Chekhov’s writing style in “The Bet” is literal and minimalist, though it does feature some figurative flourishes. As Chekhov’s primary aim with this story is to tackle an enormous philosophical question in just a few pages, he does not take the time to describe the interior of the banker’s house or what his life has been like over the 15 years during which the story takes place. Chekhov's aims are clear: to help readers understand how the bet came to be (which he does through the use of a flashback), give them a general sense of what the intervening 15 years have been like for both men, and then spend the rest of the story building tension as the bet comes to a close.
Because of the structure of the story (Part 1: establish the context, Part 2: build tension), Chekhov’s use of imagery and other types of figurative language primarily occur in the second half of the story. This is his way of helping readers understand that the stakes have changed; what started as a simple bet now weighs heavily on both men. In order to convey the stress the banker feels about losing all of his money to the lawyer and the disillusionment the lawyer feels about money, art, and life itself, Chekhov’s writing style begins to become more complex and emotional.
For example, here is how Chekhov captures the lawyer in Part 1 of the story when he is making the bet:
Among the company was a lawyer, a young man of about twenty-five. On being asked his opinion, he said: “Capital punishment and life-imprisonment are equally immoral; but if I were offered the choice between them, I would certainly choose the second. It’s better to live somehow than not to live at all.”
There ensued a lively discussion.
Both the narrator’s and the lawyer’s language is extremely straightforward and direct here—the narrator simply describes the man as “a lawyer, a young man of about twenty-five” and writes about how “[t]here ensued a lively discussion” after he shared his opinion. The lawyer, too, does not wax poetic, and he shows no emotions in his engagement with such an emotional topic.
Compare this to how the narrator and the lawyer use language at the end of the story. For example, when describing the lawyer, the narrator uses far more descriptive language, nothing that, “His hair was already silvering with grey, and no one who glanced at the senile emaciation of the face would have believed that he was only forty years old.” The lawyer also uses far more imagery and description at the end of the story, reflecting with new eyes on what he thought was such a simple question at the start of the bet. At the end of the story in Part 2, he bemoans the fact that he is alive at all, stating in his letter:
"Everything is void, frail, visionary and delusive like a mirage. Though you be proud and wise and beautiful, yet will death wipe you from the face of the earth like the mice underground."
This language is severe and emotional and includes descriptive language (including a simile). Overall, it’s clear that, as Chekhov’s characters become awakened to the complexity of life, his writing style also becomes more complicated and evocative.
Chekhov’s writing style in “The Bet” is literal and minimalist, though it does feature some figurative flourishes. As Chekhov’s primary aim with this story is to tackle an enormous philosophical question in just a few pages, he does not take the time to describe the interior of the banker’s house or what his life has been like over the 15 years during which the story takes place. Chekhov's aims are clear: to help readers understand how the bet came to be (which he does through the use of a flashback), give them a general sense of what the intervening 15 years have been like for both men, and then spend the rest of the story building tension as the bet comes to a close.
Because of the structure of the story (Part 1: establish the context, Part 2: build tension), Chekhov’s use of imagery and other types of figurative language primarily occur in the second half of the story. This is his way of helping readers understand that the stakes have changed; what started as a simple bet now weighs heavily on both men. In order to convey the stress the banker feels about losing all of his money to the lawyer and the disillusionment the lawyer feels about money, art, and life itself, Chekhov’s writing style begins to become more complex and emotional.
For example, here is how Chekhov captures the lawyer in Part 1 of the story when he is making the bet:
Among the company was a lawyer, a young man of about twenty-five. On being asked his opinion, he said: “Capital punishment and life-imprisonment are equally immoral; but if I were offered the choice between them, I would certainly choose the second. It’s better to live somehow than not to live at all.”
There ensued a lively discussion.
Both the narrator’s and the lawyer’s language is extremely straightforward and direct here—the narrator simply describes the man as “a lawyer, a young man of about twenty-five” and writes about how “[t]here ensued a lively discussion” after he shared his opinion. The lawyer, too, does not wax poetic, and he shows no emotions in his engagement with such an emotional topic.
Compare this to how the narrator and the lawyer use language at the end of the story. For example, when describing the lawyer, the narrator uses far more descriptive language, nothing that, “His hair was already silvering with grey, and no one who glanced at the senile emaciation of the face would have believed that he was only forty years old.” The lawyer also uses far more imagery and description at the end of the story, reflecting with new eyes on what he thought was such a simple question at the start of the bet. At the end of the story in Part 2, he bemoans the fact that he is alive at all, stating in his letter:
"Everything is void, frail, visionary and delusive like a mirage. Though you be proud and wise and beautiful, yet will death wipe you from the face of the earth like the mice underground."
This language is severe and emotional and includes descriptive language (including a simile). Overall, it’s clear that, as Chekhov’s characters become awakened to the complexity of life, his writing style also becomes more complicated and evocative.
