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Comparing The Bet And The Cathedral

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“It is impossible to really understand why people react as they do to difficult situations”.
Discuss the ways in which two of the stories reveal this.

In The Bet by Anton Chekov and The Cathedral by Raymond Carver, the authors use irony to show that “It is impossible to really understand why people react as they do to difficult situations”, because they do not even know themselves. In, The Bet, two men, both impulsive and proud, enter into a foolish bet to prove whether capitol punishment or life imprisonment is more humane. In the conclusion, irony takes over, the characters’ last acts free one another. Instead of killing the lawyer, the banker plants a kiss on his head. Then the prisoner escapes, freeing the banker from having to pay his debt. Checkov uses irony to reveal that neither man is aware of his true nature. In The Cathedral two 'blind' agnostics, seek to communicate, while drawing a cathedral. Carver uses irony to show that the narrator is incapable of understanding another person until he learns …show more content…

He maintains that “the death penalty is more moral', later revealing complete moral bankruptcy when he plans murder to avoid honouring the bet. While the banker is emotionally affected by the letter, when he feels “so great a contempt for himself” that he weeps, Chekov is ambiguous about the nature of his remorse. Is his contempt for his murderous heart or for the rashness which almost led to financial ruin? Is he weeping tears of shame or relief? The dramatic irony of “he took from the table the writing in which the millions were renounced, and when he got home locked it up in the fireproof safe” suggests that his moment of self-awareness has not been life changing. He still doesn't know

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