The Bet: Discussion, Analysis, and Interpretation

 

            “The Bet” is a short story written by Anton Chekhov in 1889. There are two main characters in the story: the banker and the lawyer. They had made a bet on one another after discussing whether capital punishment is better or worse than life imprisonment. The banker wagered two million that the lawyer will not last five years in prison. The lawyer took the bet and added ten more years in prison in order to prove that life imprisonment is better than death penalty. The lawyer would be locked away with strict supervision inside the banker’s lodge in his garden. The lawyer can request any kind and at any quantity of books, musical instruments, wine, and tobacco; however, he is strictly not allowed to communicate orally nor was he allowed to hear human voices. He can only communicate through writing outside of his cell.

 

Discussion:

            The excerpt above provides two contending ideas regarding death penalty and life imprisonment with the inclusion of Christian value that opposes the taking away of life. If I were to choose between capital punishment and life incarceration, like the lawyer, I would also choose the latter. I believe that taking the life away of anyone no matter what their offences are is wrong. As it also takes away the chance of the person to turn his life around and make amends for what he has done. Condemning death penalty on a murderer will not take back the lives of those he murdered. Many innocents are sentenced to death as well as those who have committed non-heinous crimes. This also means that humans have not yet comprehended what justice truly is considering the plight of underserving people who suffered such consequences. People can invoke injustice to bring justice. However, if I were asked on whether I would accept the bet between the banker and the lawyer, I would not. I will not bet my freedom to prove my pride as the bet was not a matter about bringing justice upon someone. In the end, the world will live its life with its own views and betting on one’s pride will not make any difference.

 

Analysis:

            Anton Chekhov was a Russian author in the late 19^th century during the onset of Russian realism through which his works including the “The Bet” is anchored on the Russian Realism Period. Soviet Literary Realism is known for analyzing human nature, both good and the evil in the works of fiction. It also includes the exploration of philosophy, spirituality, and ideologies. These motifs are reflected in Chekhov’s short story, “The Bet.”

            The story begins at a party hosted by a banker where interesting topics were being discussed. A heated argument occurs when the topic had arrived between which was more severe: death penalty or life imprisonment. In the end, both the lawyer and the banker wagers on a bet to prove their points. Through this plot, Chekhov begins to analyze earthly freedom. The lawyer sacrifices fifteen years of his life in solitary confinement and in the end achieves spiritual fulfillment after having read many books that helped him understand human existence. Albeit the lawyer had suffered episodes of depression and may have even regretted the bet, he stayed true to his ideology by locking himself away throughout the years with only books as his companion. Analyzing his predicament, his imprisonment would not be considered as an ordeal rather, his isolation has brought his life to change¾something that would not have happened had he not taken the bet. His purpose on proving the banker wrong has resulted to his fruitful aging in his cell.

            In the span of fifteen years, the banker on the other hand turns to greed by wasting all his fortunes to gambling. Chekhov focuses on the thoughts of the banker in retrospect as he is filled with contempt. This portrays how some ideologies can be harmful. The banker had even thought of smothering the lawyer, so he could keep his two million. His thoughts were no longer about proving his point fifteen years ago, rather avoiding his fate into succumbing to bankruptcy by losing the bet. When he reads the letter of the lawyer, he finds that the he is no longer interested in his winning cash. He renounces the bet by leaving five hours earlier than the agreed time. He mentions that death is inevitable and will come to anyone no matter how rich, beautiful, and wise they are. His enlightenment had thought him that wisdom and ethereal understanding was more precious than the materials on earth.

            A guest in the earlier part of the story who mentioned that both life imprisonment and death penalty are both immoral because it takes away life and is against the will of God is a foreshadowing of what will happen to the lawyer in the later part of the story. He has turned Christ-like by despising materialism. Over the span of fifteen years, the lawyer had aged physically more than his actual age and had looked weary and malnourished. He left the cell with nothing in his hands, but he was rich in wisdom and in soul.

            Chekhov has examined two contrasting ideologies without being impartial. Although he proves that life is precious as was shown by the lawyer in staying true to his morals, Chekhov also provides insights regarding death through the perception of both the lawyer and the banker. Death penalty kills swiftly, according to the banker, and death cannot be eluded by anyone, as stated by the lawyer. Chekhov also reveals who the real prisoner was in the story. It was the banker for being a slave to the blessings of the world. A reason why the lawyer also hated people; it was due to their untruthful beliefs, illusion, and attachment to material possessions.

 

Interpretation:

            “The Bet” was written at a time when authors were seen as “critics of social order.” Chekhov was troubled by the fact that fascism has taken over and many non-Russians were persecuted. During which time, the political tenure had impacted his works. Chekhov explored human conditions through “The Bet” and philosophically discussed the meaning of human existence as well as fulfillment.

            The story was focused on a conflict revolving around the beliefs of the banker and the lawyer whether or not capital punishment is better than life imprisonment. This conflict however is not the resolution at the end of the story but rather a bridge towards unearthing a completely different message. The disagreement between the two opposing sides had resulted to life changing events that is revealed later on in the story.

“The Bet” is not entirely a story about life imprisonment and death penalty but rather a story about breaking away from the materials of the world and achieving enlightenment through sacrifice. The message that Chekhov wants to convey was hypocrisy of humanity as everyone is tied to false ideologies that makes them slaves to their worldly desires. Spirituality and wisdom are the centers of the story as such are concepts that most humans cannot achieve unless they are willing to sacrifice.

The story was told in third person point of view which allowed the author to show the thoughts of both the two main characters: the lawyer and the banker. He expresses their two opposing ideologies and how each had impacted their lives. Their life experience in the course of fifteen years had brought about significant change on the lawyer’s life while not so much on the banker who remained materialistic. In the end of the story, the banker was humbled upon reading the letter of his prisoner. The lawyer’s years of confinement had not only changed his life but have also influenced the banker when he realizes his foolishness for impulsively wagering on a bet; and now thinks that he is undeserving of the lawyer’s kindness due to his pride in his younger days. He is also shamed due to his corrupted thoughts as revealed by the lawyer in his letter. He is already morally impoverished and has little values other than his money.

Chekhov reveals the human condition through the characters of the banker and the lawyer. Humanity is too concerned and too worried about living their material lives on earth that nobody pays attention to the real essence of existence anymore. People’s hunger for the blessings of the world is insatiable, and most of us are blind to sacrifice and self-actualization. Most of us are like the banker who is spiritually and morally bankrupt. If more of us would learn how to be like the lawyer who sacrificed living in the demands of the world, if more of us would lend more time to books, ponder over existence and commit our lives to spirituality, we would put an end to our insatiable hunger. Like the lawyer, we would realize how little of importance it is to depend our lives on materials. Chekhov teaches us to detach ourselves from the physical world and begin to have a deeper understanding of existence and find our actual selves through uniting ourselves with the moral and spiritual world.

References:

(n.d.). Retrieved from The Bet by Anton Chekhov: https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-bet

fizapathan. (2020, May 25). 'The Bet' by Anton Chekhov: Short Story Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.insaneowl.com/the-bet-by-anton-chekhov-short-story-analysis/