We are shown that the banker is an irrational, frivolous, and arrogant man who is irresponsible early on in the text. Chekhov says, "The banker, who was younger and more nervous in those days, was suddenly carried away by excitement; he struck the table with his fist and shouted at the young man: 'It's not true! I'll bet you two million you wouldn't stay in solitary confinement for five years" (Chekhov, 1). .
Any man with the amount of wealth, as the banker had, would never be so quick to just throw away money in that manner. In addition Chekhov throws in some irony into the situation by having a banker, who is suppose to be trusted with money, mishandle and act reckless with money. On the other hand the lawyer, who later becomes the prisoner, is portrayed as a smart and studious man who is strongly opinionated. When he was asked his opinion about which punishment he thought was worse, he responded: "the death sentence and the life sentence are equally immoral, but if I had to choose between the death penalty and imprisonment for life, I would certainly choose the second. .
To live anyhow is better than not at all" (Chekhov, 1). Here we see although the lawyer is a thoughtful studious man, he is just as wrong as the banker for trading his life to prove a point and for material objects. Chekhov characterization of both men allowed the reader to gain a better perspective of who these men really were and while beginning to hint that the real prison in life is the foolishness of oneself. The idea that the life of a human is far more important than material things, in this case money, and that the foolishness of one's self can itself be an imprisonment, is a common theme that can be found entangled throughout "The Bet.".
In the beginning materialism blinded the lawyer to such an extent that he sacrificed his freedom and his young life just to prove a point and claim two million dollars.
