Brother Grasshopper by John Updike

"Brother Grasshopper" by John Updike was at first, very difficult to read. The introduction of the story was a bit of a downer when Fred's father recalls his younger days with his brother; which were less than fun. Even up to the point of Fred's father's death, he never had a good relationship with his brother. It was almost painful to read about Fred's father.

It doesn't seem to be much better for Fred when he grows up. He was a timid, sickly child and not very social. He marries a girl, Betsy, when he graduates from Harvard, even though he seems discontent. In fact, he even confesses is no where near as attractive or interesting as her sister, Germaine who is courted by a tall, good looking man named Carlyle.

Fred and Carlyle are two very different men. Fred is an introvert, where as Carlyle is a huge extrovert. Carlyle played many sports as a boy and has luxuries such as a convertible, and had many experiences with friends. The two men are polar opposites.

As the story progresses, the two men have families and all sorts of vacations and good times thanks to Carlyle. He takes the families to beach houses and theme parks, always taking photos of the kids. Everyone is happy. Except for Fred. Fred seems to secretly resent Carlyle and his party-all-the-time lifestyle, even though Carlyle always includes Fred.

However, when Fred and Carlyle are older, an interesting thing occurs. Fred had an affair with a woman, and told Carlyle about it! It seems such a strange thing for a man to confess adultery to the can he secretly detests. This could represent a form of deep brotherhood growing between Carlyle and Fred; which may be similar to the stories Fred's father told him. Perhaps Fred's father was the ant and his brother was the grasshopper.

Time passes on. The brothers-in-law grow older. Fred ends up divorcing Betsy over the affair. Germaine and Carlyle end up divorcing as well. Carlyle has died. Of course, being the whacky guy Carlyle was, he asked for his ashes to be scattered over a Boston tidal creek instead of a traditional burial. Fred is invited because Carlyle loved him and gave him so much, which Fred realizes at the funeral.

The funeral ceremony ( to me) reflected the characters personalities as the ant and the grasshopper. Seeing as Fred is the ant, he would want to be buried in the ground, like an ant. The grasshopper is wild and free and would want to be within nature when it died.

I had an interesting thought reflecting on my idea on the funeral. Fred had worked hard all his life. Carlyle played all his life. But thanks to Carlyle's playing, Fred got something he couldn't earn through work. Fred got happy memories he never had as a child and probably wouldn't have had as an adult. Also, Carlyle's life was revealed to be him secretly struggling to make money, and Fred refused to help him when Carlyle was making a movie. Fred thinks it's not worth the investment.This is reminiscent of the part of the fable where the grasshopper won't help the ant work because he thinks it pointless. So who really is the grasshopper and who is the ant?