In "The Bet" by Anton Chekhov, discuss the idea of imprisonment in the story.

In Chekhov's short story, imprisonment is presented in a
way that takes life from its individuals.  The lawyer is convinced that capital
punishment is wrong, and prefers imprisonment for life over death.  After his own
imprisonment, the lawyer is shown to be a being whose life has been essentially taken
from him.  The fact that imprisonment can "kill" a person without actually "killing"
them is something that Chekhov shows.  There is a zest or vitality for life that is no
longer present in the lawyer after he serves his time.  The fact that that the
imprisonment has removed the lawyer's desire for anything and everything, that he
"despises" life, shows that imprisonment takes everything from individuals.  In this
light, death might actually be a release from such a condition.   Life and its passion
is taken from the individual, making them a hollowed shell of what they
were.