A Letter to God

Notes

1. COMPLETE NOTES

About the Chapter

A Letter to God is a story about Lencho, a poor farmer whose entire crop is destroyed by a hailstorm.

Lencho has complete faith in God. He believes that God sees everything and will certainly help him. Therefore, he writes a letter directly to God asking for 100 pesos.

The postmaster is deeply impressed by Lencho's faith. To preserve it, he collects money from his employees and friends and sends Lencho 70 pesos, signing the letter as “God.”

However, Lencho believes God could never make a mistake. When he receives only 70 pesos, he concludes that the post-office employees must have stolen the remaining money.

This creates the central irony of the story: the very people who help Lencho are the people he suspects of stealing his money.

Main Characters

Lencho

Lencho is:

• A poor farmer
• Hard-working
• Simple and innocent
• Completely dependent on his crop
• Deeply religious
• Unquestioning in his faith in God
• Ironically suspicious of humans

His faith is so strong that after the crop is destroyed, he does not ask friends or relatives for help—he writes directly to God.

The Postmaster

The postmaster is:

• Kind-hearted
• Generous
• Helpful
• Sympathetic
• Impressed by Lencho's faith

Initially, he laughs when he sees a letter addressed to God. But after reading it, he becomes serious and decides that Lencho's faith should not be shaken.

Story in Sequence

1. Lencho waits for rain

Lencho's field of ripe corn needs rain for a good harvest.

He looks toward the northeast hoping for rain.

2. Rain arrives

Rain begins to fall.

Lencho is extremely happy and compares the raindrops to new coins because rain means a better harvest and therefore more money.

3. Rain changes into hailstorm

Suddenly, large hailstones begin to fall.

The hailstorm continues for about an hour and destroys:

• Corn
• Flowers
• Leaves
• The entire crop

Lencho's happiness turns into sadness.

4. Lencho's faith…