The Ant and the
Grasshopper - Somerset Maugham
Somerset Maugham’s ‘The
Ant and the Grasshopper is a story about two brothers. They are the
representation of ant and the grasshopper of Aesop’s Fable. In this story, the
writer reversed the moral of the traditional fable. In the fable, the ant
gathered food during the summer, whereas the grasshopper wasted time. When the
rainy season came, the grasshopper begged the ant for food. But the writer was
very skeptical about the moral of this fable and presented a different
situation in his story.
The story was narrated
by an unnamed narrator. George Ramsey was a hardworking person. He saved money
for his peaceful retired life. However, his brother Tom was a different
personality. He did not go to work and preferred to enjoy life. He abandoned
his wife and children. He borrowed money from many people, and Ramsey settled
some of the debts in order to save the family's reputation. He expected his
brother Tom to have an unpredictable future since he had no savings.
However, Tom was
engaged to an old woman who was old enough to be his mother. The lady died
suddenly, from whom he inherited half a million pounds. Referring to this
incident, Ramsey felt as though there had been an injustice done. It was very
much like the ant (George) versus the grasshopper (Tom). As the grasshopper
made no provisions for the winter, Tom too made no provisions for his future.
But in real life, Tom enjoyed life better than his brother and was
well-settled.
When George was sharing
about the new fortune of his brother, the narrator laughed heartily. His
reaction to Tom’s success in life mirrored the attitude of society as well. The
main idea of the story is to show that the way a person lives his life is only
his decision. One should not interfere in others lives otherwise their life
will become miserable. Be happy with what you have.
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