The question of who wins the bet is central to the story. Discuss your position on this subject by providing textual evidence.

The story uses a flashback to introduce the scene at the party 15 years earlier and provide information about the lawyer’s life during his confinement. Discuss the literary benefits of this technique versus narrating the events chronologically.

The third-person narrator speaks from the point of view of the banker, while we are privy to the lawyer’s thoughts from direct quotes of his letters. Use textual evidence to discuss how readers can access the characters’ interiority in these two distinct ways.