charlotte’s web review
When opposites work together
The concept of “Yin and Yang” originated in ancient China. The concept describes two opposing but complementary main forces or principles found in the objects and processes of the universe. Yin is the darkest element, often associated with the feminine aspect and the night. Yang, on the other hand, is associated with the brightest element, the masculine aspect, and also with the day (Wikipedia). Psychologist William Indick argues that in some stories, occasionally “two characters are as different as night and day… [they] complement each other” (Indick, Psychology 117). In EB White’s story Charlotte’s Web, Charlotte and Templeton complement each other and work together to save Wilbur’s life.
Charlotte and Templeton differ physically. Charlotte is a female spider or “yin”, while Templeton is a male rat or the “yang” counterpart. The spider describes itself as a hunter and loves to drink the blood of the animals it catches (White 39). Also, Wilbur thinks his new friend, Charlotte, is “fierce, brutal, scheming, and bloodthirsty” (41). Rather, Templeton explains that she “prefers to spend her time eating [leftovers] gnawing, spying and hiding… I’m a glutton” (29). Charlotte believes that “a rat is a rat” (47). But these physical characteristics cannot be fully related to the characters’ personalities.
In the story, Charlotte is not just an ordinary spider, but a mother figure to Wilbur. EV White employs the “Mother Archetype” as part of Charlotte’s personality. Dr. Indick explains that archetypes are shared associations and images, significant unconscious ideas or figures that all people can relate to (Indick, Psychology 113-114). Charlotte is a caring and loving “mother” to Wilbur. When Wilbur discovers that they are going to kill him by the end of the year, he begins to scream desperately and ask for help. As she will make a mother, Charlotte worries and promises Wilbur to develop a plan to save him from the ax (51). Also, Wilbur acts like a child and asks Charlotte to tell him a story from time to time. Then the spider tells Wilbur the story of his beautiful cousin, who managed to weave a web across a small stream. At the end of Charlotte’s story, Wilbur asks her to sing him a song, and she sings a song as a loving mother to her dearest son (101-104).
Despite Charlotte’s physical appearance, she is also Wilbur’s mentor teacher. Dr. Indick argues that the mentor archetype is a very common figure in stories, myths, and movies. Additionally, a mentor teacher will be a wise and inspiring figure who has taught and guided students. Furthermore, “the teacher sees his students as emerging heroes, overcoming his own weaknesses under his tutelage…and the victories of his students become his own victories” (Indick, Movies 53 -54). Charlotte fits the mentor teacher archetype because she teaches her student a variety of topics, for example: “Wilbur tells Charlotte one afternoon that her legs are terribly hairy. Charlotte goes on to explain that her legs are hairy for a good reason. , [spins webs] and that his legs are divided into seven sections: the coaxial, the trochanter, the femur, the patella, the tibia, the metatarsal and the tarsal” (55). The teacher also helps her student to develop his vocabulary, Wilbur is always asking for the meaning of a word like “What does hello mean? What does sedentary mean? Or what does gullible mean? (35,61,67). On the other hand, towards the end of the story, Wilbur wins a prize at the fair and asks Charlotte why she is so quiet. Charlotte replies that she is a little tired, but she feels calm, because Wilbur’s success in the ring, in a small way, was her success (163). Therefore, after all her hard work and after Wilbur overcomes her weaknesses, the teacher feels that the student’s success is her success earned from her.
Much like Yin and Yang, Templeton’s personality is the exact opposite of Charlotte’s personality.
To begin with, he behaves like a disinterested father with a child. At the beginning of the story, Wilbur is sad and bored and asks Templeton to talk to him and play with him. But the rat disappoints Wilbur because, unlike a loving father, Templeton doesn’t want to be with him, telling him “I never do those things if I can help it” (29). Templeton’s behavior can be explained by one of Erickson’s psychosocial stages of identity crisis; the stage of trust versus mistrust. Based on this stage, Dr. Indick explained that a doubtful character (such as Templeton) is reluctant to commit himself to a heroic cause, because he cannot trust good people who need his help (Indick, Psychology 80). To resolve the conflict of mistrust, the character has to take a “leap of faith,” which means that he has to let his guard down and give himself over to someone else. The leap of faith isn’t a big transformation, it’s just a step where the character goes into a more proactive state to help someone (Indick, Psychology 81).
Charlotte and Templeton are as different as night and day. Charlotte is caring, loving, trustworthy and loyal, while Templeton is the complete opposite because he is not trusted, “has no morals, no conscience, no scruples, no consideration, no decency, no milk of rodent kindness, no scruples, no superior feeling, no friendship, nothing at all” (45-46). Also, Templeton is selfish. Charlotte tells the older sheep that she is not sure if Templeton is willing to help them because “he always takes care of himself, he never thinks of others” (89).
Therefore, Templeton is not a father or teacher figure or a friend to Wilbur or anyone else.
Although Templeton is selfish and untrustworthy, he takes his “leap of faith” when he cooperates with Charlotte and the rest to save Wilbur. Charlotte needs some new words to write on her web, so the old sheep orders Templeton to bring a clipping from a magazine (90-91). Charlotte cannot run the errand by herself due to her physical limitations. But Templeton is a rat; he has more physical possibilities to get the job done because he comes and goes as he pleases, unlike the rest of the animals. Although Templeton refuses to do the job in the first place, after a brief explanation from the old sheep, he agrees to help, saying, “I’m going to take a trip to the dump tomorrow afternoon. I’ll bring a magazine clipping if I can find one.” “. Later, Templeton finds an ad with the words ‘With New Radiant Action’ and together, as Yin and Yang, (Templeton and Charlotte) study the soap ad (97). Although Templeton doesn’t like being treated like a “messenger”, he looks around her at the fair and brings Charlotte the last word he writes on her spider web: “Humble” (139-140) . At the end of the story, without being asked, Templeton also bites off Wilbur’s tail when he faints in front of all the people, and is also easily persuaded to bring Wilbur Charlotte’s egg sack (168-169). Then Templeton becomes more active and helps Wilbur.
Regardless of the characters’ differences, they pool their skills and abilities to work together and, in the end, Wilbur is safe. Jane Garry and Hasan El-Shamy explain that:
A critical facet of the concept of opposites is that the perceived inherent union between the opposites constitutes a new affective entity that is greater than the mere elaboration of any of the components…More generally, union refers to the idea that opposites attract and combine to form a whole greater than the sum of its opposite parts… (Garry and El-Shamy 482)
Charlotte and Templeton are like night and day. Their personalities differ substantially. The spider is Wilbur’s mother, teacher, and friend. On the other hand, the rat is a selfish, inconsiderate and insensitive character. However, these two personalities complement each other, they worked together to save Wilbur from death. Charlotte develops a plan and Templeton helps her, bringing the words she needs. They unite their talents and, like Yin and Yang, form a strong whole, effectively fulfilling a selfless task: saving Wilbur’s life.
Monica Caballero Licona