The Bet: And Other Stories (Tale Blazers)
by Anton Chekhov
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A classic collection of tales by the acclaimed Russian playwright and author universally recognized as a master of the modern short story.In "The Bet," partygoers strike up a debate regarding the humanity of capital punishment versus life imprisonment, which causes a two-million-ruble wager to be struck between a lawyer and a banker.Tags
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Which would you prefer: Execution or life imprisonment?
Picture: Raven on a gallows from www.videoblocks.com
Whether you would prefer death to life imprisonment may depend on many things: whether you’re guilty, and if not, how much you trust the appeals system; your health and how old you are; and what the prison conditions are like.
This fascinating little allegory starts with intellectual party guests comparing the relative morality of capital punishment with life imprisonment:
“Execution kills instantly, life-imprisonment kills by degrees.”
A young lawyer boldly claims “It’s better to live somehow than not to live at all.”
If everyone thought that, vets would never put pets “to sleep” and euthanasia for humans would not show more be an issue. But he puts his money where his mouth is: if he can endure fifteen years of solitary confinement, he’ll win two million from his host.
What Price Happiness?
Although the lawyer is allowed no human contact, not even to hear a human voice, he can request (on paper) any amount of food, wine, tobacco, books - and a piano. That doesn’t sound so bad - for two million reward, on which he could live comfortably thereafter.
But what about the host? He might possibly lose a lot of money, but if not, what will he gain? Will anyone have their minds changed?
Knowledge
Picture: The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Pieter Paul Rubens
The lawyer’s requests change dramatically. Some years he barely reads, but others
“He read as though he were swimming in the sea among the broken pieces of wreckage, and in his desire to save his life was eagerly grasping one piece after another.”
His changing choices reflect his mood and mindset, or vice versa. He acquires vast knowledge, but will that be a blessing or a curse?
Read it to find out.
Quick, Free, Worthwhile Read
This story is free to read on Gutenberg, with other Checkov short stories: HERE. This particular story will take you barely ten minutes to read, but you’ll be thinking about it long after.
Thanks to Kevin for pointing me to this. show less
Picture: Raven on a gallows from www.videoblocks.com
Whether you would prefer death to life imprisonment may depend on many things: whether you’re guilty, and if not, how much you trust the appeals system; your health and how old you are; and what the prison conditions are like.
This fascinating little allegory starts with intellectual party guests comparing the relative morality of capital punishment with life imprisonment:
“Execution kills instantly, life-imprisonment kills by degrees.”
A young lawyer boldly claims “It’s better to live somehow than not to live at all.”
If everyone thought that, vets would never put pets “to sleep” and euthanasia for humans would not show more be an issue. But he puts his money where his mouth is: if he can endure fifteen years of solitary confinement, he’ll win two million from his host.
What Price Happiness?
Although the lawyer is allowed no human contact, not even to hear a human voice, he can request (on paper) any amount of food, wine, tobacco, books - and a piano. That doesn’t sound so bad - for two million reward, on which he could live comfortably thereafter.
But what about the host? He might possibly lose a lot of money, but if not, what will he gain? Will anyone have their minds changed?
Knowledge
Picture: The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Pieter Paul Rubens
The lawyer’s requests change dramatically. Some years he barely reads, but others
“He read as though he were swimming in the sea among the broken pieces of wreckage, and in his desire to save his life was eagerly grasping one piece after another.”
His changing choices reflect his mood and mindset, or vice versa. He acquires vast knowledge, but will that be a blessing or a curse?
Read it to find out.
Quick, Free, Worthwhile Read
This story is free to read on Gutenberg, with other Checkov short stories: HERE. This particular story will take you barely ten minutes to read, but you’ll be thinking about it long after.
Thanks to Kevin for pointing me to this. show less
This story is part of the collection of Chekhov's short stories, [b:The Bet and Other Stories|1166861|The Bet and Other Stories|Anton Chekhov|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1365663005l/1166861._SX50_.jpg|14186847].
This story was written during the rise of fascism and persecution of non-Russians, which may have influenced it, including the prisoner's rejection of societal values. As in many of his stories he explores the human condition, the meaning of existence, and our capacity for joy. And, as in most, we are left with some ambiguity as to what Chekhov thinks. One of the reasons I like him so much is that he provokes and leaves the moral judgment for us, the burden perhaps.
I wish I could have show more met him. show less
This story was written during the rise of fascism and persecution of non-Russians, which may have influenced it, including the prisoner's rejection of societal values. As in many of his stories he explores the human condition, the meaning of existence, and our capacity for joy. And, as in most, we are left with some ambiguity as to what Chekhov thinks. One of the reasons I like him so much is that he provokes and leaves the moral judgment for us, the burden perhaps.
I wish I could have show more met him. show less
This story had left an impact on me when I read it the first time. Having read this story in my school days I realized the perception has changed so much. There has been a development of an understanding of beings and their behavior in these 15 years. Eccentric, thought-provoking, 10 min read that stays with you for a long time.
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2,705+ Works 45,109 Members
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born in the provincial town of Taganrog, Ukraine, in 1860. In the mid-1880s, Chekhov became a physician, and shortly thereafter he began to write short stories. Chekhov started writing plays a few years later, mainly short comic sketches he called vaudvilles. The first collection of his humorous writings, Motley show more Stories, appeared in 1886, and his first play, Ivanov, was produced in Moscow the next year. In 1896, the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg performed his first full- length drama, The Seagull. Some of Chekhov's most successful plays include The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya, and Three Sisters. Chekhov brought believable but complex personalizations to his characters, while exploring the conflict between the landed gentry and the oppressed peasant classes. Chekhov voiced a need for serious, even revolutionary, action, and the social stresses he described prefigured the Communist Revolution in Russia by twenty years. He is considered one of Russia's greatest playwrights. Chekhov contracted tuberculosis in 1884, and was certain he would die an early death. In 1901, he married Olga Knipper, an actress who had played leading roles in several of his plays. Chekhov died in 1904, spending his final years in Yalta. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 891.733 — Literature & rhetoric Literatures of other languages East Indo-European and Celtic literatures Russian and East Slavic languages Russian fiction 1800–1917
- LCC
- PG3456 .A15 — Language and Literature Slavic languages and literatures. Baltic languages. Albanian language Slavic. Baltic. Albanian Russian literature Individual authors and works 1870-1917 Chekhov
- BISAC
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- English
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- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
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