, they are new coins." — Lencho, delighted by the first rain.
"A plague of locusts would have left more than this. The hail has left nothing. This year we will have no corn." — Lencho, surveying his ruined field.
"What faith! I wish I had the faith of the man who wrote this letter." — the postmaster, reading Lencho's letter.
"Don't be so upset, even though this seems like a total loss. Remember, no one dies of hunger." — spoken within Lencho's grieving family.
"Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money... he became angry when he counted the money." — the narrator, describing Lencho's reaction.
"...the post office employees are a bunch of crooks." — Lencho's second letter, accusing the postal staff.
These six lines trace the story's full emotional arc: Lencho's joy at the rain, his despair after the hailstorm, the postmaster's admiration for his faith, the family's grief, and finally Lencho's anger and false accusation.
Read together, they show how the story moves from natural disaster, through quiet human charity, to an unresolved and ironic ending that leaves Lencho's belief in God untouched but his view of other people badly mistaken.
What are the answers to the textbook questions?
What did Lencho hope for? Lencho hoped for rain to water his ripening cornfield, and watched the sky "towards the north-east" all morning, expecting a downpour or at least a shower that would guarantee a good harvest.
Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like 'new coins'? He was overjoyed that the long-awaited rain had finally come to save his crop, so in his happiness he imagined the big and small drops as "ten cent pieces" and "fives," money that would bring him prosperity.
How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho's fields? The gentle rain turned into a violent hailstorm that lasted an hour. It left the field "white, as if covered with salt," stripped every leaf from the trees, and completely destroyed the corn and its flowers.
What were Lencho's feelings when the hail stopped? Lencho's "soul was filled with sadness." He told his sons that even "a plague of locusts would have left more than this," showing his despair at losing the entire year's crop.
Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do? Lencho had complete faith in God, "whose eyes… see everything, even what is deep in one's conscience." He wrote a letter asking God directly for a hundred pesos and personally posted it in town.
Who read the letter, and what did the postmaster do? A postman found the letter addressed "To God" and showed it, laughing, to the postmaster.
After reading it, the postmaster decided to answer it himself, collecting money from his employees, his own salary and friends so as "not to shake the writer's faith in God."
How does Lencho's faith drive the story's events?
Lencho's faith is not a passing comment but the engine of the whole plot. It is strong enough that, instead of despairing silently after the hailstorm, he takes the practical step of writing an actual letter with a precise request: "a hundred pesos in order to sow my field again."
This specific, businesslike tone, applied to a request addressed to God, is what first makes the postmaster laugh and then moves him deeply, prompting his own act of charity.
His faith also shapes how he receives the reply. He shows "not the slightest surprise on seeing the money," because in his mind an answer from God was never in doubt. Faith, for Lencho, functions almost like certainty, leaving no space for questioning where the money actually came from or how it was gathered by the postmaster and his staff.
This same certainty becomes a flaw. Because Lencho is sure "God could not have made a mistake," he cannot accept that the shortfall might be due to ordinary human limits, such as the postmaster being unable to raise the full sum.
Instead he assumes theft, which drives the story's final, ironic twist and turns his gratitude into an unjust accusation against innocent people.
What is the irony at the heart of the story?
The irony the story builds towards is explicitly flagged by a textbook question asking readers to notice "an unexpected aspect" of the situation. The postmaster and his staff are the only people who actually help Lencho, giving up their own money without expecting thanks or recognition.
Yet Lencho's final letter accuses exactly these people: "the post office employees are a bunch of crooks." The ones who performed genuine charity are branded as thieves, while Lencho's faith in an unseen, distant God remains completely untouched by doubt.
This reversal is quietly devastating rather than comic. The postmaster, who experiences "the contentment of a man who has performed a good deed" when watching Lencho collect the money, never learns whether Lencho discovers the truth, and the story ends on Lencho's accusation without resolving it.
The irony invites readers to consider how unquestioning faith, directed only upward towards God, can make people blind to the kindness of those around them, even when that kindness is the only real help they receive. It is this gap between what the reader knows and what Lencho believes that gives the ending its force.
What conflicts does the story present?
The story contains two distinct kinds of conflict. The first is between humans and nature: Lencho's family depends entirely on the land, and the hailstorm that follows the welcome rain destroys "the whole valley" in an hour, leaving the corn "totally destroyed" and the family facing hunger through no fault of their own.
The second conflict is between human beings themselves, though it unfolds without either side realising it. The postmaster and his helpers act with quiet generosity, "in order not to shake the writer's faith," while Lencho, unaware of their effort, turns against them in anger.
These two conflicts are connected: it is the natural disaster that sets off Lencho's desperate letter, and it is his unwavering faith, formed partly in response to that disaster, that then produces the human conflict with the postal staff.
Nature's unpredictability and human generosity both ultimately go unrewarded or unrecognised in the story, which is why the question of conflict is central to understanding its meaning.
What literary and language devices appear in the story?
The story uses vivid metaphor to describe nature in human or familiar terms. Lencho calls the clouds "huge mountains," compares raindrops to "new coins," and sees the hailstones as "frozen pearls" and "new silver coins," transferring the idea of value and hardness onto natural phenomena.
He is himself described as "an ox of a man," a metaphor comparing his toughness and strength to that of a working animal.
The narrative also uses negatives for emphasis rather than simple negation. Phrases such as "had done nothing else but see the sky," "for no other reason than to have the pleasure of feeling the rain," and "showed not the slightest surprise" stress a single overwhelming idea rather than merely denying something.
Non-defining relative clauses, often set off by dashes rather than commas, add extra detail without changing the identity of what is described, as in "The house — the only one in the entire valley — sat on the crest of a low hill" and "Lencho — who knew his fields intimately — had done nothing else but see the sky."
Finally, the story's central device is situational irony, built quietly through the contrast between the postmaster's hidden generosity and Lencho's visible, unjust suspicion of the postal staff in his closing letter.
Why does the story end the way it does?
The story closes abruptly on Lencho's second letter, without showing the postmaster's reaction or resolving whether Lencho ever learns the truth. This open ending leaves the story's irony unresolved rather than neatly corrected, which sharpens its emotional and thematic impact.
By ending on Lencho's accusation rather than on any reassurance or explanation, the story keeps its focus on the gap between Lencho's rigid faith and the real human effort that helped him, inviting readers to sit with that discomfort rather than have it smoothed over.
It also leaves the postmaster, who has "performed a good deed," without recognition or thanks, reinforcing the theme that genuine kindness in the story goes unseen by the very person who benefits from it.
This unresolved close is one reason the story works well for discussion: readers are left to decide for themselves what kind of person Lencho is, whether naive, ungrateful or simply unquestioning, and whether his faith should be admired, pitied, or both.
Glossary
- Crest — the top of a hill or ridge, the highest point of a rise in the land where Lencho's house stood overlooking the valley.
- Draped — covered or hung with something as if with cloth, used in the story to describe the rain-soaked cornfield seen through falling rain.
- Locusts — insects which fly in large swarms and destroy crops.
- Peso — the currency used in several Latin American countries.
- Conscience — an inner sense of right and wrong, which Lencho believed God could see even in the deepest part of a person's mind.
- Amiable — friendly and pleasant in manner, a word used in the story to describe the fat, good-natured postmaster.
- Contentment — a feeling of satisfaction, felt by the postmaster as he watched Lencho collect the money he had arranged for him.
- Hailstorm — a storm in which hailstones, small balls of ice, fall like rain.
- Correspondence — the exchange of letters between people, used by the postmaster about Lencho's letters to God.
- Resolution — a firm decision to do something, such as the postmaster's resolution to answer Lencho's letter despite the difficulty.
- Goodwill — kindly feeling or a readiness to help others, which the postmaster realised was not by itself enough to answer the letter.
- Charity — the giving of help, especially money, to those in need.
- Irony — a situation that is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected.
Common errors and misconceptions
- Misconception: Lencho's letter actually reached God. Correct: The letter was read by a postman and then by the postmaster, who arranged the reply and the money himself.
- Misconception: The postmaster sent Lencho the full hundred pesos. Correct: He could only gather "a little more than half" of the sum, which the text later confirms was seventy pesos.
- Misconception: Lencho was pleased and grateful on receiving the money. Correct: He showed "not the slightest surprise" but became "angry when he counted the money," because it was less than he had asked for.
- Misconception: Lencho suspected God of keeping some money back. Correct: Lencho believed "God could not have made a mistake" and instead blamed the "post office employees," calling them "a bunch of crooks."
- Misconception: The hailstorm and the rain were two separate weather events on different days. Correct: The hail followed the same rain shower that Lencho had welcomed, turning suddenly violent within the same storm.
- Misconception: The postmaster acted alone out of personal piety. Correct: He organised collective charity, asking "for money from his employees" and "several friends," besides giving part of his own salary.
Exam-style questions with model answers
Q1. What did Lencho write on the envelope of his letter, and why was this unusual for the post office staff? [2 marks]
- Lencho wrote "To God" on the envelope, addressing the letter directly to God rather than to a person.
- This was unusual because, as the story says, "never in his career as a postman had he known that address," so the postman showed it to the postmaster laughing heartily.
Q2. Describe, with details from the story, how the hailstorm affected Lencho's field. [3 marks]
- The hailstorm followed a welcome rain shower and lasted for a whole hour over the house, garden, hillside, cornfield and the entire valley.
- It left the field "white, as if covered with salt," and "not a leaf remained on the trees."
- The corn, which had earlier promised a good harvest, was "totally destroyed," along with the flowers on the plants, leading Lencho to say that even a plague of locusts would have left more than the hail did.
Q3. Why does the postmaster decide to answer Lencho's letter, and what trouble does he take to do so? [4 marks]
- The postmaster is moved by the strength of Lencho's faith shown in his letter and remarks, "What faith! I wish I had the faith of the man who wrote this letter."
- He decides to answer the letter himself "in order not to shake the writer's faith in God."
- Finding that a reply needs "something more than goodwill, ink and paper," he asks his employees for money and gives part of his own salary.
- He also persuades several of his friends to contribute "for an act of charity," though together they can only gather a little more than half of the hundred pesos Lencho had asked for.
Q4. Explain the irony in Lencho's final letter, using details from the story. [5 marks]
- The postmaster and his staff are the only ones who actually help Lencho, collecting money from employees, the postmaster's own salary, and friends.
- They do this purely "in order not to shake the writer's faith in God," asking for no thanks or recognition in return.
- Despite receiving seventy out of the hundred pesos he asked for, Lencho shows no surprise, since his faith in God's reply is absolute.
- When he counts the money and finds it short, he assumes "God could not have made a mistake" and instead blames the postal staff, writing that "the post office employees are a bunch of crooks."
- The irony lies in the fact that the very people who sacrificed their own money to help Lencho are the ones he accuses of stealing from him, while his faith in the unseen God who never actually sent anything remains completely unshaken.
Q5. Who are the two main kinds of characters that drive the events of the story? [2 marks]
- Lencho, the farmer, whose unquestioning faith leads him to write to God and later to accuse the post office of theft.
- The postmaster, whose practical kindness leads him to organise charity so as not to disturb Lencho's belief.
Q6. Discuss the two kinds of conflict present in the story and how each is shown. [6 marks]
- The first conflict is between humans and nature: Lencho's family depends completely on their cornfield, and a sudden hailstorm destroys the whole crop within an hour, leaving the field "white, as if covered with salt."
- This natural disaster leaves the family facing hunger through no fault of their own, shown in their despairing exchanges on the night after the storm, such as "We'll all go hungry this year."
- The second conflict is between human beings, though it is one-sided and unrecognised by Lencho: the postmaster quietly organises charity from his employees, his own salary and friends to help Lencho.
- Lencho, unaware of this human effort, interprets the shortfall in the money as theft rather than as a limit on what could be collected.
- He therefore writes a second letter accusing innocent people, "the post office employees," of being "a bunch of crooks," creating conflict where there was in fact only generosity.
- Both conflicts arise from the same chain of events, the hailstorm leading to the letter, and the letter leading to the postmaster's charity and Lencho's later anger, showing how natural misfortune and human misunderstanding are linked in the story.
Key takeaways
- Lencho writes a letter addressed "To God" after a hailstorm destroys his cornfield, asking for a hundred pesos.
- The postmaster reads the letter, is moved by Lencho's faith, and decides to answer it himself.
- He collects money from employees, his own salary and friends, but can only gather a little more than half the amount.
- Lencho shows no surprise at receiving money but becomes angry when he finds it is less than he asked for.
- He accuses "the post office employees" of being "crooks" in a second letter, never suspecting the true source of the money.
- The story's central irony is that the people who genuinely helped Lencho are the ones he wrongly blames.
- The story explores faith, charity, and two kinds of conflict: between humans and nature, and between human beings.
- Metaphors such as "new coins," "frozen pearls" and "an ox of a man" give the story much of its vivid imagery.
Test yourself
What did Lencho first think the raindrops were?
He excitedly called them "new coins," saying the big drops were "ten cent pieces" and the little ones "fives."
What happened to Lencho's field after the hailstorm?
The field turned white "as if covered with salt," every leaf fell from the trees, and the corn was "totally destroyed."
How much money did Lencho ask for, and how much did he receive?
He asked for a hundred pesos; the postmaster could only send him seventy, "a little more than half" the amount.
Why did the postmaster decide to reply to the letter?
He was moved by Lencho's faith and wanted "not to shake the writer's faith in God," so he arranged the money himself.
Who does Lencho blame for the missing money?
He blames "the post office employees," calling them "a bunch of crooks," though they had actually helped him.
What is ironic about Lencho's final letter?
The people he accuses of theft are the very ones who gave their own money to help him without expecting thanks.
What metaphor describes Lencho's physical toughness?
The story calls him "an ox of a man, working like an animal in the fields."