Thursday, May 8, 2014
Is Any Life Better Than No Life at All?
In "The Bet" by Anton Chekhov, there is a young lawyer who has imprisoned himself because he makes a statement saying, "The death penalty and life imprisonment are equally immoral. But if I had to chose between execution or being locked away for life, I'd opt for the second, without any doubt. Any sort of life's better than none at all"(960). The young lawyer made a bet know as "The Bet" with the banker, and this bet requires that the young lawyer will stay in the banker's lodge for fifteen years without any communication with the outside world. I do not know about you, but I would have kept my mouth shut and never taken it. While the lawyer is in confinement for fifteen years, he tries to search for an answer to this BIG question. Is any life better than no life at all? I believe everyone has their own opinion to this question. Ms. Whitley asked this question as an exit ticket. This question is constantly replaying in my mind because I think a lot of us would jump to yes because anything is better than being in a grave. But is it really? After fifteen years, before his time was almost up, the lawyer writes a letter to the banker, and it basically says he has attained so much wisdom and knowledge but he could not answer his dying question. He says, "You may be proud, wise and handsome, but death will wipe you from the face of the earth, together with the mice under the floorboards" (964). We can infer from this statement that the lawyer believes anyone can have all the wisdom, be prideful, and beautiful but it all means nothing because death with kill you and the earth will go on. Reading this I agreed for a bit, but then I realized the world will go on but it is what you do to leave a mark on this earth that will never be wiped away from this earth. According to the lawyer, no life is better than life at all. What do you believe? I think its what you do with the life you have will determine wither or not your life was worth living. The lawyer was dissatisfied because he was looking in the wrong place to find a answer only he himself and his actions to impact this world could answer. I want to know what everyone thinks, tell me.
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The lawyer still believes that having life is better than not having life by the end of the story. His values in life is what changes. You do have a point though! It is what we do in life that determines whether life is worth living. The banker could have killed himself while being confined but apparently he sees that life is worth something. When he renounces the bet, the lawyer shows the banker that his life is worth more than just winning a "preposterous" bet and gaining $2 mill. He was able to vicariously live through books and experience the beauty of life by reading which in his eyes is worth waaaay more than 2mill.
ReplyDeleteMyriam, the way I interpreted the lawyer at the end was that he did not find his answer that is why he searched so hard and looked at different literature. It seemed to me at the end when he fled, he fled with the mindset that their is still some sort of hope in finding the answer to his question. The lawyer's purpose of staying in the prison was to prove that having life in prison was better than capital punishment. Could it be that the lawyer left before the time he was supposed to because he did not prove what he went in there for? I think so. @Myriam Jean
ReplyDeleteI think having some type of life is better than having no life at all. Life is what you make it! You can either try to make your life a little interesting like the lawyer did while he was stuck in the room for 15 years, or just give up and choose the easy way out, which is death.
ReplyDeleteI agree, AlJeanette. I would not want to live a vapid and meaningless life. To each his own, but life is supposed to be exciting and challenging. Any kind of life isn't better than being dead. Life is all about making positive contributions to your surroundings and if you're living the bare minimum, how can you be spiritually fulfilled? And, also, I agree with the statement about how death makes no exceptions. We will all be dead at one point, no matter how rich or poor we were. Therefore, we all must make the best out of our lives. It's a very humbling idea.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you AlJeanette! I believe that what you do with your life would determine whether or not you believe its worth living. However,I would opt for execution rather than spending 15 years or even my life, in some cases, in prison. That's slow and painful death and I don't think anyone would want to experience that.
ReplyDeleteAlJeanette made a great point in her passage. It is more meaningful to have the ability to live and explore life rather than a sad option of execution. The lawyer displays the ruthless nature that we humans sometimes hide within ourselves. Though death will make its rounds, life is better than no life at all.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Aly. It's what you do with your life and how you live it that makes it so worthwhile. Yes, we are all going to end up 6 ft under, but it's what you did during the time that you lived that should be celebrated and appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI think the Lawyer's values changed in the end though. He does value life but in a way that does not deal with material goods. He lived life through the books her read and to him that is better than having all of the money in the world.