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However, the story is constructed with an important, ironic twist that brings the reader back to the original context of the bet (if the lawyer could endure solitary confinement for fifteen years), and presents an unexpected result. One can ultimately see that Anton Chekhov presents the readers with two different paths in the story. One path is that of an old banker who refuses to face his own morality and the other is the lawyer (prisoner) who is a younger man in his mid-twenties facing his own morality, but falls into despair because he is so disconnected from the outside world even after gaining extensive amounts of knowledge during his fifteen years in solitary confinement. These two characters may thrive on change, but they both alter their own human values in several significant
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The lawyer's character completely transforms from being an arrogant young man, to a feeble, cynical, yet more intelligent man. In the beginning of the story, he is presented to the reader by his boastful comments. The lawyer is staunchly unwilling to back down from his opinion of the death penalty and boldly bets fifteen years of his life on it. This is discovered when he says, "If you mean it seriously, then I bet I'll stay not five but fifteen"(412). This shows how strong this character really is. He not only says what he believes, but backs it up with action. The continuing characteristic of the lawyer's strength is shown towards the end of the story when he decides not to accept the two million and escape from his imprisonment moments just five hours before he's free to go. This resolution is presented when the lawyer says, "That I may deprive myself of my right to them [two million dollars], I shall come out from here five minutes before the stipulated term, and thus shall violate the agreement"(416). Therefore, the lawyer's value of human life increases due to the fact that he realizes he resents the world and all its materialism, and the knowledge he acquired over the years has made him a more intelligent man. The fifteen-year bet gave him a whole new perspective of the value of freedom and
The lawyer's character completely transforms from being an arrogant young man, to a feeble, cynical, yet more intelligent man. In the beginning of the story, he is presented to the reader by his boastful comments. The lawyer is staunchly unwilling to back down from his opinion of the death penalty and boldly bets fifteen years of his life on it. This is discovered when he says, "If you mean it seriously, then I bet I'll stay not five but fifteen"(412). This shows how strong this character really is. He not only says what he believes, but backs it up with action. The continuing characteristic of the lawyer's strength is shown towards the end of the story when he decides not to accept the two million and escape from his imprisonment moments just five hours before he's free to go. This resolution is presented when the lawyer says, "That I may deprive myself of my right to them [two million dollars], I shall come out from here five minutes before the stipulated term, and thus shall violate the agreement"(416). Therefore, the lawyer's value of human life increases due to the fact that he realizes he resents the world and all its materialism, and the knowledge he acquired over the years has made him a more intelligent man. The fifteen-year bet gave him a whole new perspective of the value of freedom and