The Ant and the Grasshopper - Summary:
The story “The Ant and Grasshopper” is of the ancient Aesop fable which gives the moral lesson that “We have to be hard-working at the time of work, to spend the life in the old age.” In the story, the ant collects the food in the summer thinking the winter must be spent comfortably whereas the grasshopper, at the time of work, sang and danced, and went to the ant in the winter to beg some food. But the ant refused to help him because he wanted to teach him the moral lesson that “We should be hard-working in time to spend the rest of the life.”
The story “The And and the Grasshopper” by W. Somerset Maugham gives the opposite message from Aesop fable. In the story, Tom is compared with grasshopper and George with the ant. George, in the story, is presented as responsible, dutiful, respectable, hard-working and tensed for the future whereas Tom is presented as relaxed and luxurious, who spends the time with the beautiful ladies visiting expensive restaurants without caring for the future. Fortunately, Tom gets an opportunity to get married to a wealthy lady and should not have to take tension about the future but George is always indulged in the work to make his future better. So, if we examine the life of George and Tom, we find Tom’s life more fortunate and comfortable.
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