Comparative Paragraphs

“The Chameleon” by Anton Chekov and “The Fox and the Woodcutter” by Aesop are very similar pieces of work according to theme and tone. The theme of “The Chameleon” is that social status affects every aspect of life. For instance people will let people with high positions off the hook. Also, that the judicial system does not apply to everyone, such as many other systems. In “The Fox and the Woodcutter”, the main theme is not to trust what you hear; you have to always see it. Also, another theme is that everyone always looks out for himself and only cares about himself. The idea of distrust is evident in both themes. For instance, in “The Chameleon”, the victim learned that he couldn’t trust the officers and the law because they look out for themselves, and look for ways in which they are benefited. This is also evident in “The Fox and the Woodcutter”, because the fox learned that he couldn’t trust the woodcutter. The fox couldn’t trust the woodcutter, because he is a human, and humans are selfish beings who always look out for themselves. The tones of both stories include mocking, criticism, and the authors’ personal views on life matters.

The authors’ use of humor in their work is a way in which they depict and mock the serious problems evident in society today. The use of sarcasm, irony, and criticism are very effective ways in which to interest the reader and show him the importance of the problems we face as a human race. The authors were using very humorous and simple, carefree tones, because they want to portray to the readers, the silliness of these matters, and show them, how corrupted our world has become. Man can no longer trust his brother, because in this deceitful world we live in, it’s every man for himself. In “The Chameleon” the author named the officer ‘Moronoff” to show his readers, that people who treat other people differently according to social status, are indeed morons. In “The Fox and the Woodcutter”, the author used irony as he described the fox as ‘wily’, but it was the woodcutter who was ‘cunning’. This shows us that even the smartest people can be fooled when they trust someone. Even though, both these pieces of work are very similar, they have some differences.

In “The Chameleon” the author depicts the troubles between man and society. He is trying to show us that it isn’t man’s fault, that we play favorites, it is society that makes us think the way we do, no matter how wrong it is. It is society that favors the powerful, not man. But in “The Fox and the Woodcutter” the author depicts the troubles we face between each other, and is focusing on the trust issues we have among each other. He uses an animal, in this case a fox, to symbolize a naïve man who actually believes he can trust a complete stranger. Using an animal is a very effective technique in which to teach the reader a valuable lesson. This is true, because the animal resembles a visitor to our world who is disgusted by the way we treat and view each other. It is like “The Fox and the Woodcutter” is a continuation of “The Chameleon”. “The Chameleon” gives you an introduction to the pathetic world we live in, and “The Fox and the Woodcutter” shows us the disgust of an outsider of our world.
Samar Al Ansari
Grade 10.3
Sept 30,2003