“You can't teach an old dog new tricks.” It's a quote that many of us know and have even used at some point in our lives. The meaning, basically, is that once someone gets used to a certain way of doing something, or in this case, not doing something, it is not possible to change it and teach him a new way. This often turns out to be true, but is it also true for the slackers we know and love in life? Is it possible to teach them something new and actually change their ways? I say yes. They can. After reading several literary works about slackers, from the grasshopper in “The Ant and the Grasshopper” to the slacker father-to-be in Knocked Up, I have come to understand that slackers, love them or hate them, can be taught something new . Sometimes it's just an act of maturation in life. Kay Hymowitz, author of the book Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Has Turned Men into Boys, calls it “pre-adulthood” or emerging adulthood in men. Other times, they just need a jolt in life, a fire beneath them that pushes them in the direction of change. In “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” we see the character of the grasshopper, the slacker, lounging around, sleeping. and sings as he sits and watches the ants toil and fight for food, in order to prepare for the coming winter months. Even though the ants warn him about the coming season, the cicada does not think about his interests and instead continues to loiter. Soon the old grasshopper realizes that winter is coming hard and finds himself alone, cold and hungry. He goes to the ants and begs them to help him, but the ants remember what a slacker he was and send him away to starve in the horrible cold. The grasshopper is an example of... middle of paper... the slacker doesn't always have to be a slacker and in fact an old dog can learn a new trick. Works Cited Hymowitz, Kay S. “ Where Have the Good Men Gone? Wall Street Journal Digital Network. February 19, 2011. Wikipedia contributors. "Pregnant." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, March 24, 2011. Goudreau, Jenna. “Has the rise of women turned men into boys?” Forbes March 4, 2011:.Scott, A. O. (2007, June 1). Bye bye, Bong. Hi sweetie. New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2011, from http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/movies/01knoc.html