Analyze conflict in the short story "the bet" by anton p. chekhov

In "The Bet", by Anton P. Chekhov, the external conflict of character vs. character is between the lawyer and the banker. Both think they are right and are willing to bet years of life and a large amount of money to demonstrate it. Therefore, the conflict exhibits the beliefs and personalities of the characters: while the banker is impulsive, bored and careless with money, the young lawyer is sure that money is a good reason for solitary confinement.

On the other hand, the lawyer goes through internal conflict because it is hard for him to be confined within the garden wing of the banker's house. In that respect, he cannot see anyone or leave. As a result, he must defeat his distress and mental suffering to reach his goal of fifteen years in the cell.

The short story ‘The Bet’ speaks about the exterior conflict which then takes the shape of an inner-conflict in both the characters of the banker and the lawyer. The conflict changes them as the people that they are. They both realize the futility of the world and the greed that they each hold.

Further Explanation:  

“The Bet” is a short story written by Anton P. Chekov in 1889. In this story, the two main characters that are present are a lawyer and a banker. The conflict in the story can be analyzed in two folds. In a party hosted by the banker, the people gathered to talk about the pros and cons of capital punishment. The theme of conflict is very much prevalent throughout the story. The first instance of the conflict can be seen in the opinion that is held by the banker and the lawyer. The lawyer is of the opinion that it is a million times better that a person gets to live even if he has to live behind the bars serving the punishment of life imprisonment. However, the banker is of the opinion that such a life gives only slow death to a person and is crueler, and thus a person should be sentenced to capital punishment. This exterior conflict takes the shape of a bet between the lawyer and the banker. In it, the lawyer bets that he will live in a confined space for fifteen years and as a winning prize he will win two million from the banker. The bet is agreed upon and the lawyer lives in confinement for fifteen years.  

The conflict after the confinement of the lawyer becomes internal in nature. He is seen to be struggling with his solitude and is uncertain about what gives him peace. At the end, he finds solace in reading books which make him aware of the sins and the inhumanity that the human sphere is filled with. By the end, he does not even see the meaning of winning the two million and decides to lose the bet and renounce the material and cruel world. On the other hand, the banker suffers from his own inner-conflict as the time for the lawyer’s freedom approaches. Suffering from bankruptcy sinister thoughts of killing the lawyer takes over the banker.  

Antony Chekov thus makes portrays how the exterior as well as interior conflict changed and shattered the two men in his story.

Learn more:

1. How do the images of travel in part 46 of "song of myself" contribute to the poem’s theme?

2. How should the sentence above be rewritten to correct the subject-verb agreement error?

Answer Details:  

Grade: Senior School

Subject: English Literature

Chapter: The Bet by Anton P. Chekov

Keywords: short story, Anton P. Chekov, bet, banker, lawyer, capital punishment, confinement, inner-conflict, inhumanity, cruel, change, shattered.