the sequel of the story 'the bet' by Anton P. Chekov
Answers
As the story opens, the banker recalls the occasion of the bet fifteen years before. Guests at the party that he was hosting that day fell into a discussion of capital punishment; the banker argued that capital punishment is more humane than life imprisonment, while the young lawyer disagreed, insisting that he would choose life in prison rather than death. They agree to a bet of two million rubles that the lawyer cannot spend fifteen years in solitary confinement. The bet was on, and the lawyer cast himself into isolation for fifteen years.
The man spends his time in confinement reading books, writing, playing piano, studying, drinking wine, and educating himself. We find him continuously growing throughout the story. We see various phases in his term of imprisonment over the years. At first, the lawyer suffered from severe loneliness and depression. But soon began studying vigorously. He begins with languages and other related subjects. Then, a mix of science, literature, philosophy and other seemingly random subjects. He ends up reading some six hundred volumes in the course of four years. Then, the Gospel followed by theology and histories of religion. In the final two years, the imprisoned lawyer read immensely on chemistry, medicine and philosophy, and sometimes works of Byron or Shakespeare.
In the meantime, the banker's fortune declines and he realizes that if he loses, paying off the bet will leave him bankrupt.
The day before the fifteen-year period concludes, the banker resolves to kill the lawyer so as to not owe him the money. On his way to do so, however, the banker finds a note written by the lawyer. The note declares that in his time in confinement he has learned to despise material goods as fleeting things and he believes that knowledge is worth more than money. To this end he elects to renounce the reward of the bet. The banker was moved and shocked to his bones after reading the note, kisses the strange man on the head and leaves the lodge weeping, relieved not to have to kill anyone. The prison warden later reports that the lawyer has left the guest house, thus losing the bet but proving his point that solitary confinement is more humane than death punishment as it gives a chance to a person (the lawyer in this story) to develop himself. The lawyer also unwittingly saves his own life by writing the note.
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Okay, so I've done something a bit different this week. I have my students write alternate endings to "The Bet" by Anton Chekhov as an initial piece of narrative writing. I also try to complete any assignment that I give my students as a way of proving that I wouldn't have them do something that I wouldn't/couldn't do.
Anyway, I thought that I'd post my original ending this week, but don't worry. I'll be back to writing ridiculous pieces like Shark Vs. soon.
First, you may want to read "The Bet" by Anton Chekhov if you've never read it. I linked it.
Students have to write an alternate ending with a clear resolution while also settling the debate which initiated the bet: capital punishment versus life imprisonment.
My ending picks up when the banker has snuck into the lawyer's private quarters to murder him but pauses to read a note the lawyer has written before falling asleep...
The banker took the page from the table and read as follows:
“Gotcha!"
With a lurch of surprise, the banker jostled the skeleton in the chair next to him. The head came off with a dry, crispy crunch and rolled across the floor as if it were nothing more than a rotten cabbage. In fact, it bore more similarities to a cabbage than to the head of a human. From its torn neck, text-covered paper protruded-- the yellowed pages of an old book. The banker’s hands sprang to his mouth as realization hit, and with growing dismay, he examined the “man” in the chair more closely. The “man” was not the lawyer, not even a man at all, but a carefully constructed paper mache reproduction.
The banker opened his mouth, made his choice, and lived a long, unhappy life.
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Hope it helped u