The Ant and the Grasshopper W. Somerset Maugham

There are some beliefs that everyone gets in their whole life, what they deserve, and it is based upon common sense. However, there are exceptions for each rule or statement in existence. One of these exceptions is described in Maugham’s story, the fable called “The Ant and the Grasshopper” which is about George and Tom’s experiences. In this case, the ant is George and the grasshopper is Tom. One of them, George, chose the part of being a responsible and sensitive person. It is he who has been working a lot for getting a special retirement for the end of his life.

Moreover, he has been helping his brother in all his whims. He is a role model for everyone. On the other hand, Tom is this kind of person who decides to live his life in order to satisfy his own wishes. He is a very nice and charming person, but he is constantly cheating on his brother and all his friends. Moreover, he has a lot of faults and he is always looking for luxuries. “For twenty years Tom raced and gambled, philandered with the prettiest girls, danced, ate in the most expensive restaurants, and dressed beautifully. He always looked as if he had just stepped out of a bandbox.

Though he was forty-six you would never have taken him for more than thirty-five”. It might be safely said that the villain of this story is Tom, the bad man, the person who has got everything that he desires by taking the easy way. And according to the fable he deserves a bad end or at least any that is not good enough. Nonetheless, this is not a classical story with a traditional ending. The end of it is really funny. It may be said that the writer wanted to emphasize the fact that Tom had achieved everything and it was out of the blue.

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In addition, it might be pointed out that the writer is criticizing the coherence between George’s principles and the way he acted when his brother obtained the fortune. He showed jealous. Besides, it can be said that he was not happy with his whole life. He always wanted more than he obtained. The moral is clear, life is not unfair. It depends on you, on everyone and on the way people see life’s opportunities. In conclusion, there are people with good luck and fortune. There are people who are not firm with their principles and there are people who are not happy due to their vision of living. It is called: life and its ironies.

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