Castillo, Khamylle Lim, Jonathan Sacres, Debbie Ann Tordecilla, Karen Alyanna

The Bet by Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov: A Brief History: Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is renowned for being one of the greatest playwrights of modern times and is considered by some as the founder of the modern short story. Chekhov was born in Tanarog, Russia on the twenty-ninth of January in the year 1860. Because of the changes in Russian society when Chekhov was but a year old, Russias serfs were freed on February 19, 1861. The overturning of this older social older is a common topic in many of his writings. In 1884, he finished medical school and although he began life as a physician, he also became devoted to his writing. Some of Chekhovs short stories are The Bear (1888), The Wedding (1889), and The Wood Demon (1889). In 1896, Chekhov became known for his four plays: The Sea Gull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1896, derived from his short story, The Wood Demon), The Three Sisters (1901), and The Cherry Orchard (1904). In each of his four plays, Olga Knipper was a performer and in 1901, she and Chekhov married. Chekhov, who had always been of frail health, died of pulmonary tuberculosis on July 15, 1904 in Germany. Writing Style: Chekhov wrote about ordinary events and the relationships of people in small towns and villages. He employed a variety of techniques, including pacing and word choices that paint imagery, create his characters and reveal their changing moods. In a May 10, 1886, letter to his brother Alexander, also a writer, Chekhov noted six principles of a good story. 1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of a political-social-economic nature 2. Total objectivity 3. Truthful descriptions of persons and objects

4. Extreme brevity 5. Audacity and originality: flee the stereotype 6. Compassion

Summary: An argument about death penalty and life imprisonment goes out of hand when a banker bets two million of his money on a lawyers inability to survive a long period of time in solitary confinement.

Plot: An old banker reminisces about a party he had thrown fifteen years ago. With so many intellectuals present there had been interesting conversations. One of these discussed capital punishment and life imprisonment wherein a lot of the guests agreed that capital punishment, voted as the more immoral of the two, ought to be replaced with the latter choice. The banker, however, disagreed, and said that the death penalty was the more moral of the two as life imprisonment killed a man slowly. A young lawyer, when asked his opinion, contradicted the banker and said that life imprisonment was better. The banker, anxious to win the conversation, then bet the lawyer two million of his money if he were stay in solitary confinement for five years. The young man took the bet, but rose the stakes to fifteen years. With the bet settled, the young man was kept in one of the bankers lodges in his garden where he would be heavily guarded but would have no human contact whatsoever. His only communication with the outside world was his notes, on which he could ask for anything he wanted save for the obvious human companion, and also for letters and newspapers. The first year of the mans confinement was a lonely one, judging from his notes. The books he read were light materials. In his second year, the man spent his time gorging himself on food and drink. Books were ignored but he spent his nights writing. The second half of his sixth year was spent studying languages, philosophy and history. During this period, the banker was sent a letter from his prisoner, requesting him to have the experts translate the letter which he had written in six different languages. A fire was to be shot in the garden if there were no mistakes found. The banker, following the request, ordered two shots to be fired in the garden. In the tenth year, the prisoner read nothing but the Gospel. And in the last two years, the prisoner read various things.

The banker, remembering all this, thinks of how the prisoner will soon regain his freedom. In fear of losing his money, the banker plots to kill the lawyer shortly before he appointed time of his release. The banker sneaks into the lodge with a lighted match. Through the small window he sees the prisoner fast asleep. Rapping on the window does not rouse him so the banker enters the room and looks upon the lawyer. Surprise fills the banker when he sees how old and sickly the lawyer looks. The banker, still thinking of killing the lawyer, discovers the sheet of paper at the mans head. On it the lawyer talks of how he renounces the two million and would rather indulge himself in gaining knowledge. The banker, both saddened and relieved, kisses the mans head then leaves with the paper in hand. The following morning, the watchmen tell him of the mans escape. The banker then goes to lodge to see for himself. In order to prove that he won, the banker locks up the piece of paper that tells of the renounced millions in a fireproof safe. Importance: The bet in Chekhovs short story is made due to an argument between the morality of death or isolation. But the answer to that question is not the moral of the story. What The Bet is trying to teach us is how materialism can ruin a person. The prospect of attaining two million dollars ruins the lives of both the banker and the lawyer. The lawyer, in his eagerness and his pride, manages to lose fifteen years of his freedom just to prove a point. The banker, in his fear of losing two million of his money, succumbs to evils of his mind and plots the lawyers death. During his confinement, the lawyer is stripped off all worldly thoughts and learns that knowledge is true wealth. Chekov also tells the reader that man is a social creature through the lawyers behaviour (his lack of pleasure in drinking wine) and through his appearance (stressful and looking older than his years). Another moral that can be taken from this story is that one must think of the consequences before making huge decisions.

Sources: Sandifer, C. (2011, November 14). Anton Chekhovs Six Writing Principles. One Wild World.com. Retrieved July 15, 2013, from http://onewildword.com/ The Bet Analysis. Retrieved July 15, 2013, from http://www.shmoop.com/bet-chekhov/plot-analysis.html Anton Chekhov. Retrieved July 15, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Chekhov Biography of Anton Chekhov (2013). Retrieved July 15, 2013, from http://www.gradesaver.com/author/anton-chekhov/