In Chekhov's short story "The Bet," the terms of the bet are that the lawyer will stay in prison for fifteen years and the banker will "wager two million" (92). While the lawyer is in prison, he can have no human contact, but he can have "anything necessary--books, music, wine--" and anything else he requests (92).
The banker himself would acknowledge that he had lost the bet, and the lawyer would probably assert that he had won it, although he disdained to collect the money. The bet itself is hard to understand. Initially the two men were arguing about the relative cruelty of capital punishment versus life imprisonment. This is the pertinent dialogue.
The banker notes that the lawyer is so emaciated by the end of his sentence that he is hard to look at, prematurely aged, and appears ill. This outward appearance contrasts with the lawyer’s own belief that he has bettered himself.
The banker seems to be acknowledging that he lost the bet by his thoughts and behavior on the night before the term of imprisonment expired. He sneaks into the prisoner's room for the first time in fifteen years with the intention of murdering him after keeping him in solitary confinement for all that time.
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. He proves as reckless as the banker in agreeing to the bet and foolish in lengthening his sentence for the sake of some misplaced pride.
The lawyer suggests that the banker doesn't have the courage to place such a risky bet against him. The lawyer offers to give the banker two million if he cannot stay in solitary confinement for the agreed upon years. The lawyer proposes that he will remain in solitary confinement even longer than the banker suggests.
The banker hypothetically bets the lawyer two million dollars/rubles that he could not stay in solitary confinement for five years. The lawyer inexplicably raises it to fifteen years for the same amount of money. They set the terms of the bet. The lawyer must remain in his prison for fifteen years.
The banker wants to prove his point that the death penalty is more humane than life imprisonment. What is the banker's motivation for suggesting the bet? The lawyer wants to prove that life imprisonment is more human than the death penalty and collect $2,000,000.
"Gentlemen, I stake two million!" "Agreed! You stake your millions and I stake my freedom!" said the young man.
This short story portrays a situation in which the banker and lawyer wages a bet based on the idea of the death penalty and life imprisonment. The banker puts on the line two million dollars compared to the lawyer's life worth of fifteen years.
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...
What was the bet between the lawyer and banker? The lawyer bet that he could stay in solitary confinement for 15 years if the banker paid him 2 million dollars.
Taking this idea as the bet, it was shown at the end of the story that the lawyer lost the bet. The rule was clearly stated, “The slightest attempt on his part to break the conditions, if only two minuets before the end, released the banker from the obligation to pay him two millions” (2).
At the end of Anton Chekhov's "The Bet", the lawyer survives the 15 years in prison but refuses to take the money.
Anton Chekhov's “The Bet” sets up a seemingly simple bet about the nature and value of life. The banker, who believes that the death penalty is more humane and moral than life imprisonment, argues that experiences, pleasures, and relationships are what make life worth living.
The banker certainly wins the bet in terms of the money that he put up. Because the lawyer left the house before the 15 years were up, he loses and the banker keeps his money.
Answer. Explanation: Explanation:Definition of 'Stake': Money or property risked on the result of a horse race, card game, match outcome, etc.
The banker notes that the lawyer is so emaciated by the end of his sentence that he is hard to look at, prematurely aged, and appears ill. This outward appearance contrasts with the lawyer’s own belief that he has bettered himself.
The Lawyer Character Analysis. The Lawyer. 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.
Part 2. It is fifteen years later and the eve of the lawyer ’s release. The banker is distraught because he cannot afford to pay the two million rubles. ... (full context) The old banker fears that the lawyer will, having won the bet, become wealthy, marry, and enjoy life the same way he... (full context)
(full context) In the tenth year, the lawyer reads only the New Testament. In the next two years, he reads haphazardly and randomly,... (full context)
All the wisdom from the books, writes the lawyer, is condensed into a little lump in his skull. He has become cleverer than almost... (full context) The lawyer has come to hold people who appreciate earthly things in contempt, and as such he... (full context) The banker has begun to cry.