A Letter to God

Chapter Summary

“A letter to God” by G.L. Fuentes takes place in a Latin American country where Lencho, the protagonist of the story writes a letter to God every day, seeking a hundred pesos for his destroyed corps. Lencho was a farmer who one day discovered that his entire crop field has been destroyed by a devastating hailstorm. The story described the way Lencho believed that one day God is going to help him by sending the money he wanted. The demand of Lencho was partially fulfilled. As the story progresses toward the end, Lencho remained ungrateful to God and he repeatedly questioned the modesty and honesty of the postmaster who conveyed his letter to God. In the end, Lencho discovered that the postmaster was helping Lencho anonymously in the name of God all along.

What did Lencho hope for?

One day when Lencho discovered that, a hailstorm was rumbling in his area and immediately he became tensed about his crop field. He predicted that soon there would be big drops of rain and eventually it would pass. Lencho discovered that the raindrops were big like coins and they were originating from the northeast huge mountains of clouds. He then went out for feeling the rain on his body and exclaimed that they were not just for raindrops but ten and five-cent pieces were falling from the sky as rain drops.

What happened to Lencho’s crop fields?

After observing the rain for a few minutes, Lencho discovered that a sudden strong wind started blowing there and along with the rain, they became very large hailstones. Lencho noticed that it started getting worse and it started raining for a whole hour on the house, the garden, the cornfield, the hillside and on the whole valley. He soon discovered that his whole corn field was destroyed by the rain and the hailstorm. All the flowers of the cornfield were destroyed and he understood that this year there would be no corn in his field.

What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?

After the rain stopped, Lencho discovered that the whole cornfield was destroyed as all the flowers were gone from the plants. Lencho felt disheartened seeing the consequence of the storm and he stood in the middle of the field with his sons after the storm had passed. The hailstorm left nothing and Lencho exclaimed in sorrow that this year there would be no corn in Lencho’s field

Who or what did Lencho have faith in?

Lencho believed truly in God and he always hoped that God was going to help him in his worst situations, Therefore, when the rain and storm destroyed his cornfield hoped that he would get help from God this time. He decided to write letters to God, asking for money for his loss.

On Sunday at daybreak, he began to write a letter and after finishing it, he carried it to the town and placed it in the mail. In the letter, he mentioned that if God did not help him, he would die of hunger. Therefore, he wrote that he needed a hundred pesos for sowing his fields again and to live until the crops come. For Lencho, it was nothing but a letter to God as he believed that God helps everyone and he would definitely help him during his losses.

The letter

What did the postmaster do then?

After the letter was posted, one of the employees of the post office brought it to his boss, the postmaster. At first, they both broke out in laughter but as soon as they read the letter, the postmaster became serious. He was astonished to see this volume of faith in God and immediately became sympathetic to the situation Lencho was in. Most importantly, he was shaken by the attempt Lencho made to create correspondence with God. The postmaster then started collecting money from his colleagues and contributed half of his salary to mail back Lencho.

Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?

No, Lencho did not show the slightest surprise after seeing the money instead; he became very angry when he counted the money. He exclaimed in ager that God should neither have made mistakes while sending him money nor should have denied the request made by Lencho.

Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?

No, Lencho did not show the slightest surprise after seeing the money instead; he became very angry when he counted the money. He exclaimed in ager that God should neither have made mistakes while sending him money nor should have denied the request made by Lencho.

Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money?

Lencho thought that the post office employees were a bunch of crooks and he thought that he had taken the rest of his money. Here, the irony falls upon the humanity and the sympathetic action the postmaster tried to pull off on Lencho. He thought that his actions would make Lencho very happy as he has done a great act of charity with all his heart. Instead, Lencho became angry that God had not sent the full money he requested. In an angry state, he also blamed the post office employees for the shortage of this money and called them crooks for taking the rest of the money.

Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?

The postmaster was moved by the thoughts of Lencho as he discovered that this man was trying to make correspondence with God for his losses. The idea of the connection between God and the man shook him and he decided to raise the money from his colleagues and donated half of his salary to the fund . Though he was unable to collect all the money, he gathered seventy pesos and mailed it to Lencho with the signature of ‘God’ as an act of charity and a good deed from his side.

Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him?

No, Lencho never found out that the money was sent to him by the postmaster and his colleagues. Upon receiving the mail, instead of being happy, he got very angry seeing that there were only seventy pesos in the envelope. He did not find out the good deeds of the postmaster as he thought that the post office employees are a bunch of crooks who took the rest of the money sent by God.

FAQs

Q1. What was Lencho’s immediate reaction after seeing the rain?

Ans. Immediately after the rain started, Lencho went out and started feeling the rain. After he felt that the rain was like big coins, he hoped that the storm would pass steadily.

Q2. Did Lencho’s actions justify the deeds of the postmaster?

Ans. No, Lencho never realized the sweet gesture of humanity made by the post office employees. His confidence here was nothing but a foolish and greedy action.

Q3. How did the postmaster feel when he saw Lencho reacting angrily?

Ans. The postmaster hoped that Lencho would be happy seeing the money but he became very angry seeing the shortage of money. The postmaster must have felt disheartened as he discovered that his gesture of humanity did not receive appreciation from Lencho.