Thursday, April 5, 2007

Charlotte's Web

by E.B. White

How many children’s classic stories have been made into a movie, not once but three times? “Charlotte’s Web” is a fantasy written to delight animal lovers and children everywhere. Underneath the joy invoked by talking animals and escapes from being made into sausage, a difficult concept is explored.

Animals are raised, slaughtered, and eaten every day, and we think very little about it. I have watched children snarf down hamburgers and hot dogs without any concern. Yet, when an animal is given a name, attitudes change. Suddenly, the animal is more than just part of the next sandwich. I feel qualms about eating pork every morning as truck after truck loaded with pigs pass me on their way to be slaughtered at the local packing plant. I hate the way that the pigs are all loaded on top of each other, unable to move, on their way to death. The process seems incredibly cruel, but it is just a fact of life.

I reread “Charlotte’s Web” every year as an escape from reality. Wilbur, the little pig headed towards being slaughtered and eaten, is saved by a child, a rat, and a spider. The real champion was Charlotte, the spider who saved Wilbur by creating ‘miracle’ messages in her spider web.

A child’s life can be filled with wondrous things like a kind spider, Charlotte, and talking rats with attitude like Templeton. Cute little pigs can be pets like Wilbur, and mother sheep can share kindness with animals of other species. Adults can change their minds and show kindness to children and animals. “Charlotte’s Web” is a fantasy of kindness that children can read to escape from their less than kind environments.

Lesson plans at:
http://www.murrieta.k12.ca.us/alta/dfuller/charlotte/index.html

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