“The Bet” – Anton Chekhov - - followed by “The Shawshank Redemption”
“The Bet” – Audiobook:
Learning target: How do Anton Chekhov and other writers begin short stories?
Do Now: Introduction to “The Bet.”
* Here’s the deal – in order to get $35 million, you must spend 15 YEARS inside a semi comfortable cell, with all of your basic needs taken care of. You get the internet (a laptop with no camera), books, food, TV and music. You DO NOT get any visitors allowed whatsoever.
Could you do it? Would you do it? Explain your reasons. Answer on your index card please.
Notes:
· “The Bet” begins with a debate / argument on capital punishment / the death penalty.
· Author: Anton Chekhov 1860 – 1904
· The bet is between a banker and a lawyer
· The young, brash lawyer takes the banker’s bet.
· The banker is wealthy and arrogant at the time of the bet.
· The banker has come through tough times, lost a lot of his fortune at the beginning of the story, which takes place 15 years after the bet was made.
“The Bet” http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Bet.shtml
