"The Bet" by Anton Chekhov: Character Analysis of the Prisoner

Wow! 7,883,995 minutes sure is a long time to spend in solitary confinement, and then not even hang around for the final five minutes to reclaim your prize. The title of this story is "The Bet", and is written by Anton Chekhov. In this story, a man takes part in a bet for two million dollars, under the conditions that he stays in solitary confinement for fifteen years. The man, whom we come to know as "…

…in this story the prisoner is persistent, intelligent, and self motivating. These characteristics not only help the reader come to terms with the decision the prisoner reveals in the end, but also show how much the prisoner changes from the time he comes into solitary confinement to the end, when he departs. The prisoner is of great stature on my list of great characters. He demonstrates qualities that I would hope to encompass within myself.