3. Which "The Ant and the Grasshopper" is closer to real life, Aesop's fable or the Maugham story? Why?
The unfair reality
According to the Aesop's fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper", diligence is rewarded and idleness is punished. This sounds plausible because we are supposed to get only the things we have worked for. However, real life is not a fable. We are not living in a fairy tale world where everything is ideal. Unfortunately, we should accept the fact that our life is unfair.
As we all know, everyone has different starting point. For instance, one could be inclined in sports or music, or have captivating outward appearance or high IQ, while the other could completely be the opposite. We are all born with different genes and environment, and this fact makes the unfair gap between people. This is the reason why I could not agree more with the Maugham's story, for perfectly portraying the injustice of our real life. Ordinary George, the "ant", has devoted his whole life with work, diligently preparing for his future. On the contrary, the fancy, captivating, and appealing "grasshopper" Tom has enjoyed his dissolute and extravagant life while being idle. After the death of the rich woman Tom has met, he could spend rest of his life with his enormous heritage. As a result, Tom got richer than George without being as diligent and hardworking as George. The talent and the luck of Tom made him surpass at once what George has worked for his whole life. Yes, it is unjust.
How flawless and perfect would our real life be if everything is ideal, where effort and reward are directly proportional? However, we can't live in that utopia. We should accept that there are many people who are very talented, lucky, and rich. They could earn more money than we do without much endeavor. Nevertheless, we should still be diligent and hardworking. Do not be crestfallen and feel victimized with the grasshoppers' effortless rewards. We should find values in the "hardworking" itself, because we will at least get what we have worked for.
Hello this is Jeeny Jung from your class. I liked your writing which reflects your point of view well. You suggest not to be angry about the success of the effortless grasshoppers because this is the reality rather than a fable. I liked about how you have reflected and thought about the reality carefully before writing and your oganization also. Especially the second paragraph which gives your ideas and examples first and then applys it to the story. It was helpful in reading your writing. Thank you for sharing!
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