The story "God Sees the Truth, But Waits" is a great read that effectively demonstrates the many elements of a story. Through the elements of the story, the author, Leo N. Tolstoy, shares his wisdom and knowledge of a complex society and, in a way, highlights its flaws in a tale that many can learn from. Tolstoy conveys his ideas through the minds and actions of characters, as well as through setting, plot conflicts, and points of view. The story begins by describing the setting, in a city by the name of Vladimir. The city itself does not appear to be of the utmost importance, but the setting of the novel might be. Throughout the novel, the main character is a merchant and travels from city to city. This trader has a series of unfortunate events and the settings change drastically. The merchant is locked up in a prison located in Siberia, which is one of the most important settings in the story. In the story, Tolstoy has a few characters, all with their own place in the story. The first of which, Ivan Dmitrich Aksionov, is the main character of the whole story. He is the protagonist of this story. He starts out as a wealthy businessman, owning a couple of shops and his own house. He encountered some unfortunate events after going on a business trip. During the trip he was accused of murder. Being accused alone was enough for Aksionov to land himself in a Siberian prison, for the rest of his life. Perhaps another very important character, Ivan Aksionov's wife, has interesting comments before Aksionov leaves on his business trip. He told Aksionov that he had had a dream, a nightmare even. In this dream, he told Aksionov that he returned to the city with very gray hair. It sounded scary... middle of paper... and he knows the truth, he might wait until he feels it's the right time to act. While there are many different interpretations for the theme, the theme of God deciding whether it's time or not seems to stand out the most. Through Tolstoy's story, the reader indirectly learns about the society in which the story is set. The justice systems aren't the best, as it seems like it would be easy to be accused of a crime even if that person wasn't the perpetrator. Tolstoy presented this fantastic tale, which effectively demonstrates the many different key elements present in a short story. All of these elements are present in the story and help Tolstoy convey his ideas and beliefs throughout the story. This story effectively captures the reader's attention, taking into account all the elements of an effective story.