Discrimination in Whites Charlottes Web and Levines Hanas Suitcase

Introduction

Human life is surrounded and defined by social issues that happen to people as they attend to their day-to-day activities. As such, authors seek to explore these issues through novels, movies, and other artworks with the intention of understanding or highlighting the underlying principles. Whether in fiction or non-fiction, authors portray different social issues to educate, entertain, inform, or caution their audiences. For instance, the theme of discrimination stands out clearly in Charlottes Web a classic fictitious childrens novel by E. B. White and Hanas Suitcase a non-fiction story by Karen Levine. In Charlottes Web, White discusses how subtle discrimination could be in its extreme form leading to death through the intended merciless killing of a pig called Wilbur. Similarly, in Hanas Suitcase, the author addresses the same theme of discrimination in its worst form, the Holocaust the brutal massacre of millions of Jews during World War II by the Nazis. This paper compares and contrasts the theme of discrimination, as a social issue, in Charlottes Web and Hanas Suitcase by highlighting how the authors deal with the subject matter in each story.

Comparison

Charlottes Web

In this story, White discusses the theme of discrimination through a pig called Wilbur. He is born weak and Papa decides that he should be killed because he might not be profitable to the family in the long term. The piglet is not even given the chance to prove himself, and thus he is slated for elimination a few hours after his birth. As such, this decision is based purely on Wilburs appearance, which is mainly how people judge others. Even though White uses personification, Wilbur, the pig, is a representation of human beings. In the first chapter titled, Before Breakfast, Fern asks her mother where her father, Papa, is going with an ax. The mother responds, Out to the hog house& Some pigs were born last night & one of the pigs is a runt. Its very small and weak, and it will never amount to anything. So your father has decided to do away with it (White, 1952, p. 1). Fern immediately protests the idea of killing a piglet simply because it is small.

Wilburs only mistake is to be born weak something he did not choose. Similarly, in human relations, people are discriminated against based on different attributes that they cannot change. For instance, racial discrimination is a major problem in many parts of the world especially in North America and Europe. Blacks and other people of color are discriminated against based on the color of their skin. In some cases, just like the case of Papa wanting to kill Wilbur on the account of his appearance, discrimination has contributed to the death of millions of people. Slavery was based on the same principle of discrimination whereby Blacks would be captured in their native lands, shipped across the Atlantic, sold to their masters, and used as private properties working in plantations, especially in the South. In South Africa, the pervasive concept of apartheid was hinged purely on race. Blacks could not use the same streets as their white counterparts. Even in the US, there were all-white schools and buses, whereby Blacks were not allowed.

However, the story of discrimination is heart-wrenching and children might not understand the complexity of the same when told explicitly. This assertion explains why the author uses personification and characterization to address this sensitive topic to children. White focuses on Wilbur and Papa as characters and when reading the story, children might not be horrified by what they hear. The slaughtering of animals is common in different cultures, and thus the intended killing of Wilbur might seem normal at face value. However, with guidance from their teachers, parents, or guardians, this young audience could slowly start unraveling the in-depth meaning of Papas intentions to kill Wilbur based on his appearance. Therefore, it suffices to argue that in Charlotte Web, White uses characterization and personification to address discrimination as a complex social issue that affects people in their day-to-day lives in various parts around the world.

Hanas Suitcase

The story behind Hanas Suitcase is one of horror with the author exploring the unwarranted suffering of Jews during the Second World War, which culminated in the infamous Holocaust orchestrated by the Nazis. The author explores the theme of discrimination in its extremes whereby people turn against other fellow human beings and slaughter them senselessly based on ethnicity. The millions of Jews who were taken from their homes and killed in various concentration camps in Nazi Germany and its controlled territories died solely because they were different from their accusers. Their only crime was to be Jews something they could not change.

In the story, Ishioka endeavors to teach Japanese children about the evils of the Holocaust to ensure that they learn from history and prevent such a tragedy from happening again. Therefore, she travels to museums in Auschwitz, Poland, a site where one of the concentration camps was set up. She borrows an assortment of items including shoes, clothes, and a suitcase to take them back to Japan and show how Jewish children suffered. Among the borrowed items is a suitcase written Hana Brandy. After receiving the suitcase, Ishioka seeks to find who Hana Brandy was or is, as it is unclear whether she is dead or alive. The author then resorts to characterization to discuss the Holocaust in detail.

What starts as subtle discrimination of Jews in a far land spreads quickly to Hanas doorstep. Levine writes, On March 15, 1939, Hitlers Nazi troops marched into the rest of Czechoslovakia and the Brady familys life was changed forever. The Nazis declared that Jews were evil, a bad influence, and dangerous (p. 23). In events that follow, Hanas father and mother are taken away presumably to concentration camps, thus Hana and her brother are separated from their parents. Ultimately, Jews would be killed in the millions due to discrimination and baseless accusations because they were different from their tormentors.

The story of the Holocaust is painful even to adult audiences let alone children, and thus Levine looks for a way to pass this important message subtly without traumatizing her young audience. As such, the author presents the issue of discrimination and the eventual Holocaust in a low-key factual way without overdramatizing the events in Hanas life. Therefore, Levine uses plot and characterization as the main vehicles for the issues in this story. The story is structured in a way that it oscillates between events taking place in Tokyo, where children are learning about a mysterious bag names Hana Brady and Czechoslovakia, where the Holocaust is unfolding. This form of the plot allows the children to follow what is happening in Hanas life and how her life and that of her family are affected by the discrimination against Jews in Europe in the middle of World War II.

Jews were being discriminated against for being Jews, just like Wilbur was slated to be killed for being weak. The two stories share a similar theme discrimination. Whether through personification as is the case of Charlottes Web or plot and characterization, as is the case of Hanas Suitcase, the theme of discrimination, as a pervasive social issue, stands out clearly. In both cases, the victims are being discriminated against based on attributes that they cannot change or control. Wilbur, after being born in less than a day, appears weak and thus he has to die due to his appearance. Similarly, Jews, in Hanas Suitcase, are being murdered senselessly based on their ethnicity. Therefore, it suffices to argue that the two stories share a common theme discrimination.

Contrast

Even though the two stories share a common theme of discrimination, they differ significantly in the way the concepts are presented. First, Charlottes Web is a fictitious story while Hanas Suitcase is a true account of events that unfolded in 1998 when a suitcase arrived in Japan from Auschwitz. Therefore, while White uses animal characters, such as Wilbur and Charlotte in Charlottes Web, Levine, in Hanas Suitcase, uses real people, especially Hana, Fumiko, and the children. Similarly, White uses fictitious places while Levine uses existing places, such as the Auschwitz Museum, Yad Vashem, and the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. Therefore, it suffices to argue that the main differences between the two stories concerning the way the theme of discrimination is presented are based on Charlottes Web being fiction and Hanas Suitcase is an account of true events.

Another major difference between the two stories lies in the way the authors chose to present the narratives. In Charlottes Web, White uses personification to communicate this theme. Wilbur, a weak piglet, is about to be slaughtered for being born weak, which is discrimination. The use of an animal as a character in the story allows children to understand the underlying themes implicitly. Additionally, children love animal stories and this is an effective way of addressing the problem of discrimination. On the other hand, in Hanas Suitcase, Levine uses characterization and plot, and even though the story of the Holocaust is horrifying, this strategy allows the author to narrate the same to children without being outright and terrifying.

Conclusion

In both Charlottes Web and Hanas Suitcase, the authors discuss a common theme discrimination, as part of social issues that affect human beings in their daily lives. Wilbur is discriminated against because he is born weak and thus he should be killed. Similarly, Hanas family and millions of other Jews are killed during the Holocaust due to their ethnicity. Discrimination is a common problem in modern societies and these two authors successfully address this problem to their target young audience. However, while the two stories share a common theme, the way such a concept is presented differs significantly, specifically given that one is fictitious while the other is an account of a real-life story of what happened during the Holocaust. Nevertheless, despite the differences, the two authors, Levine and White, share important aspects concerning discrimination and its repercussions.