Childhood is an essential stage of human development. It is accompanied by a lot of physical and mental changes which continue right up to adulthood. Countless needs tend to arise in the course of this physical, mental and intellectual change. For children, these changes tend to be rapid more so during infancy. The needs vary from the need to love and be loved, for physical well-being, to belong, to achieve, for change, for knowledge as well as for beauty and order. The same goes for characters in E.B. White's story Charlotte's Web. White endeavors to align the characters in the story to actual needs of children as they grow. In other words, the development of the characters in the story is in line with the emotional, physical and moral needs that have been highlighted in child developmental stories. First off, the setting of the story is within a farm family where a pig gives birth to a litter of pigs.
As is the case with a litter, there is often a runt; a runt being a term that represents the unusually small animal. From the very onset, a runt becomes vulnerable. First of it is exceptionally small; secondly, it cannot adequately compete for food and warmth in a litter. Such is the case of Wilbur who is born a runt, and according to Arable, such an animal should be killed due to its weakness and unimportance. For Fern, however, Wilbur is deserving of life like any other pig, and therefore she begs her father to keep Wilbur as a pet, thus marking the onset of a story like no other. Fern's insistence on keeping Wilbur as a pet denotes her moral development (White, 1952). As an eight-year-old, Fern has developed an acute sense of self-awareness and is thus able to make an argument for Wilbur's life. Upon hearing about the ultimate death of Wilber, she responds: ‘This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself'" (White, 1952), denoting her moral awakening.
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By Kohlberg, Fern represents a pre-conventional level of development in of children in elementary school (Coon, Mitterer, Talbot and Vanchella, 2010). At the piglet stage, Wilbur requires a sense of love and being loved. However, having been pulled away from the rest of the litter, Wilbur lacked the caring and affection of family and siblings. Fern thus takes the responsibility of loving and reciprocating to Wilbur’s love. She showers the piglet with love and attention that she thinks it deserves. There is an element of physical wellbeing in the development process of a child (Coon et al. 2010). This includes protection from any form of harm. This particular need is exhibited when Wilbur's life is put at risk and fulfilled through the protection of Fern and Charlotte. Fern ensures Wilbur is not slaughtered at the farm. Upon arriving at Mr. Zuckerman's farm, Charlotte takes up the responsibility. Wilbur is another character who depicts changes mental, physical and emotional well-being. His psychological development can be realized upon his realization of his imminent death.
He rightly remarks that: ‘I don't want to die.' ‘...I am not going to let you die, Wilbur'" (White, 1952), indicative of is coming to terms with life and death. The desire to belong is another need evidenced by child development. Wilbur depicts this in making a request to Charlotte regarding the Fair. He states: "Please come with me!" begged Wilbur. "I need you, Charlotte. I can't stand going to the Fair without you. You've just got to come." (White, 1952). There is also the aspect of knowledge that comes along with the development among children. They begin to understand the realities of life and process new information that comes with it. A good example is to be found in the statement made by the goose upon giving birth to goslings. She remarks that: "Luck had nothing to do with this, said the goose. It was good management and hard work'" (White, 1952)," depicting new found wisdom. Mental change is part of the process of growing up. As children pass through various stages, they begin to appreciate the new responsibilities that come about with age.
For Fern, change comes about with the establishment of a new perspective. Once she begins to view herself as a young lady, she stops spending time with animals at the barn (White, 1952). The song of the crickets is used as an element that marks transition and change within the story. For Avery and Fern it marks the onset of school, for Charlotte, it is almost her time of death meaning she will be unable to witness the hatching of her eggs (White, 1952). The desire to achieve is also pertinent to child development. As children become older, they develop the need to achieve things beyond themselves. While it may depict a sense of attention, it is crucial for their socialization into the community. The need to realize is best highlighted through the life of Charlotte. One of her major concerns in the story is devising a method through which she can be able to save Wilbur. She goes to the extent of learning letters and forming partnerships with other animals to come up with the best plan of saving the pig. In this particular endeavor, Charlotte desires to be more than a spider by becoming Wilbur's savior.
Reference
Coon, D., Mitterer, J. O., Talbot, S., & Vanchella, C. M. (2010). Introduction to psychology: Gateways to mind and behavior . Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
White, E. B. (1952). Charlotte’s Web . New York: Scholastic .
