why did the lawyer took the bet - anton

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.

Full Answer

What happened to the lawyer in the book The BET?

In "The Bet," an idealistic young lawyer bets he can survive fifteen years of imprisonment. A banker bets him two million rubles that he can't. Imprisonment breaks the lawyer, however, and he walks out of his cell early so he can't collect his rubles.

Why did Anton Chekhov write the bet?

By writing this story, Anton Chekhov tried to make people think about the point of their life and the meaning of money. His story points a certain moral and therefore resembles Russian fairy tales. However later, the title “The Fairy Tale” was replaced by “The Bet”.

What does the lawyer get for winning the bet?

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. The banker cannot fathom his good fortune, and even offers the young lawyer a way out, saying that he is being hasty and foolish.

What was the outcome of the argument between the lawyer and banker?

During a dinner-party two main characters, the young Lawyer and the millionaire Banker, got into an argument. Being nothing more than a whim, the argument somehow resulted in a bet. According to its terms, the Lawyer should have spent the following fifteen years in a solitary confinement.

Why did the lawyer take the bet?

The lawyer wants to prove that life imprisonment is more human than the death penalty and collect $2,000,000. What is the lawyer's motivation for accepting the bet? The lawyer decides not to take the money. During his confinement, he learns that money and possessions aren't the most important things in life.

What does the lawyer take in 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.

What happened to the lawyer at the end of the story the bet?

At the end of Anton Chekhov's "The Bet", the lawyer survives the 15 years in prison but refuses to take the money.

Why does the lawyer surrender the two million dollars in the bet?

Why did the lawyer renounce the money and leave a few hours shy of winning the bet and receiving the two million dollars? He read and studied so much that he discovered that the bet was meaningless and the money has no true value.

Who wins the bet in the bet?

Five hours before the lawyer's time is complete, he runs away and terminates his eligibility to win the bet. From these events in the story, I have concluded that it was the banker who won the bet and the argument of whether life imprisonment is better than death. The bet has been argued to be many different aspects.

What is the story the bet about?

Anton Chekov's “The Bet” is a powerful short story published in 1889 about a banker and a lawyer who make a bet with each other about the death penalty versus life in prison. In the story, each wrestles with the idea of which is better or worse, and the culmination is a twist ending.

Who really won the bet justify your answer?

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...

Why did the lawyer leave five hours before the fixed time and break the contract?

Consequently, the lawyer will leave five hours early because he does not want the money. He determines that he is now wiser than the banker. The lawyer will deprive himself of what he thought he once wanted more than anything in the world.

What was the bet between the lawyer and the banker?

They agreed to a bet: if the lawyer could spend fifteen years in total isolation, the banker would pay him two million rubles. The lawyer would have no direct contact with any other person, but could write notes to communicate with the outside world and receive whatever comforts he desired.

Why does the lawyer extend the bet from 5 to 15 years?

The lawyer states that the life sentence would be preferable, but the banker calls his bluff, saying that he couldn't stand five years in prison. The decision by the lawyer to raise the stakes is meant to prove his point that a life sentence would be preferable to a death sentence.

How does the story end in the bet?

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.

How did the lawyer violate the agreement with the banker?

Ans. The lawyer violated the agreement with the banker by escaping from his cell five minutes before the stipulated term. He went to the gate and disappeared. He did not claim two million roubles from the lawyer because he hated material things.

What does the banker note about the lawyer?

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.

How old is the lawyer in The Banker's Party?

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.

Why is the banker distraught in Part 2?

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)

What does a lawyer read in the sixth year?

(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)

What is the lump in the lawyer's skull?

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.

What is the Bet by Anton Chekhov?

Anton Chekhov was writing this short story for the magazine “Novoe Vremya”. Initially, it had been entitled “The Fairy Tale”, since a described situation was clearly fictional. Its characters and their actions had little in common with a real life.

Who wrote the summary of the Bet?

The summary of “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov. During a dinner-party two main characters, the young Lawyer and the millionaire Banker, got into an argument. Being nothing more than a whim, the argument somehow resulted in a bet.

What did Anton Chekhov try to do?

By writing this story, Anton Chekhov tried to make people think about the point of their life and the meaning of money. His story points a certain moral and therefore resembles Russian fairy tales. However later, the title “The Fairy Tale” was replaced by “The Bet”. The first edition of this satirical story had another ending.

What would happen if the lawyer stayed in seclusion?

The Lawyer put himself into a self-made prison. As the years went by, he became a completely different person.

What is Chekhov's attitude towards the death penalty?

He wrote, “… his story is full of life.”. The story also reveals Chekhov’s attitude towards death penalty as something utterly immoral. At the end of the 19 th century, there was a heated dispute on the abolition of capital punishment in Russia. It seems both the Banker and the Lawyer lost the bet.

What was Chekhov's original idea for the ending of the story?

The first edition of this satirical story had another ending. According to Chekhov’s original idea, the Lawyer should have turned himself in to the Banker. Later, the author got disappointed with such a final and excluded it. The existing version ends with the scene of the Lawyer’s escape.

Who inspired Anton Chekhov's story?

Strangely, some people criticized Anton Chekhov’s story for “glorifying money”. “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov was greatly inspired by Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy’s ideas . Speaking through the mouth of his character, the Lawyer, Anton Chekhov showed that he did not accept and even despised the existing state of things.

What happens to the banker after the lawyer collects on the bet?

Fifteen years later, the banker realizes that he will be ruined if the lawyer collects on the bet. He decides to kill the lawyer. However, the mentally broken lawyer has lost his faith in humanity and gives up on the bet, walking out of his cell five minutes before his sentence ends.

Why does the banker try to talk the lawyer out of it?

The banker is thrilled with the bet and has plenty of money to spend in such a frivolous way, but, over dinner, he tries to talk the lawyer out of it because the lawyer will lose years of his life. He also feels that submitting to voluntary imprisonment will be more difficult than mandatory imprisonment.

What does the banker remember about the lawyer?

It proves nothing. He remembers when it was decided that the lawyer would actually be imprisoned in one of the lodges in the banker's garden.

How long does a lawyer spend in prison?

An idealistic lawyer and a prominent banker bet that the lawyer can't survive fifteen years in prison. His prize if he wins will be two million rubles. The lawyer is imprisoned in the banker's garden house. Fifteen years later, the banker realizes that he will be ruined if the lawyer collects on the bet. He decides to kill the lawyer.

Why does the banker say he will leave prison early?

To prove it, he says that he will renounce the money he once dreamed of because he now despises it too , and he says that he will leave his prison five hours early, so as to officially lose the bet. The banker weeps with relief, but he feels contempt for himself.

What does the lawyer in the letter say about the banker?

In the letter, the lawyer says that he has acquired great wisdom in these years and that he has learned to despise everything that others think is great about the world.

Did the lawyer have wine and music?

It was agreed that the lawyer could have books and wine and music but no human interaction, and he could pass notes out a small window, asking for whatever he wanted. From his notes, he seemed to have been very depressed during the first year, and he played the piano a lot. He read books of a "light character.".

What does the lawyer believe?

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.

What does the story of the lawyer show?

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.

Why did the banker go broke?

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.

What does the banker confirm?

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.

How long does the lawyer live on the banker's property?

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.

What happened 15 years ago?

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.

Does Chekov show the reader the thoughts of the lawyer?

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.