The Bet

1173 Words3 Pages

The primary theme within all of the recently read short stories have been about unnecessary imprisonments and faith in self, god, truth and knowledge. The story that is the most impactful in my opinion is “The Bet.” In this story a lawyer makes a three million dollar bet with a banker that he cannot last for 15 years in prison. This bet is created as a result of a discussion surrounding capital punishment. There are two primary characters within the story, the banker and the lawyer. The banker is more of a flat character because it is known that he feels he is going to be correct, and later, when he learns that he may be in the wrong, he gets very nervous and angry showing the reader that he is most likely very self centered. The lawyer, however, in the progression of the story is very dynamic in his character. This lawyer begins as a man who seems confident in himself. After the bet is made he starts to feel a little unsure of himself and his feeling of self worth seemingly goes down drastically. Even though this is true he does not admit these things to the banker and into prison he travels. Within his first year of imprisonment he becomes very lonely and very isolated and becomes fairly depressed. He is aware that this is not permanent but he also knows that 15 years is an incredibly long time and within this years is his chance to come to terms with himself in regards to the bet. He begins playing piano to help himself cope with the stress of his situation. In the second year he requests books and stops playing music. By the fifth year the lawyer returns to his music making and he decides to ask for wine, which before he had refused because it had seemed like a taste of freedom to him and he wanted to remain true to his... ... middle of paper ... ... more of a man like the banker was. The banker becomes more like the lawyer as well. The lawyer now is more conceited and self loving than he was when he was first entombed in prison. All aspects of the story help create a strong image in the mind of any reader. All of the details of the characters and how they interact with one another and how they change are vital to the emotional connection of the reader to the story. The manner in which the story is told is also significant to the design and delivery of the story. Both men in the story learned about self, ego and forgiveness. Both men walk away damaged even if it is not fully noticed by either or both party. Part of the strength of the story is derived from the point of view from which it is told. The point of view provides a relatively third person view on the situation absent of as much bias as possible.

Show More
Related

  • Contents of the dead mans pocket

    409 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the story, “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket,” the main character is Tom Benecke. As the story progresses, he is faced with many decisions. He is forced to act quickly and because of this, many things about him change. In the story, Tom is ambitious, self-centered, and impatient. These three traits change significantly throughout the story.

    Read More

  • The Catcher in the Rye: J.D. Salinger

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    he comes terms with himself and realizes that the fantasy of being the catcher of the rye

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Jurors in 12 Angry Men

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    As time goes on he becomes more and more passionate and seems to be somehow personally involved with the case. At one point, he tells the other jurors about an argument between him and his son. Juror 3 and his son had an argument which made his son run away. When his son returned to apologize, Juror 3 hit him for leaving the first time thus leading him to run away once more. He has not seen his son in two years and this has left him somewhat bitter inside. His anger toward his supposed ungrateful son is projected toward the young man on trial. Juror 3 has no concern for the life of the defendant. He makes it clear that he would have been an executioner and would have pulled the switch on the boy himself. His personal troubles have imposed on his ability to come to a verdict.

    Read More

  • John Adams: A Brief Biography

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout his life Adams continued to teach school during the day and study law at night. He studied John Putnam’s law and when the time came to present him to the bar, Putnam failed to accompany him. Jeremiah Gridley, another lawyer, recommended Adams. Finally Adams was admitted to the bar in 1758. Adams focused hard on his studies of law and followed Gridley’s advice not to marry early. When the town heard Adams was a lawyer, they offered him a job of town register of deeds if would set up in town as a lawyer. Adams rejected their offer and returned to Braintree. The first case Adams took was two neighbors feuding for years. Adams client lost the first case, but his client decided to file an appeal called a writ. Turns out he had only lost the case becaus...

    Read More

  • Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare, A Comical Story of Misunderstanding and Funny Feuds

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...tances and overall stories may be different, but the way that a utterance of a few words changed both of our lives is what we have in common. Hero was shamed, framed, and convicted of losing her virtue by the words of her fiancé, Claudio, who believed it was true. She had no voice in the matter, but since Claudio had already suggested this untrue act, Hero didn't stand a chance. Everything was already said and done. For me, when my father frantically yelled to me of my dog being hit by a car, it felt in my gut, like a spiral of doom, as cheesy as that sounds, it felt as though I swallowed a stone and I could feel it stop in my throat, and then drop down into my stomach. Hard, cold and heavy, the stone weighed me down for weeks after. These words could not be unsaid, as the act could not be undone. It was like a tattoo, etched into me, and it always will be with me.

    Read More

  • Why Bartleby Cannot Be Reached

    1780 Words  | 4 Pages

    While Herman Melville’s lawyer in "Bartleby, the Scrivener" appears to have undergone a significant change in character by the story’s completion, the fact remains that the story is told through (the lawyer’s) first-person point-of-view. This choice of narration allows the lawyer not only to mislead the reader, but also to color himself as lawful and just. In the lawyer’s estimate, the reader is to view him as having not only made an effort to "save" Bartleby, but as a man who has himself changed for the good, ethically speaking. What the lawyer fails to acknowledge in his retelling of events is his inability to communicate with Bartleby not because of Bartleby’s shortcomings, but because of his own. The lawyer’s perception of "man" is tainted, for he does not view people as individuals, but as tools -- as possessing a usefulness and/or function. He is not attempting to reach the soul of a man; rather, he is attempting to exploit the use of a machine.

    Read More

  • The Struggle for Power and Control Between Bartleby and The Lawyer

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    We as human beings assume we have our lives under control and we can exert some power over the situations in our lives. The Lawyer believed in a natural assumption of having the power and control over what he considered a lower less sophisticated class of humanity hence his employees in this story. Bartleby created a situation for the Lawyer he has never experienced before. The Lawyer learns in the end after Bartleby’s death that his rules of society may not be right for all of humanity.

    Read More

  • Bartleby the Scrivener A Strange Relationship

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    After a series of requests from the narrator that all end in noncompliance, Bartleby shifts his focus from the intensive copying of documents to simply doing nothing at all. This, of course, is a kind of obsession that is not acceptable in the modern work force, and can not feasibly be tolerated by the narrator. As the agent of punishment, the narrator is at this point stuck with making the decision to either sympathize with Bartleby, or lose his professional reputation. In a final attempt to clear his conscience, the lawyer proffers both alternate employment options, and temporary housing arrangements. Once again, all efforts on the part of the narrator to offer genuine help are rebuffed, and the narrator at last "proposes to remove his offices next week.

    Read More

  • Foreshadowing in A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor

    282 Words  | 1 Pages

    In conclusion, it is hard to grasp the true meaning of the story unless the story is read a second time because of the author's style of writing.

    Read More

  • Marigolds By Anton Chekhov Analysis

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both Elizabeth and the lawyer have very similar personalities. In the short story Marigolds, Elizabeth was very poor and her family could not provide as well as others could. The lawyer, in The Bet, on the other hand was in the middle class yet still felt as if he needed more money, just as Elizabeth

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    The narrator allows Sonny to move into his apartment. By allowing Sonny to live with him he has allowed to trust him again. For example, the narrator explains, “The idea of searching Sonny’s room made me still. I scarcely dared to admit to myself what I’d be searching for. I didn’t know what I’d do if I found it. Or if I didn’t” (pg. 91). This shows how the narrator had the opportunity to search his brother’s room, but had the ability not to. Tension grew among brothers while living under one roof. This starts the climax of both arguing in the apartment. The narrator doesn’t understand why his brother wants to be a musician. This argument was built of emotion both had and not yet discussed among each other. Such as the narrator expressing his anger towards his brother’s drug use and Sonny’s frustration towards the narrator not understanding his plan to become a jazz musician. For example, the narrator states, “I realized, with this mocking look, that there stood between us, forever, beyond the power of time or forgiveness, the fact that I had held silence – so long! – when he had needed human speech to help him” (pg.94). The argument with his brother made him realize that he abandon his younger brother when he needed him the most. He realized that if he would have spoken out and talk about his drug use that he wouldn’t have to go

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The King Of Torts By John Grisham

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    Quickly he is transformed into a mass tort lawyer and earns high salaries. The successful job that given by Pace to him, looked like a dream. He couldn't believe he will be able to open his own firm, gain public recognition and rise in the eyes of his old friends from his old law firm.

    Read More

  • Those Who Walk Away From Omelas Rhetorical Analysis

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    The narrator often includes the reader in the story by asking questions the readers have to answer for themselves, and eventually placing herself in the same position as the reader. The question is clear for the reader, but the answer is not. They have to decide if it is possible, to find their happiness despite the guilt and sorrow. If it is not, the reader will recognize that leaving won’t solve the real problem and they will have to take their guilt with them. Ultimately the choice between the two will be made, whether the reader chooses to leave or to stay is entirely up to

    Read More

  • The Bet

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the years the short story has been used for numerous reasons. Whether it be passing down culture from generation to generation, or simply the task of trying to teach a lesson, the short story rarely falls short. The Bet is no exception. It shows a number of things, the development of a character, the change over time, a spiritual lesson and a lesson that could be useful to anyone. Some of these things writers take volumes to achieve, but Chekhov manages to do them in just a few short pages.

    Read More

  • The Bet

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    This short story effectively analyzes the elements of a short story with the developments of the two main characters, the place, social conditions, the plot, the conflict and the theme. The point of view in the first part of the story is weak; although the second part of the story is clear who is going through the motions.

    Read More

More about The Bet

Open Document