What was your opinion on the story "The Penitent Sinner" by Leo Tolstoy?Did you enjoy it? Did you hate it? Explain and elaborate your answer, using...

I think the reaction that a reader will have to this short
piece of fiction by Tolstoy will rather depend on their own religious sensibilities. For
me, as a Christian, I found this a rather poignant reminder of the power of grace and
how, at the end of the day, all of us, no matter when we repent or if we repent or not,
have committed far more sins than good deeds. All of us therefore are in need of the
kind of love of God that the sinner trying to gain admission into heaven testifies to
when he speaks to the Apostle John, the last of the three Biblical characters to come
and interrogate him and see if he can enter. God's grace and love is something that we
can cling on to in the face of our sin and complete inability to gain admission to
heaven based on our good deeds. The sinner only manages to enter at the end of the story
because of the love of God and his sacrifice for him, and thus this is a powerful
reminder of the grace of God.