Refer to explorations in literature for a complete version of this story. how does the lawyer change from the beginning of "the bet" to the end of his sentence? he comes to believe that material wealth and possessions are a curse rather than a blessing. he goes from being a very cocky and arrogant young man to a humble and timid old man. he becomes confused by the outside world and escapes to a world of books. he goes from being a passionate lawyer to a dispassionate prisoner.

From the beginning to the end of "The bet" the lawyer A. comes to believe that material wealth and possessions are a curse rather than a blessing.

He has become a wise man through fifteen years of studying, but he even despise this, as well as other terrenal possessions, as he states in this excerpt: "It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a mirage. You may be proud, wise, and fine, but death will wipe you off the face of the earth as though you were no more than mice burrowing under the floor, and your posterity, your history, your immortal geniuses will burn or freeze together with the earthly globe."