TEACHGYAN • CLASS 10 ENGLISH • FIRST FLIGHT
Chapter 1 – A Letter to God
Complete chapter guide • explanation • themes • character study • vocabulary • literary features • competency practice
📖 About the Chapter
A Letter to God by G. L. Fuentes tells the story of Lencho, a poor farmer whose entire crop depends on the rain. A devastating hailstorm destroys his field, yet his faith in God remains unshaken. He writes a letter asking God for money and receives unexpected help, but he misunderstands where that help came from.
🌾 Story Explained – Step by Step
1. Lencho and His Farm
Lencho lives with his family in a small house on the crest of a low hill. His field of ripe corn is important because it is the family’s main source of food and income. Lencho watches the sky closely because the crop needs rain.
2. Hope for Rain
Lencho sees clouds gathering and welcomes the rain. At first the raindrops appear to promise a good harvest. The rain changes suddenly into a violent hailstorm.
3. The Hailstorm Destroys the Crop
The hailstones fall for a long time and destroy the corn completely. Lencho compares the scene to an invasion because the field is left ruined. His family faces hunger and financial hardship.
4. Lencho’s Faith
Although the crop has been destroyed, Lencho believes that God knows everything and will help his family. He decides to write directly to God asking for 100 pesos so that he can survive and sow his field again.
5. The Postmaster’s Response
The postmaster reads Lencho’s letter. He is impressed by Lencho’s faith and does not want that faith to be broken. He collects money from employees and friends and sends Lencho a part of the amount in an envelope signed “God.”
6. Lencho’s Reaction
Lencho is not surprised to receive money because he fully expected God to answer. However, when he counts the money, there are only 70 pesos instead of the 100 he requested. He assumes that the post-office employees must have taken the missing amount.
7. The Irony of the Ending
Lencho writes another letter asking God to send the remaining money directly because, in his view, the post-office employees are dishonest. The irony is that the people he suspects are the very people who helped him.
👤 Character Study
Lencho
- Deeply faithful and confident in God.
- Hard-working and dependent on farming.
- Emotionally attached to his crop because it represents his family’s survival.
- Simple and unquestioning in his beliefs.
- Ironically suspicious of the people who actually help him.
The Postmaster
- Compassionate and sympathetic.
- Respects Lencho’s faith.
- Takes practical action rather than merely expressing sympathy.
- Represents human kindness and generosity.
🎯 Central Themes
- Faith: Lencho’s absolute faith drives the entire story.
- Human kindness: The postmaster and his colleagues help a stranger.
- Irony: Lencho mistrusts the very people who help him.
- Nature’s uncertainty: A farmer’s livelihood can depend heavily on weather.
- Innocence and perception: Lencho interprets events according to his unquestioning belief.
🧠 Important Literary Features
- Irony: The reader knows who sent the money, while Lencho does not.
- Personification: The rain and storm are described using human-like actions and comparisons.
- Imagery: Descriptions of clouds, rain and hail create a vivid picture of the setting.
- Contrast: Lencho’s faith contrasts with his suspicion of the post-office employees.
📚 Important Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Crest | Top or highest part of a hill |
| Downpour | Heavy rainfall |
| Hailstones | Balls or lumps of ice falling from the sky |
| Conscience | Sense of right and wrong |
| Contentment | A state of satisfaction |
🧭 Story Flow
Hope for Rain → Rain → Hailstorm → Crop Destroyed → Letter to God → Postmaster Helps → ₹70 Received → Lencho Suspects Post Office → Irony
🔍 Important Questions – Understanding the Text
- Why did Lencho need rain?
- What happened to Lencho’s crop?
- Why did Lencho write a letter to God?
- Why did the postmaster decide to help him?
- Why was Lencho angry after receiving the money?
- Why is the ending ironic?
🧩 Competency-Based Questions
- Lencho’s faith gives him hope after the disaster. Explain how the story presents faith as a source of strength.
- The postmaster’s action is an example of empathy. What does the episode teach about helping people in distress?
- Why does Lencho fail to recognise human kindness?
📊 Case-Based Question
Case: A farmer loses his crop because of an unexpected natural disaster. A community quietly contributes money to help him, but he believes that only an unseen power could have helped him.
- Which event in the story does this situation parallel?
- Identify the theme involved.
- Explain the irony in the situation.
- What does the situation reveal about the difference between faith and evidence?
🔥 HOTS
- Is Lencho’s faith presented as completely positive? Discuss using evidence from the story.
- Why does the postmaster respect Lencho even though Lencho’s request seems unusual?
- How does the ending change the reader’s understanding of the characters?
✍️ Board-Style Answer Practice
Short Answer
- Describe Lencho’s reaction to the hailstorm.
- Why did the postmaster collect money for Lencho?
- Why did Lencho call the post-office employees “a bunch of crooks”?
Long Answer
- Describe Lencho’s character with reference to his faith, hard work and suspicion.
- “A Letter to God” presents both faith and human kindness. Discuss.
- Explain how irony makes the ending of the story effective.
📝 MCQs
- Lencho was primarily a: farmer.
- The crop was destroyed by: hail.
- Lencho asked God for: 100 pesos.
- The postmaster wanted to protect: Lencho’s faith.
- Lencho suspected: the post-office employees.
📄 Practice Worksheet
- Arrange the major events of the story in correct order.
- Match five vocabulary words with meanings.
- Write two examples of irony from the story.
- Answer three competency questions.
- Write a 120-word character sketch of Lencho.
- Write a 150-word analytical response on faith and human kindness.
🎯 One-Minute Revision
Lencho’s crop is destroyed by hail → he writes to God → the postmaster sends money → Lencho receives ₹70 → he suspects the post-office employees → the story ends with irony.
🏆 Mastery Checklist
- ☐ I can retell the story in sequence.
- ☐ I can explain Lencho and the postmaster.
- ☐ I can identify irony and imagery.
- ☐ I can explain the themes.
- ☐ I can answer competency-based questions.
- ☐ I can write a structured board answer.