The Bet - A short story by Anton Chekov.
Follow this link to Chekov's story. Read it. And then make your first blog entry based on what you felt, read...
http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/ac/bet.html
Please no summaries and there's no word limit.
http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/ac/bet.html
Please no summaries and there's no word limit.
Labels: Assignment 1
posted by sarcy at
8:15 AM
42 Comments:
This story reminds me of one i had read erlier,i cant remember the name of it..
the story line was similar if not the same but damn it, i cant remember the name of it!
oh well, hope someone else can enlighten me.
This story has an interesting plot and is similar to the type of stories dished out by O.Henry. Similar endings that go otherwise from what the reader thinks so.
I think its crazy and stupid to just bet ur life on money. money is not everything in life. it's wat u do in life dat counts as against wat u spend money on.
at the end of the story(the lawyer's life), the lawyer realises that and makes sure that no matter wat happens, he definitely wont get the money from the banker.
interesting to note dat he leaves a note for the banker to know of his decision.
good story, but i definitely think O.Henry writes better ones =D
I ve read dis story earlier.......i really cant remember where but i had forgotten most of it
i also agree wih u dat its stupid and useless 4r a person 2 bet his/her life on money...money is not everything in life..
I think its impossible for a person 2 live 15 yrs in isolation.its only possible in movies and stories ike this.
As far as i am concerened....i ve no intentions nor guts 2 live in complete isolation 4r even 1 year even if i am offered money which is beyond my imagination
But still i enjoyed reading the story..........
i think the lawyer was a stupid and foolish person to bet his life
on money.i am just unable to understand that how can one bet his life on money?
well we are not sure under what circumstances he took this decision.
may be he was not prosperous .it may be because of his of his extreme devotion towards truth.
well who knows.
but we all know that there are different kinds of people on this earth.
if i would have got the offer i will not,never accept it.that is for sure.will u ????
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The 'BET' had very good start but the ending was like, unfinished. HOW CAN A PERSON LIVE IN HELL FOR 15 YEARS!!!!!!!!!, by risking his life. Though he is getting 2 million.
I for sure wouldn't have done it.
I think its foolishness to bet on ones life.
He might be poor thats y he might have accepted the bet. I thought he would have died but he didn't:(.
But in these 15 years, he achieved a lot of knowledge and
wisdom,which is a +point in his 15years of life imprisonment
The story was nice and interesting :).
Shobhit!!!!
u actually wanted a guy to die?!!!!!!!!!????
how shameful of u!!!!!!!!!
Although I've heard this story before. but its awesome the way its written here....
it was an extreme fun...but a very touching and knowledgeable story..like the way in the end the lawyer write the letter telling all that he had learned in those 15 years and now had no urge for money....
i feel that the lawyer was pretty daring in placing such a bet...
but on the other hand it quite foolish of him 2 leave 20 MILLION dollars...
Well if i would have been in his place,i would have never bet my 15 years for 20 millions.
It was 2 million, not 20 million ;)
The story reminds me of 'The Nephews' by O.Henry. I like his stories better. The point of the bet is understandable, and so are the terms. But why on Earth did the banker accept the bet? I mean, 15 years of precious youth, spent locked up in a house! 15 years, if used wisely, can give one great experience...
The paragraph about what the banker learns from books(quoted in the letter) is a talented piece of literature.
Phew.
It's a good story, except some questions arise in my mind, For eg-
* Why did the banker wait until just hours before the extrication? I mean, I don't think he was worried from before because he remembers in segments - "Oh, now I remember why I have a man living in the lodge, what should I do now?"
This story is fun to analyze though.like, the reason why a wise man like the lawyer would go on with the bet knowing that it's painfully (literally) nonsensical.And if he liked his solitude, he should have asked for extension of confinement instead of the 2 million (however stupid it sounds, I know I would.
I shall think and write more...
I love this line-
"His reading suggested a man swimming in the sea among the wreckage of his ship, and trying to save his life by greedily clutching first at one spar and then at another."
I imagine a mad scientist on a sinking ship.
But seriously, it's pretty tragic, the prisoner is falling part towards the end as his struggle consolidated, perhaps he's trying to read as much as possible because he'd be free soon and he despised the outside world...
I need sleep.I'll think more.
This is a story which had a ok beginning but the end really was very bad(i cant use severe words). I mean how can a man bet his life for money. money is not everything.
anyone who likes alone for 15 years would go mad!! Unless he was mad already. 2 million is a lot of money but u cant live in pain and agoy for it for so long.
good story though.
im saying this again i am rjtg92(for those ppl whu kno me)
i dont kno wat is happening i hav posted this comment and every time my display name changes!! i dunno wat is happening but anyway
the story is interesting but is all fictious. how can a person remain in a small dingy room for 15 years reading just books.i think the lawyer was mad to stake his freedom for 15 years just for $2 million. because life is more precious than money as money can be earned but life cant be. moreover in that period he could have earned more than twice the money at hand.
ps.O.henry stories are far more tougher to understand shrinky
Its a pretty cool story and I wont mind staying in jail for fifteen years because in the end...i am rich!! and the dumb banker would go to the streets to beg.
The ending is something that will never happen in everydaylife. If i were gettin two million i wouldnt just give it up. that's just stupidity.
The prisoner actually benifited from the bet. he learned many languages and read a lot of books,he didnt have to save to spend penny on any of these things.
In the end i have to say that this was a useless bet that proved nothing. After reading this story i would still prefer a death sentence because i am quite sure that i will not get any of the luxury the young man got. i will just rot in jail.
This story is just a total waste.It is almost impossible to liv in prison for whole 15 yrs!!!!!!And more foolish is that he is doing it for money??????This would have been somewhat better if he would have agreed to live in prison for proving his point but not for money (b'cos prestige is more important than money).This story is purely fictious.
But I agree with the lawyer that life imprisonment is far better than death penalty as the lawyer has shown that one could spend his time reading books etc.
If this would have been real, then lawyer would be a really lucky dude.He would be enjoying his life luxuriously with wine,cars (girls too!!!!!!!!!)Thats all.Iam not going beyond this.
I think that the story is full of excitement and its really interesting.
I think that it was foolish both on the banker's as well as the lawyer's part to accept the bet and I think that they too realized of the mistake they made somewhere in the story.
No one on earth should ever accept this sort of bet as freedom is the gr8est joy of the world. No matter how much luxuries u have, u will always long for freedom.
I really agree with you that money is not everything in the world. Life is more precious!
Money is not everything. But in a fiction story betting one's life for 2 millions is really what anyone would want to read. It was a really nice short story by Anton Chekhov.
Coming to the story,fifteen years of life lived in isolation makes the lawyer a wise man. It appears as if he has lost the bet but actually in terms of life he has won it. At the time of betting his life I don't think that a young man like him would have ever thought about the knowledge and the imaginary experience he would get by reading all those books. Who does at a young age of twenty five? He still was left with many years of his life to share his "lonely experience."
The surprise ending reminded me of some of the short stories of O. Henry. The author made it interesting in the end by making his protagonist not taking the money. (That was the best part)
Had it been a real life situation and me in place of the lawyer, I would certainly not have taken the fifteen years of boredom and loneliness, despite the fact that I would have been provided with the books, good food and everything.
For me life is to be lived amongst people. How can one keep up with the world with just reading stuff?
I think that it's really mad to bet your life for money. Had it not been for the last piece of writing the lawyer was dead.
What else can I say about this story.
It was a really good bed-time reading.:-)
i think it was an awesum story
15(i dont think its gonna b wise if i type a word dat i really wanna type) yrs spent in a cage by a bloke hu did nothin bt read and play d piano all d time. nd dat 2 4r money. Seriously, wat a nutter.
Dat rat brains shud have realised dat he cud have probably made more money than d banker himself during those yrs. Plus, he had five more hrs 2 go. Couldnt he hav just takn d money n den gone?i think dat life is 2 b livd among people, n not by reading thousands of books all d time. It was crazy on his part 2 bet his life on money
Im also not satisfied wid d ending of d story. D author should had sort of 'cleared it up'. Bt he did make it interestn wid d lawyer not takin d money
An entertaining read( i even dragged my sister away n forced her 2 read it!)
i'll think and write more maybe......
An interesting read indeed... (Sorry, I just typed that because it rhymed...)
Chekhov has written, in my opinion, an excellent ironic short story. However, the situation takes away slightly from it because the story can never be mirrored in real life.
That's why I think some of William Sydney Porter's stories like the Pendulum are ever so slightly better - They can be mirrored in real life, and probably already have been.
Back to Chekhov's story - Several people above have raised this point; why sign away your life for "only" $2 million? Surely it's not worth it?
Sorry to quash all of you, but...
You must realize the story has been written in the 1880s, more than a century ago! Back then, the American Dollar was worth A LOT more than it is now; at today's inflation rates, $2 million in the 1880s is probably worth $100 Million, or even more, today.
So obviously, the money is quite considerable. No lawyer alone ever makes that much.
However, the part where the story is a bit unrealistic is where the lawyer agrees; most people wouldn't sign away their freedom for any amount of cash, however big and however much they need it. Furthermore, I doubt any country's judiciary system would allow a situation such as this.
I can't comment on what I would do, partly because I myself am a couch-potato. The last time I went out (school not counted) was... Well, it must have been the Christmas Carnival. I'm not sure.
Chekhov's story also reminded me of a movie - I think it was called... "Indecent Proposal"? In that movie a rich banker dude offered a debt-ridden couple $1 Million for sleeping with the man's wife for one night. The movie then tracks how this proposal tears apart the couple's marriage and their relationship with the rich banker dude.
Well, I think I should stop typing now, I've probably reached thesis length.
~Godsword.
ok well.... this is the silliest story i have ever read in my life and also think anyone will. I agree with pavani, it is impossible for a man to stay jailed in real life for 15 yrz not for any crime but for money after all money isint everything.
If i was ever asked to live jailed for fifteen no matter watsoever amount i get i would simply refuse it, which dumbass would like to waste 15 most precious years of his life doing absolutely nothing!!!
And yea talking about the fact what is better imprisonement for life or death i strongly think punishing with death is better, coz after all one has to die be it the other day or maybe more 22 yrz so why waste soo much time doing nothing, you can utilize it in your next birth hehe, yea but then i also say being imprisoned for life is good if you no you have done nothing wrong and have chances of being proved not guilty!!
harshit
well...
i think this was a very interesting story, and left alot to think for all of us.
i think the lawyer was a very foolish man doin all this for some money....
i mean giving away 15 main yrs of his life!!!
but the banker was even worst coz he tried to kill the lawyer who stayed in that place for 15 yrs and didnt think anything abt him.i think the banker was a very selfish and greedy man and for money he was ready to kill a poor fellow like the lawyer.
and yea if some1 offers me all that money i would certainly not that kind of a thing and waste 15 years of my life...
The Bet by Anton Chekov reminds me of some stories writen by O.Henry.Their style of writing is pretty similar.
i really enjoyed reading The Bet,but y would anybody be willing to spend 15 years of his/her life in jail,that too how poor could the lawyer be???or how money minded could he be to give away 15 precious years of his life???
Though the lawyer was dumb,i feel the banker was really smart to have offered this deal.After all how may people can spend half their life in jail???
The lawyer lost 15 crucial years in jail.But at the same time used his time well to understand the deeper meaning of life and achieved alot of wisdom and knowledge.
Money can only give you materialistic joy and happiness.True happiness can only be attained when one is free,able to live life according to his/her wishes.
If I was offered this deal,i would NEVER accept it,even if i would be offered billions and billions of dollars.I don"t think i could survive in jail for more than a few years.Alot of will power and determination is needed to fulfil a deal like that.
yea i also agree wid harshit death penalty is much better than life imprisonement coz its better to lose ur life at once rather than staying in that place for so much time, all alone, ruining ur life forever
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I have read this story in my brother's XII grade book (please dont ask me why i was reading it)
this story potrays two stages of life - 1 when the banker and the lawyer are young and are enthusiastic and take decisions without caring about their future the second stage is when they actually realize their mistakes of having the bet
while the lawyer spends 15 years of his life gaining much more knowledge than any other person the banker worries about his 2 million dollars .if he looses them he will have nothing left with him
in the 15 years of the lawyer's life he learns that money is not everything and becomes an intelligent, broad minded, intelllectual person.
when the banker takes the step of killing the lawyer he finds a note containing the thoughts of the lawyer saying that he doesnt want money and will leave five hours before the deadline. this is the turning point of the story---------it also tells us that where there is a will there is way and how the lawyer stays in the room for 15 years so----------i disagree with shobhit and srikant and namrata and whoever denies the fact...........though i ma not willing to stay in a room for that long .....so please dont take any offences
Pallavi(writting my name so that people know that i ma not nobody but pallavi)
i liked the story!
i feel the prisoner had really had become wise. he didn't think just about himself. he realised the condition of the banker and so let hi (banker) win the bet
On the other side the banker was quite greedy andactually wanted to kill the prisoner! I mean how greedy can someone be! the poor guy has already suffered for so long!!
the WISE MAN really taught him a lesson!!
WANTED TO ADD SOME MORE,DO READ IT:
The story also portrays how the characters change according to the circumstances and situations.
At the starting the banker is really really rich and offers the deal to the lawyer without thinking about the consequences and problems he could face in the future.same with the lawyer he immediately accepted the offer without thinking of what he was getting into.
After gaining immense knowledge and wisdom,the lawyer thought it would be wise not to accept the money.the change in the the banker's character came after he read what the lawyer wrote.
At the end,it was the lawyer who gained alot from this unusual experience.MAYBE he GAINED more than what he lost.
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f*** wat a story! a person can be much better without the money that he has got after being jailed for 15 yrs for it...
but after 15 yrs ..
life wud be fun..
I had read dis story sumwhere but i just cant remember. It wuz a long time back. I think dis iz a a wonderful story, wonderfully written by Anton Chekhov.i dont know wat else to write about the story. i just can say dat it iz AWESOME!
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I have read this story when I was in class 7, but it was a bit different.
I think the prisoner is quite stupid to bet 15 years of his life for money. But, he does become wise and intelligent by reading all those books.
Although, the prisoner lost the bet, I think the real winner was the prisoner himself.
It was quite a nice story.
its actually a very gud story..........i think its one da best dat i have read...........quite slow but gives u a feeling dat u r in it...
The lawyer was foolish as he took the bet seriously.He shouldn't have wasted 15 precious yrs of his life in the prison but should have spent them with frnds and family and lived life to the fullest!
Sree Sarcar! You win "The Bet." I am in awe of all your comments on your blog. I certainly love how you took this and ran with it.
Kimberly Ma'am
I had the Modern World Literature students read this story also. What fascinates me about the story is how the banker is reflecting on the actual bet and why it was made. He says something along the lines of how foolish an idea the bet really was and there was nothing to prove. It's true. A debate's a debate and a bet's a bet; but both men lost years, money and even dignity.
this story was a really good story
i think that the lawyer should not have wasted 15 years if his life in that lounge just for those 2 million dolars becoz i think its not worth it
also the banker was very stupid to bet 2million dollars on such a thing
i dont think that i will be able to spend 15 years of my ife in a room all alone even is someone gives me money which is alot
i totally agree
its not that one cant live without money
this man is one pretty big idiot
15 yrs solitary confinement!!!!!
whos ganna survive that long???
unreal!!!!
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One has got to understand that "the bet" was never really a bet at all.
The lawyer had predicted the falling events of the story even before being isiolated.
He wanted to teach the banker the meaning of life, through his own experience.
*Notice the symbolism of the two jobs, lawyer and banker?
Through his note, the lawyer revealed that he never really expected to suffer, but to gain wisdom away from subjective influence.
Instead, the suffering was evident in the banker, once he finished reading the letter and reached that point of awareness.
Ironically, this story doesn't really portray the pros and cons of capital punishment, not does the author make any sort of reasonable comparison.
Enjoyable :)
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