3. Which "The Ant and the Grasshopper" is closer to real life, Aesop's fable or the Maugham story? Why?
Life Is Not Always Fair
There is a famous fable named "The Ant and the Grasshopper", which gives us a lesson that we should not waste our life but prepare for the future. On the other hand, the short story by W. Somerset Maugham, named same as the Aesop's fable, explains that someone who is not sincere as much as others can be more successful at the end than people who worked hard. I consider that the short story written by Maugham is more realistic than the story by Aesop. A number of cases show the Maugham story is closer to life.
The hard work does not always pay back; someone is not rewarded although he tries his best, and someone would be successful or praised even though he did not make enough effort. Effort counts, but there is luck, too. In this case, luck is not only about the chance of winning, but also about a person's monetary and social background, attractiveness, and ability. For example, we can see numerous people who work hard for decades but cannot afford a single house in Seoul without any debt. However there some people own a number of houses and rooms because they won lottery, or were born with silver spoon.
I would like to give one more example in real life that are similar to the story by Maugham: the story of a girl from the show produce 101. It is a show from South Korea that 101 trainees who want to be a member of girl band show up, and viewers pick a favorite candidate to survive the show. At last, only eleven trainees survive and debut as one team. There are a lot of girls who are trained for more than a decade, or who have debuted but was not successful at their first effort. However, a girl who was not well-trained and poor-at-sing-and-dance was largely beloved and finally survived at last. It is because she was pretty, cute, and that the producer of the program gave her chances to be shown. Other 90 trainees did make effort as much as or more than her; but they were out of luck.
We can see that life is not always fair, like the story of Maugham. Everyone's start line is different, and we are all born differently. It is nature of life and totally natural. The unfairness itself is nature of life, so I believe that the Ant and the Grasshopper story by W. Somerset Maugham is closer to life than the story named same and written by Aesop.
Hello this is Jeeny Jung from your class. I found your writing fascinating as it reflected the reality very much. Also, I liked that you not only showed your opinion agreeing to the Maugham's story but you also gave an idea about why you think like this which was luck. By explaining beneift of the existence of luck, using examples, it was more persuasive and a good understanding. Also I liked that you gave 2 clear examples from the reality. Thank youd for sharing!
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