BUGS! Because..... um..... Because I Can!

You know those days when you just feel completely random? Well, today I'm going to write a long blog post completely lacking any sort of organization or thesis all about the role of insects in stories that don't star insects (in other words, I won't be talking about A Bug's Life). Why?

Well, actually, I do sort of have a reason for it. Today, in one of my classes at school, we were talking about standing armies, which, my brain being the jumbled mess of fantasies and poorly wired synapses that it is, reminded me of the ending of a book I read once. The book stars two men who, at first, are the best of friends. Then, through a complicated series of rumors and bad ideas and epic misunderstandings which I don't remember (I didn't like the book very much) one comes to suspect the other of plotting against him. Considering how close they once were, they decide to meet and talk things through. However, they're still not sure about each other, so they both bring their huge armies to the meeting. They then sit facing each other with their armies behind them. Both armies are too far away to hear the conversation of the two men.

In the meeting, everything becomes clear and the two men happily declare themselves friends again. Then, just as they're getting ready to ride off into the sunset together, a soldier on the front lines of one of the armies spots an insect (I think it was a wasp or something equally unsavory). Said soldier, being a complete idiot, decides that the best course of action is to swing his sword at the insect. Alas, the other army doesn't see the wasp (or whatever it was); they see only the glint of a swinging sword, so they charge. A daylong battle ensues. As the battle nears its conclusion, the two friends-turned-sort-of-enemies-turned-friends-again meet up again. Delirious with exhaustion and the negative effects of the wounds they've sustained, the men end up killing each other. Then we get an epilogue so cryptic it might as well not have been included, and the book's over.

Remembering this irritating little story got me thinking about bugs, and I went, "Hey! I should write a really lame blog post all about bugs in stories!" It took me a surprisingly long time to think up any other examples. Then I remembered LoTR.

If there are any insects mentioned in the Lord of the Rings books, they're utterly insignificant. This makes that weird flying thing that looks like some sort of upsettingly oversized moth that serves as a messenger between Gandalf and the eagles all the more fascinating. Especially since they keep showing it. It (or another insect like it) even makes an appearance in the new Hobbit movie. I guess it's (they're?) supposed to be some sort of eagle communication bug? Maybe it has (they have?) a symbiotic relationship with the eagles? I don't know. I still like it (as long as it stays onscreen; I'll readily admit that I have a bit of an issue with large insects).

Then I felt really mad at myself for not thinking of Thumbelina earlier. This movie, like Anastasia, was made by Don Bluth. My parents hate it for some reason, but I greatly enjoy it. It's goofy and maybe a tad bit disjointed, but hey, it's a kids' movie, and I've seen far worse films that fall under that category. Anyway, anybody who knows the basic story of Thumbelina knows that she's the size of someone's thumb, so I guess people thought it would make sense to put bugs in a movie about her (what everyone apparently failed to consider is that this means the beetles and the bumblebee in the movie are bigger than human thumbs, but like I said before, if it stays onscreen, I can handle it). The most prominently featured bugs in Thumbelina are a sleazy beetle named..... um..... The Beetle, and a bee named Buzz that the handsome fairy prince rides around (naming pets isn't his strong point).

Thumbelina also has a bunch of rather odd characters called the Jitterbugs who wear clothes and go fishing and read newspapers. I totally want to meet the guy that came up with them. Can't you just see the conversation? "I have a great new idea for the Thumbelina movie!" "Cool, what is it?" "A race of bugs who wear clothes, go fishing, and read newspapers and stuff!" (This is where the other guy just stares blankly at the writer.)

So..... BUGS! Yeah, I told you there wasn't going to be any kind of thesis. If I really wanted there to be a point to my rambling or a method to my madness, I guess I could say that there's a positive and a negative side to everything, even enormous insects. Oh, and if you see a wasp and want to kill it, use something besides a sword.

Farewell!

-Pearl Clayton