I'm not sure why this story reappeared in my thoughts yesterday, but up it popped, unheeded, unannounced; it just came to me.
"Leiningen Versus the Ants" by Carl Stephenson was one of the first stories that I thought was actually worth paying attention to after I was introduced to the term "short story" in 8th grade. After what seemed like months of pointless garbage, Mrs. Kane, in all her beastly glory (Side note: there were days where she reminded me of a yeti.), actually gave us something worth reading. It actually kept my attention. I thought after this, English class might actually improve, despite the horrific grammar and vocabulary drills. Unfortunately, I was wrong. My opinion of her dissolved after two more stories--both of which I will probably share over the next couple days. After those, it was right back to writing nonfiction book reports. (Yes, I completely faked the report I wrote from the biography of Mao Tse Tung. So? That book was as bland as middle school cafeteria gravy, or sludge as we lovingly called it there at Lakenheath American Middle School. Go, Leopards! ...And I got a B+ on that "report.")
Tangent diverted! Back to our good friend Leiningen. His determination/stupidity in the face of overwhelming odds can be used as a metaphor for whatever onslaught you may be facing right now: killer ants, 7th graders after gym, political "protesters," or whatever other metaphor you'd like to insert. Feel free to make your own application. Being a reader, that's part of your job.
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| (https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/205141) |
Regardless of my feelings for 8th grade English or anything else, "Leiningen Versus the Ants" is still a pretty cool story. (And there's no movie that I am aware of, although
The Naked Jungle with Charlton Heston is supposedly based off Stephenson's story.)
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