Short+Story

The Bet Anton Chekhov **I had to choose to read or write a short story that was assigned in the 4th quarter, and I chose to read a short story. The story that I picked was "The Bet".** Text Of The Story- [|The Bet]

Movie Of The Story-[| Part 1] [|Part 2]

"The Bet" emphasizes the idea that the life of a human is far more valuable than money. In the short story "The Bet a wager is made that changes the lives of two people. The story begins with a argument at a party over which is more moral, capital punishment or life imprisonment. The banker believes that capital punishment is more moral because the death sentence kills the victim quicker rather than dragging out the process. The lawyer at the party responds, saying, he would choose the life sentence to be more moral because any life is better than no life at all. Hearing this response causes the banker to bet the lawyer two million dollars that the lawyer cannot last five years in solitary confinement. The lawyer accepts the wager, but pushes it to fifteen years in hopes of making a point. The terms of the wager are that the lawyer is to live in solitary confinement without any human interaction for fifteen years, but is granted anything that he wants. As the fifteen years pass, the lawyer discovers the significance of human life so he left early. The Banker didn't know this before so he was going to kill the lawyer because he was in debt and he couldn't pay him. But afterwards he found a note saying he left early, so then the banker was happy that he didn't have to pay him and kill him. 


 * Plot Diagram Of The Story** 