The story "God Sees the Truth but Waits", by Leo N. Tolstoy, is set in the city of Vladimir, Russia, around the mid-1800s. It follows the dynamic protagonist Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov, a handsome and successful merchant living in Vladimir with his wife and children. Aksionov decides to go to the Nizhny Fair one summer, but before he is about to board his wife stops him and tells Aksionov that he should not start his journey that day because she had dreamed that he returned with gray hair. The atmosphere becomes suspenseful and remains so until it changes when Aksionov dismisses the warning, without thinking about his wife's prophecy, and leaves. The following evening he meets a fellow trader he had met and they both decide to take refuge for the night in a nearby inn. While at the inn, Aksionov and the other merchant drink tea together and then sleep in adjacent rooms. The relationship between the trader and Aksionov must be mutual because Aksionov is comfortable sharing the room with the other trader. “It was not Aksionov's habit to sleep late, and, wishing to travel while it was still cool, he woke his driver before dawn and told him to load the horses.” [Paragraph 9] This indicates Aksionov's determination to travel in conditions with which he feels most comfortable, thus illustrating a personal obligation to be comfortable in general. The story is told from a third-person limited point of view, showing Aksionov's personal actions and thoughts. Aksionov traveled twenty-five miles before stopping to feed his horses in the inn corridor. While he rests and plays the guitar, a troika (a Russian horse-drawn carriage) arrives with soldiers. An official begins to question Ak... middle of paper... truth to the Governor but instead decides to let God decide on Makar's faith. Later that night Makar goes to Aksionov and confesses that he was the one who killed the merchant. He tells Aksionov that first thing in the morning he will report that he did it and that they will let Aksionov go. However Aksionov responds that he has nothing left to return to and this causes Makar to beg for Aksionov's forgiveness. He forgives Makar and tells him that God will forgive him. Aksionov has no desire to return home, but only hopes for his last hour in prison. When Makar finished confessing to the guards, they demanded Aksionov's release, but by the time they got there he was already dead. Ultimately one should not harbor hatred towards another, even if he suffers because of him. They know that God sees the truth, but waits for the right opportunity.