Leiningen Versus The Ants
Would you risk your own life and the lives of another 400 people just so you might have a chance at saving a coffee plantation? Well that’s what Leiningen did in the short story “Leiningen Versus the Ants”. And by doing so he has proved himself to be an over confident, persuasive, and sexist man. And is not a person to be admired.
In this story Leiningen has shown himself as an extremely over confident person. From the time he was aware of the impending danger of the ants, to when he was almost willing to give it all up he still believed that he could conquer them. This is show on the very first page of the story where Leiningen says “Decent of you, paddling all this way just to give me the tip. But you’re
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This is shown when he says, “Well, lads, we’ve lost the first round. But we’ll smash the beggars yet, don’t you worry. Anyone who thinks otherwise can draw his pay here and now and push off. There are rafts enough and to spare on the river and plenty of time to still reach ‘em.” The choice was all theirs, but they were bought into the fact of security and higher wages if they stayed with Leiningen, and that was good enough for the peons.
And the last major characteristic that was apparent was that Leiningen was a sexist man. In the beginning of the story he stated, “Act of God, my eye! Anyway, I’m not an old woman; I’m not going to run for it just because an elemental’s on the way.” And he later said, “Critical situations first become crises, when oxen or women get excited.” These two statements show that Leiningen thinks of himself to be more important that any woman or beast. He believes that he is helping the situation by sending the oxen and women away, but by today’s standards he is being sexist by degrading women with his remarks, and excluding them from the fight where they could have been very useful.
Through these three characteristics, Leiningen has been proven to be an over all ‘normal’ person according to today’s society. He believes himself to be powerful, and in control that most people like to believe they are. He is
Within any community, it is safe to say that the goal of maintaining a society that prospers on for many years is common. Establishing order is key to developing a prosperous society. Order, whether it be defined as assigning roles in society, or establishing a set of rules to maintain control, can be done through various approaches. The pondering question however lies in what is the best approach to establish order. This common question has been prominent throughout time, and has been debated in government and society. The debate in how society should establish order regularly results in contrasting opinions. In the essay "The Myth of the Ant Queen," by Steven Johnson, and in the excerpt “The Code of Hammurabi” from Society and Law in Ancient Babylonia, two distinct approaches to establishing order in society are discussed. I believe that through strict reinforcements, order in society can be established. In the essay “Man’s Nature is Evil” by Hsun Tzu, the human nature in society helps explain why strict reinforcements is the most efficient way to establish order. In Steven Johnson’s essay “The Myth of the Ant Queen,” he describes an interesting way in how the establishment of order arises. He argues that society can build itself up and maintain order without the need of a ruler or a set of laws. Through the observation of ants and how they behave in their environment, he explains how ants are able to establish an intricate yet simple
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Do you enjoy honey? What about apples, oranges, or peaches? Or maybe pecans, almonds, or sunflower seeds? If you like any kind of fruit or vegetable, be prepared to pay double to triple for these items.
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He also anthropomorphizes the emotions and motivations of the ant war when he says “[i]t was evident that their battle-cry was ‘Conquer or die.’” He is alluding to human war and the rhetoric and propaganda that are associated with it.