Class 11 God Sees The Truth But Waits Exercise Question Answer Solution : Chapter 3
The writer of God Sees The Truth But Waits is Leo Tolstoy. Leo Tolstoy was a Russian citizen and has great contribution in the literature. He has written many famous books like war and Peace, Anna Karenina, Hadji Murad, The Death of Ivan Ilyich etc.
Answer these questions.
a. What bad habits did Aksionov have before his marriage?
-> According to the story, Aksionov was funny, loved singing. So it`s difficult to say how many bad habits he had but it is obvious that he wasted his time, drank a lot, and caused quarrels. The next thing he didn`t use was to take things seriously and give his laughter on the matter. Like his wife told him about her evil dream but he laughed at her prediction and had to suffer from a false conviction.
b. What can be the meaning of his wife's dream?
-> Before Aksionov left for the business fair, his wife asked him to stop his traveling. She told him she dreamt about him returning from the fair with grey hair. It is Symbolic. The grey hair symbolizes his old age. That means her husband would not return home till he would get very old with grey hair. That means there would separation between them for a long time and would meet after he would get very very old.
c. Why did Aksionov think of killing himself?
-> As he came to know Makar was a murderer of his fellow merchant, he felt as if he suffered much like a convict for nothing in those 26 years. He recalled everything that bitterly gave him pain like his wife, children, murder of his fellow merchant, his arrest and torture upon him, executioner, and those 26 years in cold, miserable walls of cells. He felt the great futility of his life and thought of killing himself.
d. Why did Makar disclose that he had killed the merchant?
-> Thinking Makar should suffer from his crime longer than he did, Aksionov spoke of nothing about the tunnel made by Makar to the Governor. The case was left and Makar felt grateful to Aksionov for what he did at that time. He thought Aksionov saved his life from being flogged. Owing to his kind manner, Maker couldn`t hide the truth from him about what he had done to his fellow merchant. Therefore, to get forgiveness from Aksionov, he disclosed his misdeed.
e. Why doesn't Aksionov wish to return to his family at the end of the story?
-> Aksionov doesn`t wish to return to his family at the end of the story because he feels he is already dead for everyone long ago. He learns to put faith in God and believes his wife might be dead or his children don`t recognize him after a long time`s freedom. He might be hated by them for a false conviction and live a more miserable life out in the world than he is okay in jail now. Therefore, he doesn`t wish to return to his family.
Reference to the context
a. "Well, old man," repeated the Governor, "tell me the truth: who has been digging
under the wall?"
i. Who is that old man?
- That old man is Aksionov.
ii. Which truth is the speaker asking about?
- The speaker or the Governor is asking about the attempt of escape by the prisoners by digging a hole under the wall.
iii. Which wall does the speaker mean?
- The speaker means the wall of Makar`s cell and its walls, under which the tunnel was dug.
b. Describe Aksionov's character.
-> Aksionov`s character can be viewed from two perspectives: before his conviction and after it. He was a handsome, fair-haired funny guy. He loved fun. He was merry. He was made a drinker from a young age. So he loved drinking and singing. He made quarrels after he was too much drunk. He wasted his time but he was good to people in Vladimir. He caused no harm to others though. He was careless and didn`t take things seriously. He should have listened to his wife when he was asked by but he just blew his wife`s prediction in laughter. As a result, he suffered from a false conviction.
After his conviction, he turned to be serious and learned that it was only God, who knows the truth. He knew he was falsely convicted. He was just waiting for God`s Mercury and learned to be patient. After spending 26 years in prison waiting for God`s mercy, the truth was revealed. The murderer confessed his crime. He thought of revenge but till then he grew too old to start a new life out in the world. So he learned to forgive others and became dear to God.
c. What is the theme of the story?
-> One should learn to forgive others, who have harmed him by making him a sufferer of a crime that he has not committed at all. It takes him a little longer time of his pains and suffering to be healed by God but the truth is revealed by Him (God). It`s God`s wish. One becomes helpless when he is falsely convicted but he should learn to be patient and put faith in God. More importantly, he should forgive his enemy instead of taking revenge.
d. Which symbols are used in the story and what do they indicate?
-> It`s a bit harder task to pick some convincing symbols from the story. However, as the title “ God sees The Truth but waits” relates to mercy, forgiveness, we can get some symbols from the central character Aksionov. In regard to Aksionov, his house and merry be the first symbols because he was happy with what God had given to him before his ill-fated life turned into misery. He lived happy, delighted, and merry in his house. He drank a lot, wasted his time, had fun, sang, picked quarrels. The second symbol can be his hair turning grey in his wife`s dream. The grey hair in a dream is a signal of separation between him and his family for a long time until he gets very old and that really happened in this story. The third symbol can be his 26 year`s staying in prison though he was falsely convicted. It symbolizes his patience, tolerance, and faith in God. The fourth symbol can be the prison. It symbolizes his pains, sufferings, and hope for death.
Reference beyond the text
a. What role does religion play in Aksionov's life? How does he undergo a spiritual
transformation in the story?
-> At first, Aksionov was portrayed as a man of fun, merry. He was handsome, fair-haired. He loved singing, drinking. All of a sudden his life turns into in prison full miseries and suffering there he deeply puts faith in God for his release. He listens to the prayers on Sundays in church and repeats God`s songs. So from this instance, we can say religion plays a significant role. He knows he is falsely convicted and keeps praying to God for his mercy and in the long course of time, he learns to be patient, and forgiving. He takes the false conviction of his own deed in favor of the wrongdoer. He prays to God, helps fellows in the prisons, and changes his personality like a saint as well. His hair turns white as snow and his beard turns grey. When Makar confesses his crime, Aksionov believes God forgives all. So these incidents tell us how he undergoes a spiritual transformation.
b. What does the story tell us about the existence of unfair system of justice?
-> About the existence of an unfair system of justice, the story tells us that sometimes a person is falsely charged with a conviction that he hasn`t really committed. Until he provides the lawmakers sound evidence, proof he is proved to be guilty though he hasn`t committed it at all. So due to someone else`s wrong intention makes others be falsely convicted and suffer for nothing. In the story, Makar murdered a merchant and he did want to kill Aksionov too. He left Aksionov but Aksionov was framed for the murder by hiding a blood-stained knife in his bag. That was unknown to him. As a result, he couldn`t prove that knife was not his nor could he show the person who committed such a heinous crime. So he became the victim of Makar`s ill-intention. Therefore, in our surroundings, innocent people are captured due to lack of proof and live like criminals helplessly. By the time, the truth is revealed it becomes too late.
Also Check :
Class 11 The Wish Exercise Question Answers
What You get in this Post ?
Here in this post we have included the following topic where you can get after reading the post.
- God sees the truth but waits summary exercise
- Class 11 English Complete Lesson 3 God Sees Solution
- What is god sees the truth but waits
Disclaimer: This website is only for educational purposes. If you have any questions regarding the content and error you can message us on our Facebook page.