"All Tales are Anansi's" Essay

Confidence


Have you ever yearned something so much that you are willing to accomplish anything to receive it? Majority can answer this question with yes, because we have all wanted that new outfit or the new video game system. But to earn this reward, did you have to risk your life? Anansi, the main character in “All Stories are Anansi’s” written by Harold Courlander had to do so. Except Anansi was not fighting for clothes or games; he was fighting for all the tales and stories of the world to belong to him. Anansi was greatly underestimated, but that did not stop him from fighting for what he desired.
Giving up can sometimes seem to be the easier option rather than going on and succeeding. But what we do not realize is that the hard work does pay off eventually. When we think negatively and complain about the work it takes to accomplish, it lowers our interest in succeeding. This can become a habit and your mind will trick you into giving up on everything. Anansi is the perfect example of how to keep your mind set on getting your task accomplished. Anansi was very confident in himself and never once doubted his skills. He is an excellent role model for all who feel like giving up, as Anansi avoided in this short story romance.
A romance begins with a minor conflict which in “All Stories are Anansi’s” is the spider asking the owner of all stories to take his position. He is then given three tasks to accomplish in order to take this position of having all the stories belong to him. Then the romance ends with some kind of symbolism of life. The symbolism of life in this romance was the new owner of all the stories and tales in the world. Characteristics of a romance are unrealistic, main character not in control, and the good is strong while the evil is weak. This short story is very unrealistic because the animals in the story are all capable of talking. Anansi, the main character, is never in control because he cannot make the animals go to the owner of the stories. He had to trick the evil then take them to the owner himself. In a romance, the evil is weak. The hornets, python and the cougar are all weak because they were fooled by the spider. While the good, the spider, is strong because he successfully fooled all three of his components. This romance not only has a mode, it also contains a theme that makes the message of the romance clearer.
The theme of “All Stories are Anansi’s” is man vs. himself. Anansi is against himself in this short story because of his confidence in himself and the work he had to do. This story would have to be man vs. himself because if it were man vs. nature or society he would be fighting against something other than himself. But in this story, it is testing his own knowledge, strength and wisdom. It could seem as if this short story could be a man vs. man theme. Anansi does fight against other men, but it was really testing his skills to determine if he could be given all the tales of the world.
Everyone comes across a time in their life where they desire a certain something so much that they couldn’t let anything like being underestimated get in their way. Don’t take the easier way out in life and give up on something you have worked on. Keep fighting no matter what the struggles are that come upon you. It may be tempting to think towards the negative side, but if you get these thoughts think of Anansi. Anansi believed in himself and that is all that mattered, no one else’s opinion was important. So whatever the circumstances, never back down and always believe in yourself no matter what others think.