--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I were asked to chose between…" description: "\"If I were asked to chose between execution and life in prison I would, of course, chose the latter. It's better to live somehow than not at all.\" — Ant..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/anton-chekhov-298_capital-punishment_if-i-were-asked-to-chose-between-executi_2648697.jpg" --- # If I were asked to chose between execution and life in… ![“If I were asked to chose between execution and life in prison I would, of course, chose the latter. It's better to live somehow than not at all.” quote by Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/anton-chekhov-298_capital-punishment_if-i-were-asked-to-chose-between-executi_2648697.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/anton-chekhov-298_capital-punishment_if-i-were-asked-to-chose-between-executi_2648697.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/anton-chekhov-298_capital-punishment_if-i-were-asked-to-chose-between-executi_2648697.jpg) > “If I were asked to chose between execution and life in prison I would, of course, chose the latter. It's better to live somehow than not at all.” [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing a harsh reality over a meaningless existence reflects a preference for authentic experience despite suffering. **In simple terms:** Better to live badly than not at all. Key Takeaway Embrace life, even when painful. Themes existence choice authenticity Mood somber reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - prison life - terminal illness - severe depression - war zones - forced isolation Key Concepts philosophical realism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What makes life worth living despite pain? - Can a painful life be more meaningful than a comfortable one? A Different Perspective May romanticize suffering and ignore possibilities for improvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capital punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capital-punishment/) [Execution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/execution/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) ## Related quotes > [I have yet to see a death case among the dozen coming to the Supreme Court on eve-of-execution stay applications in which the defendant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/i-have-yet-to-see-a-death-case-among-the-dozen-coming-to-the-supreme/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [It is said to be a deterrent. I cannot agree…I do not now believe that any one of the hundreds of executions I carried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pierrepoint/it-is-said-to-be-a-deterrent-i-cannot-agree-i-do-not-now-believe-that/) Albert Pierrepoint > [“The Damned Axe by Stewart Stafford The axe decapitates a head, Society's ills get quickly shed, Can we trust what we don't see? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/the-damned-axe-by-stewart-stafford-the-axe-decapitates-a-head-society/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [I am in favour of capital punishment if the execution of the sentence is immediate. The purpose of the death penalty is to send…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ujjwal-nikam/i-am-in-favour-of-capital-punishment-if-the-execution-of-the-sentence/) Ujjwal Nikam > [Capital punishment kills immediately, whereas lifetime imprisonment does so slowly. Which executioner is more humane? The one who kills you in a few minutes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/capital-punishment-kills-immediately-whereas-lifetime-imprisonment/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [The government is not God. It does not have the right to take away that which it can't return even if it wants to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/the-government-is-not-god-it-does-not-have-the-right-to-take-away/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [It does not matter what you call the gaoler so long as he has the key that will open the door of your prison!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/it-does-not-matter-what-you-call-the-gaoler-so-long-as-he-has-the-key/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“If the incarceration experience doesn't break your spirit, it changes you in a way that you lose many fears. 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If they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/i-do-not-think-we-should-reward-murderers-by-keeping-them-alive-in/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [“Nothing about the daily workings of the prison system focuses its inhabitants’ attention on what life back on the outside, as a free citizen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/nothing-about-the-daily-workings-of-the-prison-system-focuses-its/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“Life is prison; we are incarcerated in the flesh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-minguzzi/life-is-prison-we-are-incarcerated-in-the-flesh/) [Dominic Minguzzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-minguzzi/) ## More by Anton Chekhov > [“Using vile means to attain worthy ends makes the ends themselves vile. 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Their reflection, crimson as the rising moon, crept to meet us in long,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/at-the-water-s-edge-barrels-of-pitch-blazed-like-huge-bonfires-their/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Anna Petrovna: Never talk to women about your own good qualities. Let them find out for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/anna-petrovna-never-talk-to-women-about-your-own-good-qualities-let/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [While you're playing cards with a regular guy or having a bite to eat with him, he seems a peaceable, good-humoured and not entirely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/while-you-re-playing-cards-with-a-regular-guy-or-having-a-bite-to-eat/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Lebedev: France has a clear and defined policy... The French know what they want. 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If the people placed over him are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/no-matter-how-corrupt-and-unjust-a-convict-may-be-he-loves-fairness/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“It is my opinion that every woman can be a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/it-is-my-opinion-that-every-woman-can-be-a-writer/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“His reading suggested a man swimming in the sea among the wreckage of his ship, and trying to save his life by greedily clutching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/his-reading-suggested-a-man-swimming-in-the-sea-among-the-wreckage-of/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Experience often repeated, truly bitter experience, had taught him long ago that with decent people, especially Moscow people -- always slow to move and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/experience-often-repeated-truly-bitter-experience-had-taught-him-long/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Why do you always wear black?” "I am mourning for my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/why-do-you-always-wear-black-i-am-mourning-for-my-life/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) [Explore all 679 Anton Chekhov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) ## More Capital punishment quotes > [“The next time believers tell you that 'separation of church and state' does not appear in our founding document, tell them to stop using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barker/the-next-time-believers-tell-you-that-separation-of-church-and-state/) [Dan Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barker/) > [“The very mention of crucifixion was taboo in polite Roman circles, since it was the lowest form of capital punishment, reserved for slaves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-very-mention-of-crucifixion-was-taboo-in-polite-roman-circles/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/it-is-better-and-more-satisfactory-to-acquit-a-thousand-guilty/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Let us leave the EEC, abolish human rights laws, take TV sets, pool tables and phones out of prisons, bring back corporal and capital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-bates/let-us-leave-the-eec-abolish-human-rights-laws-take-tv-sets-pool/) [Ken Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-bates/) > [ The law which attempts a man's life \[capital punishment\] is impractical, unjust, inadmissible. 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The one who kills you in a few minutes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/capital-punishment-kills-immediately-whereas-lifetime-imprisonment/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-take-a-life-when-a-life-has-been-lost-is-revenge-not-justice/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Capital punishment...treats members of the human race...as objects to be toyed with and discarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/capital-punishment-treats-members-of-the-human-race-as-objects-to-be/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [But now inquiry is being made concerning these issues. First, can any believer enlist in the military? 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