God Sees the Truth But Waits by Leo Tolstoy

COMMENT AND CRITICISM

NOLAN REDJI DOMINGO

III BOHR

God Sees the Truth but Waits is a masterpiece written by Leo Tolstoy. The story is about a rich merchant named Ivan Dimitrich Aksionov. Ivan was traveling to the Nizhny Fair and was accused of killing a fellow merchant whom he met while traveling. He was sentenced guilty and was sent to prison. At first he tried several petitions but all of them failed. He then realized that only God knows the truth and He is the only one who could help him regain his freedom. He then dropped all petitions and prayed, he continued to be like this for twenty-six years. He was greatly respected by other convicts and called him Grandfather. One faithful day he met a new prisoner named Makar. He soon discovered that Makar was the one who framed him for killing his fellow merchant and was the true murderer. Aksionov also discovered that Makar was digging a hole in prison to escape, this hole was also discovered by the governor. Even if Makar is Aksionov enemy he still didn’t told the governor who dug the hole. The following night Makar went to Aksionov and confessed to him that he is the one who killed the merchant and was going to tell the governor in order for Aksionov to be released. Aksionov refused but Makar still told the governor that he is the one who killed the merchant. It took some time to issue the release order of Aksionov but by the time it was issued Aksionov was already dead.

For me the title is very fitting for the story but you have to understand and analyze the story properly first before realizing why the title is “God Sees the Truth but Waits. The title is like that because God knows that Aksionov is innocent but He still let Aksionov be imprisoned for twenty-six years before giving him freedom. The storyline is great and it will as the story goes on you will get more and more interested on how the story will end. It also shows that no matter how bad a person may look that person could still change and have a new life. The story focuses on how Aksionov will deal with his enemy. Even if Makar was his enemy he still tried to protect him from getting punishment because of the hole Makar dug. Maybe because of this or Makar’s conscience made Makar confess to the authorities that he is really the one who killed the merchant not Aksionov. In my personal opinion God used Makar to test wether Aksionov faith in Him is strong. Aksionov proved till the very end of his life that he is faithful to God.

This masterpiece is a very inspiring story. It also has several morals that could help guide future generations of students. It could also help other law breakers to turn away from their sins. Most of all it could help all of us become closer to God.