Understanding The Characterization Of The Banker And The Lawyer In Anton Chekov’s Short Story The Bet
The banker’s comments and actions on the night of the party reveals about his personality that he is very short- tempered as he banged his fist on the table once the lawyer said he agreed upon the assumption of “it’s better to live somehow than not to live at all. ” Also, he can be considered as very responsive because once the lawyer said that, he immediately made the bet, claiming that the lawyer wouldn’t last for five years. However, he later realizes that this bet would not contribute anything or convince people that capital punishment is worse or better than imprisonment for life. So, the banker has an extremely capricious personality as well as easily agitated.
The description of the way in which the banker squandered his fortune conveys about his character that he acts on his first impulse rather than considering the consequences of his decision. For example, the bet initiated by the banker reveals that he basically wasted his two million dollars upon nothing. He started this bet just because he wanted to prove the lawyer wrong. Thus, this reveals that the banker does not consider the long-term and that he can be very capricious.
The banker’s solution to his dilemma reveal about his personality that he is sinister because once was he was bankrupt due to his immense debts, he had become an ordinary banker. Therefore, he thinks that the only escape from giving the lawyer his money is to murder him and blame the watchman for it. The banker cannot afford to maintain his deal of two million dollars; thus, the banker’s solution to his dilemma indicates that he has a sinister personality.
The banker’s decision to lock the lawyer’s letter in a safe conveys an ironic reversal in his character. When the banker realized that the lawyer no longer wants the blessings of this world, he felt contempt for himself and kissed the lawyer on the head and wept as a result. However, once the watchman reported that the lawyer had disappeared, he hid the paper and locked it in his safe to evade unnecessary rumors. Thus, the banker’s decision to lock the lawyer’s letter in a safe conveys an ironic reversal about his character.
The description of the lawyer’s physical appearance on the last night of his imprisonment reveals about his character that he had been tremendously afflicted by the burden of life-imprisonment. The author describes him as a “skeleton”, “sunken”, “lean”, “skinny”, and “emaciated” to convey that he is very weak and in a critical condition. Also, the author describes him with a “shaggy beard”, indicating that he couldn’t even trim and stay clean during these years. No one would have believed that he was only forty as his physical appearance conveyed a sense of a feeble old person. Hence, the description of the lawyer’s physical appearance on the las night of his imprisonment reveals that he has been terribly suffering from the life- imprisonment that he had once argued for.
The lawyer’s letter reveals about his characters that he may have enjoyed life before; however, on his clear conscience, he now despises the blessings of this world. Through the books he has read, and the wisdom he has attained, the lawyer realizes that everything in this world is ephemeral and delusive as a “mirage. ” He also further mentioned that the two million dollars that he once thought was paradise was nothing to him in the present moment. It is evident that he despises this as he planned to violate the agreement by coming out five minutes before the stipulated time. Therefore, this letter reveals that he is no longer willing of the blessings of this world and he has become indifferent and apathetic.
Other techniques that Chekov might have used to convey the lawyer’s thoughts are the flashbacks of the note instead of the actual moment in the story of reading the note might add more suspense to the story in a way that the banker is recalling the lawyer’s feelings and how he feels contempt for himself. In this way, the lawyer’s thoughts would be conveyed while maintaining a limited point of view and it would be more suspenseful as well.
The banker’s own attitudes and beliefs shape his impressions of how the lawyer will respond to winning the bet in a way that the banker believes that the lawyer will be satisfied with his money and the banker’s avarice for wealth is the reason. He always thought that the lawyer chose fifteen years of capital punishment due to his greed for gold. So, how the banker’s description of how the lawyer would react to winning is actually he would in the first place. However, he realizes that the lawyer proved him wrong in the end.
Toward the end of the story, the banker projects his own feelings onto the lawyer when he imagines that the lawyer is “dreaming of those millions” because he believes that the lawyer’s ultimate goal is the money that even he visualizes in his dreams. However, he’s the one who is concerned about giving away the two million dollars that he is willing to kill the lawyer in order to save his money.
