The Bet-Short story

                               The Bet 

 Anton Chekhov became the father of the modern short story because of a key secret weapon. He wasn't just a writer, but in fact was also a full-time practicing doctor, the smarty-pants. Why would being a doctor be the secret ingredient to his special writing sauce? Because Chekhov brought the same kind of detached, objective, non-judgmental flavor to his fiction that he used when trying to get the bottom of his patients' problems. 

By taking out all the authorial heavy-handedness that was all the rage with his fellow 19th-century realists Chekhov made the short story a totally distinct thing from the novel. Instead of being shown examples of what to do and what not to do, Chekhov's readers got totally unbiased, straight-up slices of life instead. No pointing out good guys and bad guys, no overbearing voice laying out the meaning of everything. Instead? Just smooth and laconic narration that would leave more questions than answers.

And so, in 1889, he wrote "The Bet," a story about a banker and a lawyer who make a totally loopy wager—whether one of them could stay in solitary confinement for fifteen years in exchange for two million rubles. We won't say any more but… there is a twist ending. It's a super short, crazy deep little number that's all about the simple things.

If you really want to enjoy the story than dont go through this summery and read by yourself. Its open ended story and made the readers think.  But if you dont have time than enjoy this.

PLOT OVERVIEW

Fifteen years ago, a banker threw a shindig in which he bet a young lawyer two million rubles that the lawyer couldn't stay in solitary confinement for five years. The lawyer raised the stakes to fifteen years, and holed up in a guesthouse on the banker's estate. He's had no contact with any humans during this time, but has been able to read all the books he could want.

 The lawyer's reading has ranged from novels to philosophy and languages to religious texts to a confusing mishmash. What can we say? The dude has had some time on his hands.

Now, the fifteen years is almost up and the banker is worried that if he has to pay the two million large, he'll be bankrupt. Solution? He opts to ice the lawyer. So he sneaks up on the lawyer, who's fast asleep. Just as he is about to kill the dude, the banker finds a note that explains that through his reading the lawyer has come to totally reject the material world. It turns out he's planning on throwing the bet on purpose by leaving five hours early. The banker kisses the lawyer's head, cries, and leaves. The next day, the guards report that the lawyer bailed early. The banker takes the letter and puts it into his safe.