Bet!!
We all are willing to bet with someone at least once in our lifetime. We bet at school that who will get more marks in the class test, who will run faster among us, who will write more in less time.
But,do you ever think that only a bet can change a person's whole life. "The Bet" is a very amazing story of a young lawyer and a banker written by Anton Chekhov.
The story tells us about the value of money, life and time and many more things which you will discover when you read it.
The story starts with a Bankers house, the banker is walking up and down and thinking about what happened 15 years ago.
He organised a party at his house,where so many clever people are there, many interesting conversation was going well. One topic of them was that a person should be given capital punishment or life imprisonment for a crime he performed.
Many votes raised on both the sides ,One of them, a young lawyer of about 25 said that both the punishment are equally immoral but if he was given a choice to choose one of them then he would definitely choose life imprisonment, because he thinks that living anyhow was better than not at all.
The Banker then started an argument and offered a bet of two million rubles,which was a very great amount at that time but not for the banker.
The lawyer accepted the bet and also said that he can live not five but fifteen years in solitary confinement.
And the senseless bet was carried out.
At supper, the banker is taunting the lawyer and saying him to think again for the bet,because the lawyer would lose two or three of his best years according to the banker.
And according to the rules of the bet,if the lawyer even tried to escape from the prison then he will lose his two million rubles.
And then the story shifts in real time, the banker is walking to and fro and thinking that what was the object of that bet? Can the lawyer prove that death penalty was better or worse than imprisonment for life?
The banker then tells himself that the bet was accepted and given only for his fun and the greed for money by the lawyer.
Then the banker remembered what was decided that night. The lawyer would stay in a lodge at the banker's garden and in the strictest supervision.
He should allowed to have a musical instrument,to books which he wants, to drink wine and to smoke, he can order anything he wanted in the room by writing a letter and the only contact he has with the outer world was a little window from where he receives anything he wanted.
The only condition was that he could not meet with any human, could not hear any voices for years, could not leave the room.
The bet was started from twelve o'clock of 14th November 1870 and ending at 14th November 1885. The banker also wanted to know that the lawyer will survive or will die soon.
For the first year the lawyer suffered from extreme loneliness and depression. Sounds of piano are heard continuously day and night from his lodge,he refused wine because wine excites desires and desires are the worst enemy of a prisoner.
And it would be horrifying to drink good wine and getting drunken and seeing no one and he didn't consume cigarette because it made the air inside the lodge hard to breathe.
The books banker has sent to him were of light character and the novel are filled with immense complicated love plots, sensational and fantastic stories and many more.
In the second year, the piano he used to play was stopped and the lawyer asked only for classics.
In the fifth year, the music was audible again and finally he asked for some wine.
Some people watched the lawyer from the window and said that all those years he did nothing but eating, drinking and lying on the bed and most of the time of the day yawning and angrily talking to himself.
He didn't read books, sometimes he would sit down at night to write something and spent hours in that and tear up everything he has written on the morning. And heard crying most of the time.
The prisoner got enormous interest in reading languages, literature, philosophy and history in the middle half of the sixth year, He read six hundred books in 4 years.
Those days the banker received a letter in which the lawyer has written something in six different languages and told the banker to show those lines to the people who knew it and shoot a fire in his garden is they were all correct so that the lawyer confirm that all of his hardwork would not be wasted.
The banker ordered to fire two shots in the garden that night.
After tenth year the prisoner sat immovably at the table and read nothing but a gospel. The banker was confused that a person who finishes six hundred books in 4 years, takes one year to complete a thin gospel.
During the last two years of the lawyer's imprisonment, he read incredible amount of books. In the letter he wrote to the banker for books are filled with different types of books at once.
He ordered books of philosophy, religion, chemistry, medicine and many others which are completely different from each other.
The banker was old now and remembered all this and thinking that tomorrow at twelve o'clock the lawyer will be free and regain his freedom and two million rubles as decided.
The banker was thinking that if he pays him two million rubles then he will be completely destroyed because now the banker was thinking that which are greater his assets or liabilities.
Years ago he was a millionaire,but due to his gambling in stock market and other places and wild speculation had ruined him.
The banker was expressing sincere regret and telling himself that a "cursed bet" I gave, the lawyer was forty years old only, why didn't the old man died? He will now enjoy his two million rubles and I'll envy him like a beggar.
The banker was thinking too much and worrying more than that and finally he came to a decision that to prevent myself from bankruptcy and my self respect, the lawyer have to die.
It was three o'clock in the night, the banker make sure that everyone in the home was sleeping and only the sounds of chilled trees outside are audible, the banker took the keys of the door which was opened fifteen years ago.
It was a dark and cold night and raining outside, the banker shouted so that if the watchman was awakening or not but the watchman didn't responded.
The banker moved silently to the lodge in his garden and looked at the rusting lock hanging at the door which was not opened from fifteen years.
When the banker entered the lodge, he saw that a dim candel was burning at the lodge and the lawyer was sitting at the table ,nothing could be seen only the back, hair on the head and hands of the prisoner,open books on the table.
Five minutes passed and the lawyer didn't moved at all, the banker knocked at the window but the lawyer was still.
When the banker came close to him he saw that the lawyer who was only forty now but looking very old, he was a skeleton now with his skin sticked to his bones, his cheeks were hollow, his back was long and narrow, his hairs are of silver colour, he was lied on the table and a paper was placed in the table in fine handwriting .
The banker took the paper and started reading what's inside it, the letter was written to the banker the lawyer wrote that tomorrow at twelve o'clock he will regain his freedom and finally he can meet with people after fifteen years but he wants to tell the banker that,
This is true that I didn't saw anything in fifteen years neither people nor animals but in books that you've given me, I've drunk a lot of good quality wine, I've sung songs, I've gone hunting, I've fall in love with beautiful women.
In your books I climbed mountains, I've seen greenery everywhere, forests, oceans, seen various towns and rivers, conquered many kingdom.
I've gain a lot of wisdom and knowledge which I never knew if I was outside, you probably have been very tense tomorrow due to my freedom and may be you enjoyed your freedom by travelling a lot of places, eating anything you want and many more things but believe me, I'm way happier than you now.
The lawyer wrote that he now understands the true meaning of life and the two million rubles for which I accepted the bet, I don't need them and to keep the bet I'll run away from your Lodge five hours ago.
After reading this the banker kissed the lawyers forehead and leaved the lodge weeping hardly. His guilt doesn't allow him to sleep, on the next morning the watchman came to him running and said that the lawyer has escaped.
The story ends here leaving a many great lessons. The first thing is the author wants to tell us the importance of books and the pleasure they gave us, the banker was free but he didn't enjoyed his freedom completely whereas the lawyer was trapped in a prison but enjoyed everything he has with the help of books. He can barely survive if he doesn't have any books.
The second thing the story tells us that you cannot take anything from a person which you cannot return him. The lawyer lost his fifteen irrecoverable years due to the bet of the banker.
Third thing the author describes is that the greed for anything is destructive. The lawyer was greedy for two million rubles and the banker became blind in his bet.
The fourth and final thing which I understand is that time heals everything. During the first year, the lawyer was very disturbed but with time he understands how to stay alone.
This is the full summary of the story"The Bet" by Anton Chekhov. I hope you liked it,please tell me in the comments which was your favourite part of the story and what did you get from the story.
If you want to read the actual story then here is the PDF of the story:-
THANKS FOR READING:)
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