MLK the Ant and Socrates the Grasshopper

  "Letter from the Birmingham Jail" gave me insight to wright a post comparing Martin Luther King Jr. and Socrates's methods of reforming. Through different political actions, these two figures went against grain of society to correct injustice. In defining their methods with the analogy of the "The Grasshopper and the Ants", I can better describe and assess what Socrates did wrong and MLK did right.

 

The Grasshopper- Socrates 

In "The Grasshopper and the Ants", the grasshopper wastes summer away by not doing any work and enjoying a carefree life. This doesn't last long as he sings and dances all the way up until winter. Since the grasshopper hadn't been gathering food all summer, he starves. On his deathbed, he then pleads to the ants that had been working all summer to give him food, but they refuse suggesting he dance all winter also.

This grasshopper is very similar to Socrates. Socrates's summer is not dedicated to social change. In Plato's "Apology" it is stated that he travels along debating with people and making them look like they know nothing. This, in addition to teaching his extreme views to the young make it seem like Socrates just wanted to stir up trouble. He knows his ideas aren't wildly supported yet he test the waters to see how far he can go. In these following quotations from Socrates, his political actions can be made similar to the grasshopper's ethics.

"And are you not ashamed, Socrates, of a course of life which is likely to bring you to an untimely end? To him I may fairly answer: There you are mistaken: a man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong"(Plato).

-Now this quote reveals how unprepared Socrates is to make change. He is using the wrong angle. While Socrates should be working with the officials of Athens to make a better government, he is attacking them. He is knowingly teaching things that will cause outrage. He is singing and dancing, while he should be working. His methods to bring about change only bring him down a path of destruction. Instead of doing the hard work of fixing his government's flaws, he finds joy in solely pointing them out.

"For if you kill me you will not easily find another like me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the God; and the state is like a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size, and requires to be stirred into life. I am that gadfly which God has given the state and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you"(Plato).

 -So yes, Socrates is sort of a gadfly grasshopper mix . He goes around being as irritating as he can. He attacks not only the government, but society. Notice he describes himself as not being part of the "ants" or in his terms, part of this "Noble steed"(Plato). He is but a grasshopper doing his own thing outside of society. Again, if Socrates worked within the "Noble Steed" he could create the changes he wanted. I feel like Socrates character is unable to do so therefore, when winter(his trial/judgement) comes he gets no breaks, no food, or any political change.

Socrates's Conclusion

In the end, Socrates receives the death penalty from his society just as the ants gave the death penalty to the grasshopper. Socrates main flaw was he didn't put himself in the shoes of the people he attacked. He continually mocked and ridiculed his accusers and did things in his own way. Never in his trial did he bring up specific issues with society/government, only that it was wrong for him to be on trial because he was 'such a value to society'. He didn't work with the society/"the ants" and by doing so didn't receive what he wanted (wither that be food, change, or his life). 

The Ant- Martin Luther King Jr.

The ants in "The Grasshopper and the Ants" worked diligently throughout the Summer so they would be able to survive the winter.

This dedication and idea of working together, epitomizes Martin Luther King Jr.. MLK continuously sought out to create change in society. Anywhere there was injustice and inequality, MLK went to work on a solution. He did what was necessary to create change. His work yielded much success and as winter came, his political methods and support gave him the opportunity to correct injustices. Below are some excerpts from "Letter from the Birmingham Jail" that represents MLK's likeness to the ants.

"In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action. We have gone
through all these steps in Birmingham. There can be no gain saying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community" (King 2).

-Martin Luther King Jr. was no novice in nonviolent campaigning. These steps show how King was experienced in putting in the work to achieve change. He exemplifies the working ants by repeatedly going into different states, cities and communities and campaigning to make the whole United States of America unsegregated.  This work ethic is key factor in MLK's success. 

Also, how Martin Luther executes his nonviolent campaigns is representative of the ant. He unlike Socrates, works with the officials through "negotiation," and debate on the issues. He acts like the ants in that he works cooperatively to achieve a goal.

"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that"justice too long delayed is justice denied"(King 3)

-Waiting is an ideal of the grasshopper. Martin Luther King cannot wait because then the time to correct injustices will never come. By not preparing for winter and siting idly by, MLK would prolong the suffering of African Americans. MLK and his ant-like mentality doesn't accept this barren winter as a outcome, therefore MLK goes to work.

MLK Conclusion

 

 MLK embodies the ants in "The Grasshopper and the Ants" by not giving up, preparing, and working in a productive manner in-order to create change when the deciding moment came. Because of this, his dream of America came true and society got rid of segregation. Martin Luther King Jr. differed from Socrates's by being constructive, working with society and by doing what was necessary, instead of the grasshopper's idea of doing whatever one desires.   

 


King, Martin Luther. "LETTER FROM A BIRMINGHAM JAIL." The King Center 16 Apr. 1963: 1-12. Web. 9 Dec. 2012. 

Plato, . "Apology." Translated by Benjamin Jowett . Web. 9 Dec. 2012. <http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html>.

Suits, Bernard. The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia. 1978 <https://docs.google.com/a/umich.edu/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=dW1pY2guZWR1fHBvbHNjaTEwMWYyMDEyfGd4OjI3Mzc5NDRmMjNjNmE3ZjQ>