The banker, on the other hand, has misused his money; and now if he pays off the bet, the banker will lose everything. 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.
Why did the lawyer in his confinement refuse wine and tobacco?
During the first year, the prisoner is extremely lonely; he spends a great deal of time at the piano. Because he is lonely, he refuses the wine and tobacco; in explanation, he writes that wine stimulates the senses, only exacerbating his lonely condition. Tobacco ruins the air of his little room.
What is the banker willing to do to make sure that the lawyer doesn’t win the bet in Anton Chekhov’s the bet?
The banker actually does try to get out of the bet, but he wants to do so by persuading the lawyer to call it off. “Think better of it, young man, while there is still time.
What were the conditions of the bet between the banker and the lawyer what liberties were allowed for the lawyer?
The lawyer was to stay on the lodge of the banker’s garden under strict supervision. He would not step out before the fixed time. He would see no human beings, hear no human voice and receive no letter or newspapers. He was allowed to’ drink wine, smoke, read as many books as he desires and writes letters.
Why does the banker want out of the bet?
In Anton Chekhov’s “The Bet,” the banker wants out of the bet because his financial situation has changed drastically over the fifteen years. He no longer has the money to spare and believes that if he is forced to pay the lawyer, he will thus be financially ruined.
Why does the banker feel that he will be ruined?
Because he had lost a lot of money in the past 15 years through gambling and the Stock Exchange, so giving the lawyer $2 million would ruin him.
What does the banker stake in the bet?
The host of the party where the death penalty vs. life imprisonment debate happens, the banker bets the lawyer two million dollars to stay in solitary confinement for fifteen years.
Why does the banker go to the lodge on the last night of the lawyers imprisonment?
The banker went at once with the servants to the lodge and made sure of the flight of his prisoner. To avoid arousing unnecessary talk, he took from the table the writing in which the millions were renounced, and when he got home, locked it upon the fireproof safe. What happened in the morning?
What is the bet between the lawyer and the banker?
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).
Who actually won the bet?
The banker wins the bet. The attorney escapes the night before he is to win the bet.
How does the banker change in the bet?
Yes, the banker changes. He is older and has lost his money over time. He eventually hates himself for it. … The banker won, he keeps the $2,000,000, but hates himself for the bet.
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. 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.
Who really won 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.
What was the bankers reaction to the bet at the party?
Answer : The banker was full of disgust for himself. He wanted to kill the lawyer for the fear that he would have to pay him two million roubles. It meant that he would go bankrupt. He was afraid that the lawyer might win the bet and he will end up as a beggar.
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 is the bankers reason for thinking that death penalty is better than life imprisonment?
In “The Bet,” the banker’s reason for thinking that the death penalty is better than life imprisonment is that the death penalty puts an immediate end to a person’s suffering, whereas life imprisonment is much crueler, prolonging a person’s suffering and offering no hope of escape.
How does the banker feel about his bet 15 years later in The Bet?
At the end of the fifteen years, the banker seems to feel very sorry for himself. He used to have lots of money and friends, enough that he could casually make a bet for an absolutely huge sum of money and not give a second thought to it. … In Chekhov’s story “The Bet,” the banker ends up feeling ashamed of himself.
Why do you think the banker is feeling so upset for himself after reading the lawyer’s note?
The banker cannot understand what the lawyer has learned in fifteen years of solitary study and meditation, but he feels gratitude for being allowed to keep his money even while feeling deeply ashamed of himself for planning to commit dastardly crimes in order to keep it.
What did the banker do when he read the letter?
The banker was overwhelmed after reading the letter addressed to him. After reading the note, he kissed the prisoner on the head and went back to his house weeping. He felt strangely defeated despite having won the bet.
What does the banker believe in?
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.
What does the banker believe is the more moral choice for prisoners?
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. A life spent imprisoned, according to him, is thus essentially not a life at all: it is instead a slow, constant death.
Why was the banker afraid of Honouring the bet?
The lawyer was about to complete fifteen years of his confinement. He thought that he would be ruined for ever and the lawyer would enjoy life. He was afraid of honouring the bet because he did not want to become a beggar.
Does the lawyer regret the bet?
People often make bad decisions that makes them regret afterwards. The lawyer, who went to prison tried to prove that going to prison is better than execution, later regrets making the bet. …
How does the lawyer’s 15 year imprisonment?
How does the lawyer’s 15-year imprisonment affect the banker? The banker wishes that he had required the lawyer to stay imprisoned for longer. The banker comes to realize that he was wrong about his stance on life imprisonment. The banker mourns the life and experiences that he has deprived the lawyer of.
How did the lawyer spent 15 years of his confinement?
The lawyer told with the arrogance of youth that he can live for 15 years in solitary confinement. The lawyer was allowed to have anything in his confinement except The Human Companionship. He was given books and piano. … In the second year, he left the piano and spent his time with books.
Why did the lawyer break the contract the bet?
The rules are that the lawyer will stay on the property of the banker and will have no human contact for fifteen years. … 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.
How old is the lawyer in the bet?
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.
What is the moral of the story of the bet?
The moral of Anton Chekhov’s “The Bet” is that materialism and material wealth ultimately means nothing.
Why was the banker bitter about losing the two million?
15 years in solitary confinement drove him to despise the 2 millions he was to be awarded if he lasted out the terms of the confinement. His time in solitary drove him to despise human thinking, philosophy and all things “civilized”. The banker was right in that it was a death by degrees.
Who is worse off at the end of the bet the banker or the lawyer?
It was all nonsensical and meaningless.”
Technically, the banker wins the bet because the lawyer deliberately loses it by leaving his confinement before the full fifteen years is up. Morally, the lawyer has won the bet because he could easily have remained imprisoned for a few more hours.
What happens 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.
What is the irony in the bet?
In the short story “The Bet” by Anton Chekov, the author uses irony to make the story more capricious in the banker’s decision to kill the prisoner rather than pay him, in the prisoner’s decision to repudiate the two million dollars, and in the actual note the prisoner inscribes.
How did the banker plan to revoke his bet?
During the length of the bet, what did the Lawyer do in his cell? Why did the Banker want to revoke his end of the bet? How did the Banker plan to revoke his bet? … He read the Lawyer’s letter saying that he was gonna leave the cell early.
Why did the banker and the lawyer make the best use evidence from the text to support your response?
Expert Answers
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.
How does the banker and the lawyer change from the beginning to the end of the story?
In the end of the story, “The Bet,” the lawyer despairs of life, and he reneges on the wager with banker. … The young lawyer argues that life on any terms is better than death. He feels like a normal man at beginning but later, the study study of philosophy and theology changes his mind.
Why did the banker lose heart and fall into despair?
The banker is a proud man. He would realize that the lawyer was offering to help him partly out of pity but partly out of the pleasure of patronizing him. By losing the bet, the banker has exposed himself to being treated like a beggar for the rest of his life.