Debating Life and Death: Student Reflections on Contradictions in Anton Chekhov’s The Bet

Abstract

This study explores students’ responses to Anton Chekhov’s The Bet through the lens of Richard Beach’s transactional theory, with a focus on their engagement with the story’s central moral conflict. Employing a descriptive qualitative research design, the study examines how students navigate the contradiction between life imprisonment and the death penalty by analyzing data from students’ intellectual diaries, classroom discussions, and interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify patterns in students’ emotional, ethical, and cognitive responses. Findings reveal that students engage with the text in diverse ways, including emotional reactions, ethical reflections, and collaborative meaning-making. The study underscores the influence of personal experiences, values, and peer interactions on literary interpretation, highlighting the pedagogical significance of fostering critical engagement with morally complex narratives in higher education. This study also highlights the importance of selecting literature that challenges students with complex moral issues, as their emotional and ethical engagement with texts like The Bet fosters their critical thinking, self-reflection, and personal growth.