“God Sees the Truth, But Waits”

By: Leo Tolstoy

The story of Leo Tolstoy "God Sees the Truth But Waits" is about a father who is
blamed for the crime he didn't commit and sent to prison because of the death of his fellow
worker. The author's purpose in this story is to bring up reader's perception about faith
and its significance. According to an article, the story is a clear reflection of Tolstoy's
religious concepts which he carried in his life. In addition, the story is centered about
forgiveness, justice, and injustice.

The story follows the struggles of Ivan Dmítritch Aksyónof as he was wrongly
accused of killing a merchant and how he longed to go home to his family. It tells about
waiting a long period of time to reveal the truth and achieve the justice at the same time
giving the true meaning of faith and forgiveness and its importance in life that changes him
to become a better person. He suffered the consequences of a sin that was not supposed to
be given to him. Additionally. he was suspected of murder and was sent to a gaol, and paid
for the crime of Makár Semyonitch, the real killer of the merchant. The two of them
eventually met at jail because of convictions, and Makár tried to escape prison but was
noticed by Aksyonof. Soldiers then spotted the escape path and questioned convicts on
who made the whole. No one answered truthtully and covered for Makar not even
Aksyonof. Makár then felt guilty of committing the murder that was accused to Aksyonof
and asked for forgiveness by admitting to it, so that Aksyonof can get home. In the end,
before his order of release, he died achieving justice and no longer longing for home.

The ideas and values of the story revolved around forgiveness, taith, pity,
sacrifice,justice and injustice. Though the story was short, the ideas and values were
conveyed through the story properly. After reading the whole text, the morals were
evident with how the story flowed and made the purpose of the story stronger. For
example, when Aksynof was accused of murder without a deeper investigation on other
people around the inn, it was an act of injustice when he was sent to jail. Another one is
the faith of Aksyonof to God, which in the end gave him peace of mind for believing and
trusting when no one else can be relied on. Furthermore. it made the main character a
positive aspect of the story. Pity was also strongly shown when Aksynof did not point
Makár as the one who made the escape tunnel. He knew that it could be a way of exacting
vengeance against him and having him pay for what he suffered, but instead, Aksyonof
realized it was selfish and asked what good it would be to him. Finally, the story showed a
strong act of forgiveness by highlighting in the end that no matter how unforgivable what
Makar did to Aksynof, forgiveness became a way for them to achieve peace of mind.

The weakness of the story is the ambiguity of what it is telling in the end. It may be
open to many interpretations and be different to the author's true purpose of showing the
values. It can be interpreted negatively about serving justice. Is Tolstoy saying that we
must have faith that God will eventually bring justice to every situation? Or is he pointing
out that justice sometimes arrives too late?

In conclusion, the story brought up reader's perception about faith and truth, and
its significance. The moral and philosophical value of the story showed forgiveness, faith,
pity, sacrifice, justice, and injustice. It showed dramatic and important events to strongly
convey the values and make the plot of the story meaningful. All in all, it satisfied the
author's purpose of revealing the significance of the moral and philosophical values in the
story.

Cherry Mica Concepcion

MAWD - 12