In the end of the story, "The Bet," the lawyer despairs of life, and he reneges on the wager with banker. In their bet about which is crueler, live-long imprisonment or capital punishment, the banker and the lawyer wager their futures. The young lawyer argues that life on any terms is better than death.
In the end of the story, "The Bet," the lawyer despairs of life, and he reneges on the wager with banker. In their bet about which is crueler, live-long imprisonment or capital punishment, the banker and the lawyer wager their futures.
In the end of the story, " The Bet ," the lawyer despairs of life, and he reneges on the wager with banker. In their bet about which is crueler, live-long imprisonment or capital punishment, the banker and the lawyer wager their futures. The young lawyer argues that life on... Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this answer and thousands more.
The banker and the lawyer decide to enter into a bet, with the banker wagering that the lawyer could not withstand 5 years of imprisonment. The lawyer, young and idealistic, decides to up the ante and makes the bet longer: 15 years. If he could last to the end of his sentence, the lawyer would receive two million rubles for wining the bet.
So, in the end the lawyer departs as he has written that he will, breaking the contract. On the following morning, watchmen run to the banker, telling him that they have witnessed the lawyer climbing out of a window, going to the gate, and disappearing.
The night before the bet is to end, the lawyer paces in his study remembering the terms of the agreement and looking for a solution to end his problem. Chekov's fictional short story uses flashback to inform the reader of the terms of the bet and the events of the last fifteen years since the bet was originally made.
Moved by the lawyer's letter, the banker kisses the prisoner and leaves to go home, feel bad about himself, and have a good cry. Meanwhile, the lawyer sneaks out of the room early. Finally, the banker takes the letter that rejects that money and hides it away in his safe as evidence.
Shocked and moved after reading the note, the banker kisses the lawyer on the head and returns to bed. When the banker wakes up later that morning, a watchman reports that the lawyer has climbed out the window and fled the property, forfeiting the bet.
In The Bet by Anton Chekhov, the lawyer voluntarily accepts to stay in prison for 15 years, instead of the original agreed upon 5 years.
To deprive myself of the right to the money I shall go out from here five hours before the time fixed, and so break the compact ..." The banker is saved from ruin when the guard tells him that the man did leave five hours early. Taking the letter, the banker places it in the safe. The bet is over.
Answer: The lawyer renounced the two million because in prison, he read a lot and reading of philosophical and religious books gave him wisdom. He realised the futility of money. It was as illusory and deceptive as mirage.
The lawyer told with the arrogance of youth that he can live for 15 years in solitary confinement. The lawyer was allowed to have anything in his confinement except The Human Companionship. He was given books and piano. He was allowed to write letters.
What is the outcome/result of "the bet"? the lawyer states that despises mankind and everything about the material world and mankind. He leaves right before his time is up and does not win the $2 million.
The banker wins the bet. The attorney escapes the night before he is to win the bet. He writes a letter to the banker in which he explains his...
In the end of the story, "The Bet," the lawyer despairs of life, and he reneges on the wager with banker. In their bet about which is crueler, live-long imprisonment or capital punishment, the banker and the lawyer wager their futures. The young lawyer argues that life on any terms is better than death.
If he pays the lawyer for winning the bet, he will be ruined. His only escape from his tragedy would be to kill the lawyer. When the banker opens the door into the cell, he discovers the lawyer now looking like a skeleton. He discovers a letter and reads it, but soon realizes the lawyer plans to lose.
How does the lawyer decide to conclude the bet, and why? At the end of the fifteen years, five hours before he would have gotten the 2 million rubles, the lawyer chooses to run away and revoke his right to the money, leaving a letter explaining himself.
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At the end of Anton Chekhov's "The Bet", the lawyer survives the 15 years in prison but refuses to take the money. In a literary twist, the... See full answer below.
Just 25 years old when he attends the banker’s party at the beginning of the story, the lawyer initially asserts that life-imprisonment is far preferable to capital punishment.
First published in an 1889 edition of the St. Petersburg-based newspaper Novoye Vremya (Новое время), Anton Chekhov’s “The Bet” (“Пари”) is a short story about a bet made between a banker and a lawyer. During a dinner party in November 1870, a wealthy banker claims that capital punishment is more humane than life imprisonment.
"The Bet" takes place in nineteenth century Tsarist Russia. (As this story was originally published in 1889, this makes the story's setting contemporaneous to the era in which it was written.)...
The banker, fifteen years ago hosts a dinner where the conversation takes place. He claimed to have a lot of money and told the lawyer that two millions less wouldn’t bother him while the lawyer would be losing his freedom, and the thought that he can regain his freedom anytime would make it harder for him.
Published in 1889, The Bet follows the story of a banker and a young lawyer who make a bet about whether it is better for someone to go to prison or be sentenced to death. The lawyer believes that any kind of life, good or bad, is better than being dead.
A bet involving money and time is the main idea behind Anton Chekov's ''The Bet.'' In this lesson, you'll find a summary of this short story and learn more about the bet that changed both men's lives.
The Bet is a short story written by Russian writer Anton Chekhov. Published in 1889, The Bet follows the story of a banker and a young lawyer who make a bet about whether it is better for someone to go to prison or be sentenced to death. The lawyer believes that any kind of life, good or bad, is better than being dead. The banker decides to wager that if the lawyer can survive solitary confinement in prison for 15 years the banker will pay the lawyer 2 million rubles.
The story also shows the toll that separation from human society can take on a person. Whereas at first the lawyer was full of virtue, eschewing wine and tobacco, he later gives himself in to his vices, drinking and smoking constantly.
Nevertheless, the lawyer decides to stick to his word and the bet is carried out. For fifteen years, the lawyer lives on the banker's property, in a small lodge, and has no human contact. He can have any item that he desires. At first, the lawyer does not comfort himself with any liquor or tobacco, confining himself to playing the piano.
The banker, by this time, has gone broke due to his own recklessness and gambling. He begins to worry that the lawyer's bet with him will ruin him financially. The banker begins to hope against all hope that the lawyer will break his vow and lose the bet.
The banker acquiesces and confirms the lawyer's suspicion that he has mastered languages. As the years go by, the lawyer reads virtually every genre under the sun. He makes his way from the lighter reading of the early years, to the dense text of the Gospels and Shakespeare.
The lawyer believes that any life is better than none, and that life cannot be taken away by the government, since life cannot be given back if the government realizes that it made a mistake. The banker and the lawyer decide to enter into a bet, with the banker wagering that the lawyer could not withstand 5 years of imprisonment.
Fifteen years ago, a party was thrown at a banker's home, where many intellectuals such a journalists and lawyers attended. During that party, the group in attendance had many lively discussions, ultimately turning to the topic of capital punishment.
With nothing to lose, and two million to gain, the lawyer cannot think of a reason to reject the bet. It is very interesting that Chekov does not show the readers the thoughts of the lawyer as he makes this bet. The only time that we see the thoughts of the lawyer clearly is later in the story, through a letter.
The first possibility is that the banker has learned a valuable lesson about not being a huge jerk. There he was all set to kill the guy, when all along the lawyer had no interest in his money at all. So the reason he feels bad and cries is that he suddenly sees that he's been way too obsessed with money.
Possibility number two is that the banker cries from plain old relief. He's just so psyched he doesn't have to kill anyone and still gets to keep his money and everything is hunky-dory again. Yay. This version fits with that last detail about the letter and the safe…
Maybe the banker isn't really who we should be thinking about anyway. Possibility three involves the other guy.
In their bet about which is crueler, live-long imprisonment or capital punishment, the banker and the lawyer wager their futures. The young lawyer argues that life on any terms is better than death. In his hubris, the lawyer raises the bet that he can stay in isolation from five years to fifteen.
From all his readings, the lawyer has learned the vanity of human desires; certainly, the desire for material gain corrupts the soul. The lawyer has spent the last fifteen years searching for meaning in life and not found it. Moreover, he feels life is beyond comprehension.