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Essay / The not-so-subtle depiction of supernatural elements in Eb White's Charlotte's Web and Louis Sachar's Holes
In children's literature, supernatural elements can be found in many novels and short stories. Merriam-Webster's definition of the supernatural is "attributed to a force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature" (Webster). In Charlotte's Web by EB White and Holes by Louis Sachar, nature is the catalyst for all the events that take place throughout the two novels. Nature and the supernatural often correlate, as many things in the world remain unexplained and may never be fully explained. Humans have an innate sense of wonder and awe and often seek answers to such unexplainable supernatural events. In Charlotte's Web, the supernatural events that take place and depict the mysticism of nature are the basis of the entire plot of the story while in Holes, the supernatural elements of history, destiny and nature are l he backbone of the events that unfold in the novel. no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In Charlotte's Web by EB White, elements of the supernatural can be found throughout the plot of the novel. The entire concept of this novel is based on the supernatural ideas of talking animals, the "miracle" of words appearing in a spider's web, and the sense of wonder at the beauty of the natural world which is often seen as a refuge on. When it comes to talking animals, it is a universally accepted concept that animals do not speak, but in the fantasy and supernatural world, this concept can be completely ignored. Fern's mother, Mrs. Arable, believes that animals simply cannot speak and becomes concerned for her daughter's well-being when Fern communicates to her the events that have recently occurred in the barnyard. Mr. Arable concludes that it is simply Fern's imagination, saying that "she just has a vivid imagination." Children think they hear all kinds of things” (White 54). He then suggests that a child's ears may hear more than those of an adult. Adults are often too busy dealing with the hubbub of daily life, while children take the time to listen to what is around them. Adults also attribute what children say to an overactive imagination, as does Mr. Arable. This idea of overactive imaginations ultimately undermines the supernatural essence of this novel, even though many of the events that take place would be considered out of the ordinary if such things happened in reality. Although the adults in this novel do not believe that animals speak, it is a strange contradiction that they are gullible enough to believe that supernatural forces are at work causing words to appear in a spider's web. According to Trudelle H. Thomas, “The foolish adults who read these messages decide that a supernatural sign has occurred – a miracle! Wilbur must be very special indeed to deserve such praise” (Thomas 203). Adults are quick to dismiss the idea that any animal, much less a small gray spider, is capable of written communication. The concept of talking animals can only be understood by a child, who through his active imagination can understand it. If a pig could be given a supernatural gift, it must be superior in some way. Wilbur's life is ultimately saved at the end of the novel, but for no real reason. Websites declare Wilbur to be superior by saying he is "a certain pig", "terrific", "radiant", and "humble,” although there is no real evidence that Wilbur is such things (White 78, 94, 114,149). The characters in this novel simply assume and believe that the ordinary pig is anything but due to the miracle of the web. If "logical" adults are to believe that the words in a spider's web could be caused by a possible miracle or supernatural phenomenon, who really has the active imagination here? If children hear more than is actually said or done, does this mean that parents are looking for signs and meaning in events that don't actually exist? Nature is often seen as a safe haven where love can flourish, as a saving grace, or as an outlet to the realities of life. In terms of Charlotte's Web, all three of these concepts apply. Almost the entire novel takes place in nature, and it is in nature that Charlotte and Wilbur develop and cultivate a pure, selfless plutonic love for each other. EB White states that “Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved his children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever truly took their place in his heart. She was alone in a classroom” (White 184). The love he has for Charlotte lives on long after her death through the many generations of his offspring, although no love surpasses the love he has for Charlotte. Wilbur will never be able to replace his love for Charlotte, especially since she had devoted a good part of her life to saving his life. Wilbur in return sacrifices his life in a sense and devotes it to caring for Charlotte's offspring, generations after she is gone. Nature is where these loves develop and without the natural environment there wouldn't even be a story to tell. It's nature itself, specifically a spider's web, that ultimately saves the life of an all-too-ordinary pig. Charlotte's natural ability to form a web is elevated to the level of a supernatural circumstance due to humanity's natural attraction to nature as a source of supernatural activity. According to Sue Misheff, “Charlotte's web is a very realistic spider web constructed by an all-too-realistic spider that devours flies in a seemingly bloodthirsty manner. Is she evil or is she just doing what comes naturally? (Misheff 132). Charlotte is simply an ordinary spider with an extraordinary gift. Charlotte performs these acts selflessly out of love, as she is never credited for such feats, and it is Wilbur who is praised instead. It is in nature itself that Charlotte produces a web that she naturally creates due to her biological instincts in order to be the saving grace that Wilbur needs to stay alive. Misheff also states, “It is [Charlotte’s] imagination that transcends the natural course of things and inspires her to save her friend through her masterful weaving of words” (Misheff 132). This transcendence of natural ways is what leads the human characters in the novel to seek this miracle of nature as a source of escape from reality. Human characters, especially adults, use this "supernatural phenomenon" as a possible source of hope, fear, or a sign of something more. The children in the novel are depicted as simply being intrigued and awed by such events, rather than looking further into what it is, a spider's web. Nature is seen in this novel as being Wilbur and Charlotte's refuge for their friendship to grow, it is there that Wilber is ultimately saved, and it is there that humans go to seek more than what is simply put under their eyes. In the novel Holes by Louis Sachar, the theme of the fantastic and/or the supernaturalprevails throughout history. The entire novel centers on the supernatural events of fate and nature as a source of refuge. In terms of fate, the book is full of examples where fate brought the characters together. An example of supernatural events as told by Pat Pinset, the author of "Fate and Fortune in a Modern Fairy Tale: The Holes of Louis Sachar", "There is no shortage of magic formulas either, since the curse that ruined Elya, until the song that Elya should have sung to the old woman on the mountain in Latvia but which, much later, her great-great-grandson sang to her great-great-great-grandson Zero » (Pinset 207). Elya Yelnats and her descendants received their curse due to Elya's broken promise to carry Madam Zeroni to the mountain where the piglet she gave her drank. Madame Zeroni's great-great-great-grandson, Zero, or Hector Zeroni, crosses paths with Elya's great-great-grandson, more than 100 years later after this incident of fate. Fate brought these two descendants together after they were both arrested on two separate theft charges that seemingly seem unrelated, but we later learn that this is untrue. Zero says, "I should have kept them." […] If I had just kept these smelly old sneakers, none of us would be here right now” (Sachar 184). It is a supernatural fate that Stanley discovers the Clyde Livingston sneakers that Zero originally stole and attempts to bring them home only for his father's Zeroni curse to have caused the cures for the shoe stench to fail. Destiny also brings the boys together in order to break the curse cast by Hector's great-great-great-grandmother, Madame Zeroni. After escaping Camp Green Lake and seeking refuge on God's Thumb, Stanley carries Zero up the rest of the mountain once he becomes ill and is too weak to continue further alone. Stanley then begins to sing to her the song that Madam Zeroni had asked Elya to sing to her when he promised to carry her up the mountain all those years ago, finally fulfilling his obligation to a Zeroni. At that point, the curse is lifted. It was destiny that brought the families of Stanley and Hector together to break the curse in an all-too-familiar setting. Nature is largely depicted as a refuge for Stanley Yelnats and Hector Zeroni (Zero) in the novel. Nature saves the lives of Stanley and Hector not only once, but three times throughout the novel. Kirsten Mllegaard's article "Haunting and History in Louis Sachar's Holes" explores the concept that landscapes are haunted by their past and argues that Holes illustrates the turn to the supernatural in the process of recovering history and highlights the difficulty to access a lost or denied past. …]. In Holes, the narration constructs the reality of the characters. Stories provide frameworks for understanding bizarre events, seemingly arbitrary acts of violence and injustice, and for establishing meaningful connections and relationships between people (Mllegaard 139). It was said earlier that fate brought these two young men together, but with fate, the environment itself brought Stanley and Zero closer than ever. This can be seen when Zero escapes from Camp Green Lake, he is protected from the environment by a piece of this land's history that has long been forgotten. Zero is protected by Sam's old overturned boat which provides him with nutrients from rotting peach pots which he calls sploosh. While searching for Zero, Stanley also comes across the overturned boat and seeks refuge from the heat beneath this haunted piece of history, luckily finding Zero during the, 2012.