Chekhov’s “The Bet”: Study Questions

 

 

1. Killing by degrees is a theme in the story. Explain.
2. How does the banker’s egotism, greed, excess, and anger inform his argument? The banker ponders it is his greed and capriciousness, not any meaningful inquiry into capital punishment, that spurs the bet.
3. We read that the banker is “spoiled and capricious.” Explain. Perhaps he craves escape from boredom and craves stimulation while undergoing The Myth of Sisyphus.
4. Describe the lawyer’s life of solitude and its bearing on the story’s theme. He has books, music, and wine, but no real human interaction.
5. Describe the transformation of the lawyer in prison. First year is despair and unbearable loneliness. After six years, he hungers for language. He craves recognition and validation from others. He becomes a reader during his final years. He reads in desperation, to save his life in his loneliness.
6. What is the banker’s financial condition at the point of the lawyer’s prison release? He is less wealthy and wants to kill the lawyer.
7. Describe the lawyer when the banker finds him. He’s an apparition, a homunculus, a grotesque slender shadow of his former self.
8. Why does the lawyer leave a note saying that he despises freedom and life? What happened to him? He becomes a raging nihilist. He doesn’t want the two million but will exit the prison five minutes early to void the bet.