A Letter To God
1. What did Lencho hope for?
Ans: Lencho hoped for a good downpour or at least a shower, as his ripe corn fields needed water for a successful harvest.
2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Ans: Lencho compared the raindrops to “new coins” because a good rain promised a rich harvest. He believed the big drops were ten-cent pieces and the little ones were fives, representing the prosperity the rain would bring.
3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
Ans: The rain suddenly changed into a destructive hailstorm. A strong wind began to blow, and large hailstones fell for an hour. As a result, Lencho’s entire cornfield was destroyed; the flowers were gone from the plants, and not a leaf remained on the trees.
4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Ans: When the hail stopped, Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness. He stood in the middle of his field and told his sons that even a plague of locusts would have left more than this. He felt hopeless, fearing his family would go hungry that year.
5. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Ans: Lencho had unwavering faith in God. He believed that God’s eyes see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience. Driven by this faith, he wrote a letter to God requesting a hundred pesos to sow his field again and survive until the next harvest.
6. Who read the letter?
Ans: A postman first saw the letter addressed to God and showed it to the postmaster, who then read it.
7. What did the postmaster do then?
Ans: The postmaster was moved by Lencho’s immense faith. To prevent that faith from shaking, he decided to answer the letter. He collected money from his employees, gave a part of his own salary, and asked friends for “acts of charity,” eventually sending seventy pesos to Lencho.
8. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Ans: No, Lencho showed not the slightest surprise upon seeing the money. Such was his confidence and total faith that he fully expected a reply from God.
9. What made him angry?
Ans: Lencho became angry when he counted the money and found only seventy pesos instead of the hundred he had requested. He believed that God could neither make a mistake nor deny him what he had asked for; therefore, he suspected the post office employees had stolen the rest.
Thinking about the Text
1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Ans: Lencho has complete faith in God. The following sentences illustrate this:
“But 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.”
“All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God, whose eyes… see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience.”
“God,” he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year.”
“God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.”
2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Ans: The postmaster is impressed by Lencho’s “unquestioning faith.” He sends the money because he doesn’t want to let such a rare belief be shattered by silence. He signs the letter “God” as a calculated move to ensure Lencho believes the help came directly from the Almighty, thus preserving his spiritual conviction.
3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
Ans: No, Lencho did not try to find out who sent the money. His faith was so absolute that he never doubted the source was God. To him, the arrival of the money was a natural response to his prayer rather than a human act of kindness.
4. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation?
Ans: Lencho believes the post office employees took the remaining thirty pesos.
The Irony: The irony lies in the fact that the post office employees, who went out of their way to help Lencho by donating their own money, were called a “bunch of crooks” by the very man they helped. Lencho suspected his benefactors of being thieves.
5. Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is?
Ans: It is very rare to find someone like Lencho in the real world, as most people are more cynical. Lencho can be described as unquestioning and naive. While his lack of logic regarding how a letter reaches God might seem stupid to some, his innocence makes him a comical yet deeply devoted character. Unlike the “greedy” or “selfish” world around him, Lencho is pure-hearted.
6. There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these illustrated?
Ans: * Human vs. Nature: This is shown when the rain, which Lencho welcomed as a blessing, turns into a violent hailstorm. Nature is portrayed as an indifferent force that destroys the hard work of a farmer, leaving him helpless.
Human vs. Human: This is illustrated at the end of the story. Despite the postmaster’s act of extreme kindness, Lencho distrusts the humans around him. He assumes the post office staff are dishonest. This shows a conflict of perception: where there is a lack of trust, even an act of altruism is viewed with suspicion.