English (First Flight) · CBSE Class 10 · Prose by G. L. Fuentes · Poems by Robert Frost · 25 Quiz
A Letter to God — Summary, About the Author, Theme & Word-Meanings
About the Author
G. L. Fuentes (Gregorio López y Fuentes) was a Mexican writer and novelist. His stories often depict the lives of ordinary Mexican farmers and villagers, their struggles with nature, and their simple, deep faith. ‘A Letter to God’ is one of his most famous short stories.
Theme
The story explores faith, belief and human nature. It raises the question — what should we put our faith in? It contrasts the unshakeable (blind) faith of a simple farmer, Lencho, with the quiet goodness and charity of the postmaster and his staff. It also highlights the irony that Lencho trusts God completely but suspects the very human beings who actually helped him.
Summary
Lencho, a hard-working farmer, lived with his family in a lonely house on the crest of a low hill in a valley. His field of ripe corn needed only a good rain shower for a fine harvest. Lencho predicted rain, and soon big drops began to fall — he happily called them ‘new coins’. But suddenly a strong wind brought a terrible hailstorm that lasted an hour and completely destroyed the crop. The field was left white, as if covered with salt; not a leaf remained on the trees. The whole family was filled with sadness, fearing hunger.
The only hope in their hearts was help from God. Being a man of deep faith, Lencho wrote a letter to God asking for one hundred pesos to sow his field again and survive until the next harvest. He posted it, addressed simply ‘To God’. A postman found the letter and, laughing, showed it to the postmaster. The fat, kind postmaster was moved by Lencho’s faith and did not want to shake it. He decided to answer the letter — he collected money from his employees, gave part of his own salary, and asked friends for ‘an act of charity’. He could gather only a little more than half — seventy pesos — which he put in an envelope addressed to Lencho, signed simply ‘God’.
The next Sunday Lencho came for his reply. He showed no surprise on seeing the money — such was his confidence — but became angry when he counted it. He was sure God could not make a mistake. He at once wrote another letter complaining that only seventy pesos had reached him and asked God to send the rest — but not through the post office, because the employees were “a bunch of crooks.” This is the great irony of the story: the men who had actually helped him out of kindness were accused of stealing.
The Poems (Robert Frost)
Dust of Snow — The poet describes a small, ordinary moment: a crow shakes down the dust of fresh snow from a hemlock tree onto him. This tiny act suddenly changes his sad, regretful mood and saves a part of a day he had been ruing (regretting). Frost shows that even small things in nature can bring joy and lift our spirits. (The crow and the hemlock — usually symbols of gloom — here become a source of unexpected happiness.)
Fire and Ice — The poet reflects on how the world might end. Some say it will end in fire, others in ice. For Frost, ‘fire’ stands for desire, greed and lust, and ‘ice’ stands for hatred, coldness and indifference. He feels either is powerful enough to destroy the world — both uncontrolled desire and cold hatred are equally destructive.
Word-Meanings
crest = top of a hill; downpour = heavy rain; draped = covered (with cloth); locusts = insects that fly in big swarms and destroy crops; plague = a widespread disaster/epidemic; solitary = lonely, single; conscience = inner sense of right and wrong; peso = currency of several Latin American countries; amiable = friendly and pleasant; resolution = firm decision; contentment = satisfaction; affixed = stuck on; crooks = dishonest people, cheats; irony = a strange/amusing situation that is the opposite of what is expected. (Poems) hemlock = a poisonous tree with small white flowers; rued = regretted; perish = die; suffice = be sufficient.
NCERT Textbook Solutions (A Letter to God + Dust of Snow + Fire and Ice)
OC-1.1Oral Comprehension Check: What did Lencho hope for?
Lencho hoped for a good rain shower (a downpour) for his field of ripe corn, because that was the only thing his crop needed for a good harvest.
OC-1.2Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Lencho compared the raindrops to ‘new coins’ because the rain meant a good harvest, which would bring him money and prosperity. The big drops were like ten-cent pieces and the little ones like fives.
OC-1.3How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
A strong wind began to blow and, along with the rain, very large hailstones started falling. It hailed for a full hour. The entire field was destroyed — it turned white as if covered with salt, not a leaf remained on the trees, and the corn was totally ruined.
OC-1.4What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
When the hail stopped, Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness and despair. He felt that all their work was for nothing and feared that his family would go hungry that year.
OC-2.1Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Lencho had complete faith in God. Believing that God sees everything and would help him, he wrote a letter to God asking for a hundred pesos and posted it at the town post office.
OC-2.2Who read the letter?
A postman (one of the post-office employees) first saw and read the address; he showed it, laughing, to the postmaster, who also read it.
OC-2.3What did the postmaster do then?
The postmaster was moved by Lencho’s faith and, not wishing to shake it, decided to answer the letter. He collected money from his employees, gave part of his own salary, and asked friends for charity. He managed to gather seventy pesos and sent it to Lencho signed ‘God’.
OC-3.1Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
No, Lencho was not at all surprised to find the letter with money. Such was his faith in God that he had fully expected a reply.
OC-3.2What made him angry?
Lencho became angry when he counted the money and found only seventy pesos instead of the hundred he had asked for. He was convinced that God could not make a mistake, so he believed the post-office employees had stolen the rest.
TT-1Thinking about the Text: Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Lencho has complete faith in God. Sentences that show this: ‘…his one hope: the help of God, whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience’; he wrote ‘a letter to God’; and ‘Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money; such was his confidence.’ He was sure ‘God could not have made a mistake.’
TT-2Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
The postmaster sends money because he is moved by Lencho’s deep, innocent faith and does not want to destroy it — he wishes to keep that faith alive. He signs the letter ‘God’ so that Lencho will believe God has answered his prayer, and his faith will remain unshaken.
TT-3Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why / Why not?
No, Lencho did not try to find out who sent the money. He was completely sure that God himself had sent it in answer to his letter, so the question of anyone else sending it never even entered his mind.
TT-4Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation?
Lencho thinks the post-office employees have stolen the rest of the money — he calls them ‘a bunch of crooks’. The irony is that these very employees, led by the kind postmaster, were the ones who generously gave their own money to help him; yet instead of thanking them, he suspects and accuses them of theft, while giving all the credit to God.
TT-5Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is?
Yes, such people exist. Lencho is a man of unshakeable (blind) faith — simple, hard-working, honest and firmly trusting in God. At the same time he is somewhat naive and unquestioning, as he never doubts his belief even in the face of logic, and ironically distrusts the very humans who helped him.
TT-6There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?
Human vs Nature: Lencho, a farmer, depends on nature for his livelihood, but the destructive hailstorm ruins his entire crop — man is shown as helpless before nature’s fury. Human vs Human: this is shown through Lencho’s mistrust and accusation of the honest post-office employees, whom he wrongly calls crooks — contrasting his blind faith in God with his suspicion of fellow human beings.
TL-1Thinking about Language — Storm names (fill in): match the names (gale, whirlwind, cyclone, hurricane, tornado, typhoon).
1. A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle — cyclone.
2. An extremely strong wind — gale.
3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds — typhoon.
4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel — tornado.
5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic Ocean — hurricane.
6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement — whirlwind.
TL-2Matching the meanings of ‘hope’ (Column A ↔ Column B).
1. ‘I hope so.’ → wanting something to happen (and thinking it quite possible).
2. ‘I hope you don’t mind my saying this…’ → showing concern that what you say should not offend: a way of being polite.
3. ‘This discovery will give new hope…’ → a feeling that something good will probably happen.
4. ‘We were hoping against hope…’ → wishing for something although it is very unlikely.
5. ‘I called early in the hope of…’ → thinking that this would happen (it may or may not have).
6. ‘…everybody had given up hope…’ → stopped believing that this good thing would happen.
TL-3Relative Clauses — Join the sentences using who/whom/whose/which.
1. I often go to Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of India.
2. My mother, who cooks very well, is going to host a TV show on cooking.
3. These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going to meet the President.
4. Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.
5. This is the man whom I trusted (and who) cheated me.
TL-4Using Negatives for Emphasis — find sentences from the story expressing these ideas emphatically.
1. The trees lost all their leaves → ‘Not a leaf remained on the trees.’
2. The letter was addressed to God himself → ‘It was nothing less than a letter to God.’
3. The postman saw this address for the first time → ‘Never in his career as a postman had he known that address.’
TL-5Metaphors — complete the table (metaphor & quality compared).
• Clouds → ‘huge mountains of clouds’ — the mass/hugeness of mountains.
• Raindrops → ‘new coins’ (ten-cent and five-cent pieces) — money/prosperity the rain would bring.
• Hailstones → ‘new silver coins / frozen pearls’ — their round, shining, precious appearance.
• Locusts → ‘a plague of locusts’ — an epidemic (disease) that spreads rapidly and destroys/kills.
• An ox of a man → compares Lencho to an ox — his great strength and capacity for hard labour.
P1-1Dust of Snow: What is a ‘dust of snow’? What changed the poet’s mood? How did it change?
A ‘dust of snow’ is the fine particles/flakes of fresh snow shaken down from the tree. The simple act of a crow shaking the snow dust onto the poet changed his mood. His mood changed from sadness and regret to cheerfulness — it saved a part of a day he had been ruing (regretting).
P1-2How does Frost present nature in this poem?
Frost presents nature through ordinary, even ‘unpoetic’ images — a crow and a hemlock tree, which are usually linked with gloom, darkness and sorrow (rather than ‘beautiful’ birds/trees like a maple or a nightingale). Yet here these very symbols of sorrow bring the poet unexpected joy. This shows that even small, humble things in nature can lift our spirits and that beauty/happiness can come from the most ordinary moments.
P1-3Have there been times when you felt depressed or hopeless? Did a similar moment change your mood?
Yes. (Sample) Once, after doing poorly in a test, I felt low and hopeless. Just then I saw a little bird feeding its young outside my window, or a friend smiled and shared a kind word — that tiny, ordinary moment suddenly lifted my spirits and made me feel that things were not so bad after all, exactly as the crow’s dust of snow did for the poet.
P2-1Fire and Ice: Do you think the world will end some day?
(Sample) Yes, scientifically everything that has a beginning has an end; the Earth too may one day end — perhaps when the Sun grows extremely hot and bursts, or grows cold. But Frost uses ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ not just literally; he makes them symbols of destructive human emotions.
P2-2For Frost, what do ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ stand for?
For Frost, ‘fire’ stands for desire, greed, lust and fury — burning, uncontrolled passions. ‘Ice’ stands for hatred, coldness, rigidity and indifference. He suggests that both are equally capable of destroying the world — unchecked desire can consume us like fire, and cold hatred can freeze and destroy life just as surely.
P2-3What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? How does it help bring out the contrasting ideas?
The rhyme scheme is a b a a b c b c b (fire–ice–desire–fire–ice–hate–ice–great–suffice). The interlocking rhymes of ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ keep the two destructive forces constantly in contrast and balance throughout the poem, reinforcing the idea that both desire (fire) and hatred (ice) are equally powerful agents of destruction.