THE WRITE WAY
In preparation for the Advanced Placement Exam in Literature and Composition, AP students were assigned to write an essay of literary criticism.
Following is one of the best essays in response to the question, "How does the lawyer in Anton Chekhov's short story, "The Bet, " change by the end of his imprisonment? "
A New Beginning In Chekhov's The Bet
By Harmony Matos
"The Bet," written by Anton Chekhov, is a story told as a flashback. In this story, we meet a lawyer who is about twenty-five years old. After an argument over life imprisonment and the death penalty, the lawyer agrees to take a bet with a banker. The lawyer believes "any life is better than none at all" and will try to prove his point by confining himself to a room for fifteen years. If the lawyer goes through with the bet, the banker will have to pay him two million dollars. Throughout the fifteen years the lawyer is locked up, we see him change from a materialistic person who loves life to someone who is enlightened and hates the world. Two phases the lawyer goes through are: trying to find ways to entertain himself and reading intellectual books to expand his knowledge.
When the lawyer first went into prison, he suffered terribly from boredom and loneliness. He spent plenty of time playing the piano. He refused tobacco and wine, but read many books. He asked for novels with complicated love plots, crime fiction, fantastic tales and comedies. The following year, the lawyer asked for wine. He no longer read books and seemed very angry at times. The lawyer was also heard weeping on several occasions. Towards the end of the sixth year,

we begin to see a change in what interested the lawyer and how he spent his time. The prisoner devoted himself to studying languages, philosophy and history. During this time of imprisonment, he requested nearly six hundred volumes. After the tenth year, the lawyer only read the Gospels. Afterwards, he read the history of Religion and Theology. The lawyer spent his last two years in prison reading books. He asked for Natural Science, Chemistry, Medical textbooks, Shakespeare, Byron and theological treatises.
As we flashback to watch the lawyer during his fifteen year incarceration, we slowly witness a change in him. He goes from playing music and reading novels to drinking wine and reading the classics. Then he goes from feeling sorry for himself and crying often to reading everything he can about history and languages. Finally, he goes from reading the Gospels to reading about Natural Science and Philosophy.
When we are brought back to the present, it is the day before the lawyer will be released. The banker does not want to lose two million dollars, so he decides to kill the lawyer. When the banker gets into the lawyer's room, he finds a letter that shows us how much the lawyer has changed from the beginning of the story. In the beginning of the letter, the lawyer says, "With a clear and conscience, and as God is my witness, I declare I despise freedom, life, health and everything that those books of yours call blessings of this world." He also says, "everything is worthless...you may be proud, wise and handsome, but death will sweep you under the floor boards." This is when we begin to see a change in the way the lawyer thinks and feels.
As we read the rest of the lawyer's letter, we are convinced that he would not give the same response to the argument he had fif-

teen years ago about life imprisonment and the death penalty. The lawyer states that after reading many books, he has acquired much wisdom and he knows that he's cleverer than most people. Toward the banker and the world, the lawyer now feels that "you've lost all reason and are on the wrong path. You mistake lies for truth and ugliness for beauty." He is also "amazed at you people who have exchanged heaven for earth." The lawyer no longer wants to be part of society. In fact, he is so disgusted by humans and the way they live that he doesn't even want to understand them.
At the end of his letter, the lawyer rejects the two million dollars to show us that he despises what people live by. He say's, "I renounce the two million I once dreamed of, as though of paradise, but for which I feel contempt now." This shows us that the lawyer had once cherished material things, but after spending years in prison, he eventually realized the insignificance of money. The banker, on the other hand, does not change at all during the fifteen years. After reading the lawyer's letter, the banker takes it and puts it in a fireproof safe just in case any unnecessary disputes arise. The banker remains a greedy person who only feels temporary contempt for himself.
At the beginning of "The Bet", we are introduced to a stubborn lawyer who will throw away fifteen years of his life to get two million dollars. During his imprisonment, he starts off playing the piano and suffering from loneliness. Next, he begins drinking wine and studying Languages, Philosophy and History. Finally, the lawyer reads the Gospels and studies Natural Science, theological treatises and Chemistry. By the end of the story, the lawyer becomes a religious man who frees himself from prison and the illusions of material needs.