osprey_archer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
osprey_archer) wrote2010-10-16 03:42 pm
osprey_archer) wrote2010-10-16 03:42 pm
Entry tags:
Death and Children's Lit, and Charlotte's Web
I just finished rereading Charlotte's Web today. It really is better as an adult: half the theme went over my head when I read it when I was eight. I got the friendship part, but the meaning of Charlotte's death went over my head.
Her death is probably one of the best-done death's in children's literature. Usually with kids' books the author wants to teach a Very Important Lesson about how death EXISTS and is RANDOM and COULD HAPPEN TO SOMEONE YOU LOVE (I hate and loathe and DESPISE Bridge to Terabithia) - and it's SO CHEAP, because of course in fiction, unlike life, death is never random. The author chooses to kill a character, occasionally because the death arises naturally from the story but more often because she wants to be "edgy" or "deep" or "realistic" or to win a Newberry medal.
And, having made that choice, generally the rest of the book is consumed in horror and mourning. These books suggest, simultaneously, that death is a common occurrence that affects everyone, and that when someone you know dies it will WRECK YOUR LIFE and make you miserable FOREVER, or at least till the last two pages of the book when a glimmer of hope gets tacked on to make it publishable.
I feel this message is pernicious.
Charlotte's death, on the other hand, is beautifully done. It really is one of those rare literary deaths that grow naturally from the story: it's well foreshadowed and it comes at a natural time, both in her life cycle and in the story itself. Moreover, while her death is terribly sad, life goes on. Wilbur mourns her, but he doesn't collapse in a puddle of endless misery.
And leaving aside DEATH, the book is wonderfully written. I especially love the sense of setting, the very intense sense of being in a barn, of seasons changing, the sights and smells and sounds. White is a deliciously descriptive writer. It's a fun book to sink into, like sitting on the porch eating gingerbread.
One caveat: the ending of Fern's story still MAKES ME FURIOUS. One Ferris wheel ride with a silly boy and she completely ceases to care about Wilbur? TOTALLY BOGUS. I hate that scene almost as much as Bridge to Terabithia.
Her death is probably one of the best-done death's in children's literature. Usually with kids' books the author wants to teach a Very Important Lesson about how death EXISTS and is RANDOM and COULD HAPPEN TO SOMEONE YOU LOVE (I hate and loathe and DESPISE Bridge to Terabithia) - and it's SO CHEAP, because of course in fiction, unlike life, death is never random. The author chooses to kill a character, occasionally because the death arises naturally from the story but more often because she wants to be "edgy" or "deep" or "realistic" or to win a Newberry medal.
And, having made that choice, generally the rest of the book is consumed in horror and mourning. These books suggest, simultaneously, that death is a common occurrence that affects everyone, and that when someone you know dies it will WRECK YOUR LIFE and make you miserable FOREVER, or at least till the last two pages of the book when a glimmer of hope gets tacked on to make it publishable.
I feel this message is pernicious.
Charlotte's death, on the other hand, is beautifully done. It really is one of those rare literary deaths that grow naturally from the story: it's well foreshadowed and it comes at a natural time, both in her life cycle and in the story itself. Moreover, while her death is terribly sad, life goes on. Wilbur mourns her, but he doesn't collapse in a puddle of endless misery.
And leaving aside DEATH, the book is wonderfully written. I especially love the sense of setting, the very intense sense of being in a barn, of seasons changing, the sights and smells and sounds. White is a deliciously descriptive writer. It's a fun book to sink into, like sitting on the porch eating gingerbread.
One caveat: the ending of Fern's story still MAKES ME FURIOUS. One Ferris wheel ride with a silly boy and she completely ceases to care about Wilbur? TOTALLY BOGUS. I hate that scene almost as much as Bridge to Terabithia.