E. B. White Approaches To Death In Charlotte's Web
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Charlotte’s Web starts with the story of a young girl named Fern who moves to a farm and falls in love with all the barn animals but in particular a little pig named Wilbur.
The story goes on to invite readers to look into the friendships formed between the animals. A strong and tender friendhiop between Wilbur and a grey spider named Charlotte is quickly formed. Charlotte is wise and loving towards Wilbur and helps him find peace after he realizes his future consists of being made into bacon. Charlotte goes so far as to come up with a plan to help Wilbur escape his morbid fate. Her plan works and Wilbur is saved, and even gets to perform at a local fair where Charlotte dies.
There are many different literature approaches to death. Some…show more content… E.B. White approaches death in a realistic way in Charlotte’s Web.
Death is depicted as a natural part of life. Charlotte simply reaches the end of her life, and she dies. Although this book was written for children, author E.B. White does not sugar coat death in the book. A quote towards the end of the book does not hide the dark, depressing, and sad fact of Charlotte’s death. “Nobody, of the hundereds of people that had visited the Fair, knew that a grey spider had played the most important part of all. No one was with her when she died” (E.B. White). Death is sad and lonely sometimes, and does not always allow the deceased to find glory
(Siebert).
When this book was written in 1952, the world was still in a slight state of shock and disparity from the horrors of World War II. People were uncertain of how to feel about death. White fearlessly approaches the topic of death and digs into how individuals experience death, loss, and loneliness. If the book was left described as this, many would feel that the book must be all together depressing and sad. On the contrary, White provides beautiful pictures of love and friendship throughout the story to contrast the sadness of