(from “The Bet,” by Anton Chekhov) Then after the tenth year, the prisoner sat immovably at the table and read nothing but the Gospel. It seemed strange to the banker that a man who in four years had mastered six hundred learned volumes should waste nearly a year over one thin book easy of comprehension. Theology and histories of religion followed the Gospels.

In the last two years of his confinement the prisoner read an immense quantity of books quite indiscriminately. At one time he was busy with the natural sciences, then he would ask for Byron or Shakespeare. There were notes in which he demanded at the same time books on chemistry, and a manual of medicine, and a novel, and some treatise on philosophy or theology. His reading suggested a man swimming in the sea among the wreckage of his ship, and trying to save his life by greedily clutching first at one spar [definition: a pole on a ship] and then at another.

If the effect was the lawyer learning many things during his confinement, what was the cause? What sentences and signal words tell you this? Be as detailed as possible in your response. Provide at least three sentences for your answer. Include specific quotations from the text that show why you came to your conclusion.