Symbolism in “The Large Ant”

ROUGH DRAFT

The story The Large Ant, written by Howard Fast, uses an act of killing an insect of
undeterminable origin, and the perspective of the man who killed it, to explore several big
questions about human behavior. This is achieved through thematic statements, characters, and
symbolism. In this essay, I will look at the latter, and demonstrate how an ant in this story serves as
an important symbol. In this story, Fast uses the insect as a symbol of the unknown, being anything
that will elicit fear in a person. This type of symbolism acts as a spotlight on the undesirable
behavior exhibited by the people it interacts with. The insect serves as a symbol for the unknown;
and is achieved through the creature’s physical appearance, the circumstances of its murder, and
its unique type of intelligence.
From the beginning of The Large Ant, the physical appearance of the insect plays an
important role in its symbolism. The insect is described as being terrifying to the protagonist, but
lacks any description of its features. Immediately after describing his killing of the insect, he notes,
“It was quite dead, but I had already made up my mind that I was not going to sleep alone in this
shack.” The author gives little detail of the actual physical appearance of the insect, but rather
relies on the reaction of the protagonist to create the sense of mystery and fear around it. This is
because the insect serves as a symbol for a general idea of something unknown to the character,
and ultimately, people. Its role in eliciting fear in the protagonist, and subsequent others who
reacted the same way upon seeing it, is more important than its skin texture or eye shape. In
addition, the ant is described as having beautiful looking tools that the scientists are unable to
identify. The tools that the insect possesses serve as an important indication that the attackers are
misinterpreting the intentions and nature of this creature. “Look at yourself, Mr.Morgan, - a cultured
and intelligent man, yet you cannot conceive of a mentality that does not include weapons as a
prime necessity. Yet a weapon is an unusual thing, Mr.Morgan. An instrument of murder.” When
one analyzes the lack of physical description of the insect, and the description of tools it
possesses, it is clear that both of these aspects of its appearance contribute to the insect serving
as an effective symbol.
 The circumstance of this killing further develops the symbolism of the creature. This type of
insect is found murdered several times, in completely unrelated circumstances. Mr. Morgan, the
protagonist, describes learning this information: “He then opened the doors to one of the wall
cupboards, and there stood eight jars of formaldehyde and in each jar a specimen like mine – and
in each case mutilated by the violence of its death.” This pattern is used in to story to further
develop this creature as a symbol, because the fact that completely unrelated people kill the insect
several times, is proof that the incidents are not random acts. Dr. Lieberman, a scientist studying
these insects and their killing, expresses his belief in this when he exclaims “And the eight jars in
my cupboard? Eight accidents?” Rather, the incidents suggest that humans all react to something
they don’t understand, and subsequently fear, with unthinking violence, as a reflex. The protagonist
reflects upon that idea when recalling the killing of the insect: ”Whatever kind of man I am, I react
as a man does. I think that any man, black, white, or yellow, in China, Africa or Russia, would have
done the same thing.” It is demonstrated through this use of the symbol that humans are alike in
their equation of the unknown to fear, with which they inflict violence upon.
The brain of this insect also serves as a component of its symbolism in this story. It is
described by Dr. Lieberman as being unlike the brain of a mammal, because “It is an insect in
developmental structure.”…”It’s not the same as what we call intelligence. It’s a collective
phenomenon…” From what he is saying, one can assume that all insects have a similar type of
intelligence, which “is a result of the whole.” For this symbol fulfill this role, it then had to be an
insect. Also, this explains why the type of insect is unimportant in the plot of the story, because
Fast used the general arc type of an ant–like insect to highlight this unique type of intelligence, and
contrast it with the intelligence of humans, which is then demonstrated as individualist as a result.
This contrast can be seen clearly in the difference in actions by each creature, which serves as a
direct indication of the intelligence of each creature. The insect approaches Mr. Morgan with
undetermined intentions, and he immediately killed it. Upon reflection of this incident, all involved
seem to understand that this speaks to the dark nature of human intelligence, because killing
something seems so natural, whereas “to a collective intelligence, such as that of which this might
be a part, the concept of murder would monstrous beyond the power of thought.”
As I have demonstrated, the ant-like insect in The Large Ant serves as a symbol for
something unknown that elicits fear, and this symbolism is achieved through the physical
descriptors of the insect, its unique style of intelligence, and the events surrounding the repeated
killing of its kind. The author uses this symbolism in the story to effectively highlight many negative
traits in humans, and suggests that they are common in all human, due to the repetition of these
incidents. One can conclude from this symbolism that the author truly intended to “put the world on
trial”.