Greed and Selfishness in Anton Chekhov's The Lottery Ticket Anonymous College

The Lottery Ticket by Anton Chekhov explores the everyday life experiences of lottery winners. In the narrative, Masha and Ivan are a married couple whose fears and distrust of the other emerge as a result of Masha’s potential lottery windfall. Interestingly, the couple already divulge their underlying greed and selfishness through their inner thoughts even before they win the ticket. These initial unpleasant thoughts, therefore, represent the brooding conflict that is likely to emerge between the two should they win the ticket. In The Lottery Ticket, author Anton Chekhov demonstrates how human beings are easily overcome with selfishness, greed, and distrust in the case of a fluke.

Although Ivan and his wife Masha seem to agree on how they would spend the money should they win, their newly acquired dalliance is short-lived when Ivan suggests that he should travel abroad upon winning the ticket. Masha agrees with Ivan’s idea and expresses her willingness to go on a vacation too. However, this does not auger well with Ivan. He is now overcome with greed and selfishness and begins to think how she would “begrudge me every farthing” and not let him leave their hotel room (Chekhov 3). Ivan thinks that his wife is frugal and would...