GOD SEES THE TRUTH, BUT WAITS ANALYSIS PDF

GOD SEES THE TRUTH, BUT WAITS ANALYSIS PDF – Leo Tolstoy

When Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov is falsely imprisoned for murder, he puts his trust in God to see him through his tribulations.

Leo Tolstoy, in God Sees the Truth , but Waits , preaches the virtue of forgiveness. The tale takes the form of a parable which adjures the reader to consider forgiving their transgressors rather than taking vengeance.

Focus

• True justice comes from God
• Forgiveness is liberating 

Characters in God Sees the Truth, but Waits

•       Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov
•       Makar Semyonich

 

God Sees the Truth, but Waits summary

Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov is a young merchant from the town of Vladimir. He owns two shops and a house.

As a young man, he was unruly and given to drinking a tad too much, but he stopped drinking when he got married.

One day he bids his family goodbye as he is leaving for the Nizhny Fair. His wife dissuades him from going since she has had a bad dream about him. She dreams that he would return when his hair is quite grey. She beseeches him to put off the journey till a later date. Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov laughs it off and says that that is a lucky sign and carries through with his intended journey.

Halfway through the journey he meets a merchant, who is an acquaintance of his. They spend the night at the same inn, have tea together and sleep in adjoining rooms.

The next morning  Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov awakens his driver, pays the owner of the inn, and they leave before dawn.

After about 25 miles, Aksionov decides to rest while his horses are fed. He is then approached by an official accompanied by two soldiers. The official questions him, revealing that the merchant he spent the night together with at the inn had been murdered. Aksionov is the prime suspect since he was with the man and then left suspiciously early. Aksionov denies having taken part in any wrongdoing but when his luggage is searched the officer finds a blood-stained knife.

The official insists that Aksionov murdered the merchant and continues to cross examine him on how he did it and how much money he stole. Aksionov pleads innocence claiming that he only has 8000 rubles and that the knife is not his.

With the odds stacked against him, trembling and looking guilty, Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov is apprehended. His money and goods are seized. He weeps bitterly. Inquiries are made about him in his hometown of Vladimir and it turns out that he used to drink a lot and loaf in his younger days but he is a good man. 

Nonetheless, he is charged with murder of the merchant from Ryazan and stealing 20,000 rubles from him.

His wife visits him in prison. She is restricted from seeing him at first. After begging, the officials  allow her and the small children to see Aksionov.  She faints at the sight of her loving husband in prison attire and in chains, locked up with thieves and criminals. 

They talk a bit and he tells her that she must petition the czar to spare an innocent man the anguish of unfair retribution. His wife informs him that her efforts to petition had borne no fruits. She then reminds him of her portentous dream about the grey hair and says: “Vanya dearest, tell your wife the truth was it not you who did it?” Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov  weeps in disbelief when even his dear wife is dubious, disbelieving, and suspicious. 

He realizes that only God knows the truth and it is only to Him that he should appeal.

After that, Aksionov stops writing petitions and gives up all hope, praying only to God. He is condemned to flogging and sent to the mines. He is flogged with the knots and sent to Siberia. He lives in Siberia for 26 years as a prisoner. His hair and beard turn grey and he transforms into a frail old man who walk slowly, speaks little and never laughs. 

He spends all his time praying, reading “The Lives of the Saints” and singing in church. He earns the names “Grandfather” and the “Saint” owing to his meek disposition. All the prisoners respect him. He also serves as a mediator between them and the prison officials and whenever there is a fall out, the pious old man serves as an arbitrator.

One day a new inmate named  Makar Semyonich from Vladimir narrates what he was convicted for. He was accused of stealing a horse. He asserts that he only borrowed it, but still ends up behind bars. He confesses that long ago he committed a more severe offense and should have been convicted by right then but he got away with it somehow.

When Makar Semyonich learns about how Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov ended up in prison he is utterly surprised.

He even quips: “How old you’ve grown Gran’dad.”

Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov begins to suspect that Makar Semyonich is the one who committed the murder he had been accused of. This makes him deeply afflicted that he contemplates taking his own life. He remembers his earlier life as a freeman with fond nostalgia. He feels deeply downcast when he recalls the happier times with his laughing wife; seeing his little children and how young, happy and free from care he was.

He also remembers the day he was apprehended, the flogging, the executioner, chains, convicts and the twenty six years in undeserved confinement and hard labour.

He feels  deep anger and hatred for Makar Semyonich and longs for revenge. He prays all night but finds no peace. His preceding days and nights are riddled with misery.

One night, he stumbles upon Makar Semyonich attempting to dig a hole under the wall to escape. Makar Semyonich threatens to kill him should he tell on him.

To which Ivan replies that “… you killed me long ago. As to telling of you - I may do so or not, as God shall direct.”

When the convoy soldiers discover the tunnel and question Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov, he responds that it’s not God’s desire that he should tell. He reasons that he will gain nothing taking revenge on Makar Semyonich, even if he made him pay for his transgression. He has no  faith in the human justice system.

That night Makar Semyonich comes to Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov's bed and confesses his crime and begs earnestly for forgiveness. Makar Semyonich sobs as he desperately pleads with the old man to pardon him. Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov also begins to weep.

Surprisingly, he says simply “God will forgive you. Maybe I am a hundred times worse than you.”

At this point, his heart grows light and he no longer desires to leave the Siberian prison and go home. He only desires to die and be with God.

Makar Semyonich confesses to the authorities but by the time they order for Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov’s release he is already dead.

 

God sees the Truth, but Waits Analysis

When Aksionov is falsely imprisoned, and no one believes his side of the story He chooses to live a more spiritual life. He realises that only God can deliver true justice.

Aksionov loses everything except his trust in God. When he is physically separated from his earthly attachments (that is his family and his material possessions like his shops and his house) he grows stronger in his quest for spiritual freedom.

The state judges and punishes physically but God judges the soul. After facing physical tribulations, Aksionov's faith is strengthened.

When he is wrongly accused of killing a man,  the Czar declines his petition. He is convicted for murder, flogged and sent to Siberia to work in the mines. Even his wife doubts his innocence. 

Aksionov realizes that real justice can only come from God and not human beings. He becomes saint-like and a model for the readers to emulate.

Even though he chooses the path of piety and meekness, he is sometimes prone to bitterness, contemplates suicide and even toys with the idea of taking revenge. These symbolize regression into sin or setbacks on the path of a man seeking righteousness. His thoughts also go back to his family and this indicates that it is hard to let go of worldly attachments.

Aksionov forgives Semyonich because he does not believe in human justice. God is the only true judge. 

Forgiveness is more liberating, fulfilling and meaningful than trying to assert one’s innocence.

Aksionov lets go of all worldly desires including freedom.

Faith and belief in God give him strength and saves him from bitterness. He is physically locked up but spiritually free because of his faith and belief in God.

At the end of this tale, Aksionov’s desire shifts from materialism to spiritualism.

True freedom can only be found when one lets go of human attachments. This seems to be the message that Leo Tolstoy espouses artistically in this compelling but rather sombre tale.

Read A Silent Song and Other Stories Essays and Answers PDF here

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Would you have forgiven Semyonich if you were in Aksionov's shoes?