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).
Why does the banker bet the lawyer into making the bet?
Jonathan Beutlich, M.A. The banker and lawyer make the bet for the
same reason that most people make a bet
. They each believe that their opinion is right and best, and they are willing to risk something to prove it.
Does the banker kill the lawyer in the bet?
After much inner turmoil,
the banker decides to kill the lawyer before the end of the bet
to keep from having to pay the loan. He sneaks into the guest house. Just before killing him, the banker discovers a note that the lawyer has written.
What does the banker think when he sees the lawyer sleeping at the table?
In “The Bet,” when the banker sees the lawyer sleeping at the table, he thinks
that the lawyer is a pitiful figure
, and he feels sorry for him. This alone, however, does not deter the banker from his plan to kill the lawyer.
Which does the banker consider more human?
The banker values personal pride, power, material possessions, and money. In all things, the banker is
a powerful man
. He would choose the death penalty as being the most humane simply because it would be better than dying by degrees.
Why does the banker call the bet cursed?
In “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov, the banker calls the bet “cursed”
because when he originally made the bet with the lawyer, he was extremely wealthy, and now he no longer is
. If he pays the lawyer two million dollars, he will be bankrupt because he has little left from his original large fortune.
What will happen to the banker of the lawyer wins the bet?
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.
What is the message of the story the bet?
The central message of “The Bet” is that
giving in to greed and impulse can negatively impact one’s life
.
What was the most astonishing part of the prisoners letter?
The most astonishing part of the prisoner’s letter was
his intent to leave his captivity five hours early and renounce the money he would have received.
Why does the banker feel self contempt at the end of the story?
After reading the letter, the banker feels “contempt for himself,” presumably because
he is guilty of just what the prisoner is writing about
: believing in the lies mankind has lived by. … He locks up the letter so that he will have proof that the prisoner has lost the bet.
What motivates the banker to participate in the bet?
According to the excerpt, what motivated the banker to wager the bet? … The banker is motivated only by
the need for entertainment and by boredom
. Two million means nothing to him because as a young man, he had inherited millions.
Why was the old banker walking up and down his study?
In Chekhov’s short story “The Bet” the old banker is pacing up and down his study, worrying about the immanence of his financial ruin. …
He is due to win the bet and claim the money which the banker can ill afford
. This is why the banker is pacing his study, brooding on the matter and trying to think of a way out.
Who is the banker in the bet?
Young, wealthy, and fairly reckless at the beginning of the story, the banker insists that death is preferable to life imprisonment and is the one who initially makes the titular bet with the lawyer.
Is the banker a protagonist in the bet?
In Chekhov’s story it
is the banker who proposes the bet
, so he is the protagonist. The young lawyer accepts the bet that he cannot remain in solitary confinement for fifteen years. So this young lawyer is the antagonist.
Who called the bet cursed?
In “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov,
the banker
calls the bet “cursed” because when he originally made the bet with the lawyer, he was extremely wealthy, and now he no longer is. He had millions of dollars fifteen years ago when he and the lawyer bet two million dollars, and that two million was nothing to him.
Why does the narrator call the lawyer an unhappy man?
In calling the lawyer an “unhappy man,” the banker is “projecting.”
He is comparing the lawyer with himself
. The banker is an extrovert, as is shown by his holding a big party and by his ostentatious display of his material possessions. He does not realize he is dealing with a different type of character.
