My Ending to The Bet
The banker winced in pain as he
shifted his weight in his bed. Ever since the bet, guilt had eaten him alive and
the memories swirled in his head as he tried to remember exactly what happened. He gasped trying to collect enough breath to call
his son’s name. “John” he cried. “Father,” the young boy said, “father you must
rest, please father”. “No, listen.....you must listen carefully to me" he cried. "Many
years ago I made a terrible decision to ruin a man’s life and ever since I have
regretted my decisions, please as my last request, right my wrongs and correct
the past. I have never told a soul and regret this, but the truth is in the
safe, please I beg of you so I may go in peace. Please fix my doings”. The old
man’s eyes then rolled into his head and he drew his last breath. Many months after
the sons grieving, John ventured into his father’s study and received the letter. As
he read the letter his curiosity grew as he wished to understand the lawyer and
his decisions. Hoping to then apologize for his fathers mistakes, he set off to find the lawyer. He searched high and low for many years but the lawyer was
never to be found. Rumors and stories spread about the strange man and the outrageous
bet but that answers to whatever happened to the lawyer or why the he ran away were
lost along with him.
My Reasoning for My Conclusion to
The Bet
In the short story The Bet we are introduced
to the character the banker who has the characteristics of a hard, greedy, and competitive
man. Throughout the story the reader can only see these traits in the banker. However, toward the end of the story we see a completely different side to him. When the banker reads the lawyers
letter in which he renounces the two million, the banker began to cry and kissed
the lawyer on the head. In this moment we can see the banker’s true emotion and
his relief about keeping his money. The banker is grateful to the lawyer for
giving him his wealth back. However,
because of his pride he refuses to admit he lost the bet and locks the letter
up in his safe. I believe that eventually he would tell someone about the bet and his greed, hence locking the money up in a safe, as at the
end of the story the reader gets to see this characters true personality such
as his shame or broken qualities. I then feel, whoever
he told his great secret to would have a moral obligation and enough curiosity to
find the lawyer to understand why the lawyer did what he did and apologies
to him. However, the lawyer, as we see throughout the story, despises and hates
the world. I believe the lawyer would run away and refuse to be found as he has
such a strong hatred toward the world and society. That hatred would continue
to fuel him and make him stay in hiding for the rest of his life.
Julia, your reflection is well articulate; you present a clear argument for your position. I found the introduction of a son and interesting idea- that the man would marry and have a family would provide so much joy for him... does he deserve it?
ReplyDeleteI believe that that the banker would eventually marry and start a family. I also believe that he would love his family very much and would receive lots of joy. However, I do not believe he deserves these emotions. The banker ruined the lawyer’s life. Due to his own stubbornness as well as the lawyers, the lawyer was secluded for 15 year of isolation and was driven mad. The lawyer’s insanity was caused by the banker who is to blame for the unfortunate outcome. Eventually when the matters had settled down I believe the banker would marry. Because off his concisions and guilt of wrecking a man’s life, I think he would treasure his family very dearly. The banker has seen the worst in life and the misery hidden in the world. Because of this he would provide love and joy to his family, to protect their innocence, who in turn would return it. However, I do not think he deserves this kind of love because while he has a family, joy, and a house along with money, the lawyer went crazy and was clearly suffering. I don’t think justice has been served in a sense because while the banker receives joy and a family, in no means does he deserve it for it was his doing that drove a man mad
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