Identify, Contrast and Compare social issues in Hana's Suitcase and Charlotte's Web.

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Compare and Contrast: Social Issues in Hana's Suitcase and Charlotte's Web
Throughout history, social issues influence the daily lives of the people. These social issues can be of economic, social, racial, environmental, and many more. The books Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine and Charlotte's Web by E.B White described many social issues that are still prevalent in today's society. The main difference in their books is that E.B. White's approach is more symbolic, where the reader needs to interpret the interaction of animals, while Karen Levine used historical facts about the Nazi rule in Czechoslovakia to show societal problems during that era. Although the authors used different approaches, they reported similarities in social issues, which include racial discrimination, forced imprisonment, child neglect, child labor, racial killing, and gender discrimination.
Racial Discrimination and Prejudice
In Charlotte’s Web, Wilbur became bored living in his new home in the barn. He tried to play with other animals but no one wants to play with him (White, 27-29). The lamb even said that “I am not interested in pigs. Pigs mean less than nothing to me (White, 28).” The lamb is judging the value of pigs to have less worth than other animals. Knowing that Wilbur is just new to the barn, the lamb already had negative notions about pigs. This could stem from the lamb’s previous interaction with other pigs; however, the lamb is young and could have not met other pigs other than Wilbur. The animals may have preconceptions about pigs that were passed down from generation to generation. The lamb branded Wilbur to be less than nothing based on species classification rather than the content of Wilbur’s character. The interaction of Wilbur and the lamb show discrimination and prejudice because Wilbur was treated with less favor than other animals on the farm. The Lamb intended to insult the race of Wilbur because he is a pig. It is the same the modern times where people are judged base on the color of the skin, ethnicity, or religious beliefs.
It is similar in Hana’s suitcase where Jews are discriminated against because of their race, religion, and ethnicity. In Hana's suitcase, one passage states that “the Nazis declared that Jews were evil, a bad influence, dangerous (Levine, “Nové Město na Moravě, 1939”).” These hurtful classifications of Jews led the continental-wide anti-Semitic movements. Hitler used his pollical power and military might to rule over Europe and rid the continent of Jewish people. The Jewish people were deprived of their rights, including their right to education, life, and liberty. The Jews under the Nazi occupation were forced to follow different rules than the rest of the citizens. They can only leave their house at certain hours or the day and could only buy at certain stores that are made for Jews (Levine, “Nové Město na Moravě, 1939”).
Additionally, all of their valuable possessions are surrendered to the Nazi soldiers, including art, jewelry, and money. Other citizens were also instructed by Nazis to stay away from Jews or be punished (Levine, “Nové Město na Moravě, 1939”). When Nazi forces reached Czechoslovakia, Hana and his brother George were no longer allowed to attend school and go to other public places such as the park or the movies (Levine, “Autumn 1940–Spring 1941”). Jewish families tried to conform with the Nazi rule follow their instructions as faithfully as possible to prevent any casualties. The Jewish people were further humiliated by the Nazis by making them wear a yellow Star of David badge with the word Jude in the middle to segregate them from others (Levine, “Autumn 1941”).
Forced Imprisonment
In Charlotte’s Web, the barn can symbolize the lack of freedom of the animals by imprisoning them in their specialized cage. One day, Wilbur got out of the pigpen and the other animals told him to run away. However, Mr. Zuckerman and Lurvy chased him until he was back into his pen (White, 17-23). According to the Goose, “You'll miss your freedom (White, 23).” The goose's statement implies that the barn is like a prison where all animals are convicted with life imprisonment. Additionally, when Charlotte was introduced, Charlotte's web can symbolize death traps where small insects that are unlucky enough to get caught are eaten (38). From this perspective, Charlotte can symbolize the determiner of life and death, but only to those who are small creatures that can get out of the web. The small insects can then represent the minorities that are under-represented that also lacks the power to fight for themselves. These minorities are then trapped to the mercy of the majority.
It is similar in Hana's Suitcase where the Nazi forces created many prisons or concentration camps to contain all the captured Jews, including adults and children (Levine, “Introduction”). The concentration camp is where most of the abuse and suffering of Jews happened. The Jewish people that were tra...