Leiningen Versus the Ants

In the story Leiningen Versus the Ants, by Carl Stephenson, Leiningen is the owner of a plantation, in threat of being destroyed, by an enormous herd of ants. This story shows that one may not always win against nature, even when he is determined. Leiningen, representing mankind, he foolishly believed that he could defeat nature because he had modern technology and people. The ants, representing nature, prove themselves, by taking down Leiningen and his plantation. …

…battle may have been won, but it cost so much that nothing was gained. This was a symbol that Leiningen was weak in the head, arrogant, and had too much pride in one self, it showed when he was being brought down. "The flooding of the plantation had begun." When the plantation was flooded, and then it was ruined, the whole fight was so the plantation would not be ruined, so Leiningen lost the fight.