I know I've been posting a lot, so sorry. Also, this post may contain spoilers for Charlotte's Web, Romeo and Juliet, and Me Before You, so if you don't want those ruined for you, don't read this. Also, this isn't meant to be morbid, but these are my thoughts, and I wanted to express them.
Last week, BYU was putting on a stage adaptation of Charlotte's Web. Mommy suggested I go, and I figured why not, especially after reading that Charlotte uses aerial silks to mimc a web. The show was really beautifully done. All the characters were cute, but the girl playing Charlotte was wonderful. First off, the strength that goes into aerial silks must be crazy, but she did a great job. The way she moved was like a spider, and her costume was excellent. But most of all, she made you love her. Charlotte's Web is a childhood classic, but I always found it funny that everyone loved the spider so much. I do not like spiders. but by giving this spider a name and a voice, we grow to love her. We love the energy and effort that she puts into saving Wilbur, because he cannot save himself. We love her selflessness, her strength, and her compassion. In the end, Charlotte uses the last of her energy to not only save Wilbur, but to spin her egg-sack. Charlotte ends up dying alone at the fairgrounds, while Wilbur is taken back to the farm. Everyone always said what an amazing pig Wilbur must be, because of the words written about him in Charlotte's Web, but Charlotte was the extraordinary one. She gave her life to save another. Wilbur only recognizes the sacrifice she made at the end. When he is about to leave the fairgrounds, he asks Templeton to retrieve Charlotte's sack so they could take it back to the farm with them. There, Wilbur watches over the sack until the baby spiders hatch. At first, he is sad, because he thinks all of Charlotte's children are leaving him. In the end, three remain there. I was reading the program the day after the play, and they make an interesting point. Charlotte's Web can seen morbid at times, because the main character dies. For children, that can be intense. And yet, it is one of the most beloved children's books. The program made the point that death resonates with us. It isn't something we often want to think about, but life isn't usually like a storybook. There is sadness in the world, and unfortunately, death is a part of that sadness.
It is for this same reason that Romeo and Juliet is such a well-known tragedy. Not one, but two main characters die in the end. There is no happy ending. I think we often immerse ourselves into books, because we like the happy endings. They may be incredibly predictable, but they give us a refuge from the reality of our lives. But when our beloved storybook characters die, it can be especially hard, because we grow to love them. Possibly my saddest character death is that of Fred Weasley. Not only did I grow to love him throughout the Harry Potter series, but I love the Weasley family, and I think of their sadness and grief over losing their family member, and it makes me cry. I think of my own family, and the bond that we share. We are so close as a family, and I can't imagine how hard it will be for us when anyone dies. And this is where I turn to Me Before You. The movie came out this month, and it has caused quite an uproar. People are angry about the author's approach to the situation expressed in the book. The story focuses on a quadriplegic and his caregiver. At first, Will(the quad) is living a full, happy life. But he is hit by a motorcycle, and loses all ability to care for himself. He can barely move beneath his neck, and given the life he lived before his accident, he is severely depressed. Louisa is a free spirit unknowingly trapped by her family's financial issues and her own fear. Louisa says she is happy with her life, but only after experiencing life outside of her town does she realize what she is missing. Will is trapped in his own body, and he has decided to commit assisted suicide. Louisa spends his last four months trying to convince him otherwise. In the end, he doesn't change his mind, and once again, a beloved main character dies. I cried a lot. You cry for Louisa, who grew to love Will, and found that in the end, she wasn't enough for him. You cry, because you know he loved her too, but he chose to end his life because he couldn't be who he wanted to be for her. This book is controversial. People don't like that in the end, Will is allowed to end his own life. They don't like that the author used a quadriplegic, because not all quadriplegics think of committing suicide. But this book is real. It doesn't have a happy ending. They don't run off into the sunset together. Instead, Will dies and he leaves most of his inheritance to Louisa so she can live the life she never could before, because Will has changed her. But she is not happy. She was changed by Will, and now he is gone.
Mommy often says that death is the one thing that Heavenly Father got wrong. How can He stand to see us so sad? The pain felt by losing someone you love can often be unbearable, and it seems so wrong that someone so loved can be taken away from this existence. But I do think that death gives us a greater appreciating for life, and for those around us. We think differently about how we treat people, because you never know what might happen. Each day is a gift, and every person that touches our lives is part of Heavenly Father's gift to us. Death stays with us, and I think it helps make us better people. It is an awful part of life, but it is real. And I am so grateful for the Gospel and the knowledge it gives me that we will see our loved ones again. This life is only the beginning, and while death can be scary, we can live knowing that this is not the end.
Last week, BYU was putting on a stage adaptation of Charlotte's Web. Mommy suggested I go, and I figured why not, especially after reading that Charlotte uses aerial silks to mimc a web. The show was really beautifully done. All the characters were cute, but the girl playing Charlotte was wonderful. First off, the strength that goes into aerial silks must be crazy, but she did a great job. The way she moved was like a spider, and her costume was excellent. But most of all, she made you love her. Charlotte's Web is a childhood classic, but I always found it funny that everyone loved the spider so much. I do not like spiders. but by giving this spider a name and a voice, we grow to love her. We love the energy and effort that she puts into saving Wilbur, because he cannot save himself. We love her selflessness, her strength, and her compassion. In the end, Charlotte uses the last of her energy to not only save Wilbur, but to spin her egg-sack. Charlotte ends up dying alone at the fairgrounds, while Wilbur is taken back to the farm. Everyone always said what an amazing pig Wilbur must be, because of the words written about him in Charlotte's Web, but Charlotte was the extraordinary one. She gave her life to save another. Wilbur only recognizes the sacrifice she made at the end. When he is about to leave the fairgrounds, he asks Templeton to retrieve Charlotte's sack so they could take it back to the farm with them. There, Wilbur watches over the sack until the baby spiders hatch. At first, he is sad, because he thinks all of Charlotte's children are leaving him. In the end, three remain there. I was reading the program the day after the play, and they make an interesting point. Charlotte's Web can seen morbid at times, because the main character dies. For children, that can be intense. And yet, it is one of the most beloved children's books. The program made the point that death resonates with us. It isn't something we often want to think about, but life isn't usually like a storybook. There is sadness in the world, and unfortunately, death is a part of that sadness. 
It is for this same reason that Romeo and Juliet is such a well-known tragedy. Not one, but two main characters die in the end. There is no happy ending. I think we often immerse ourselves into books, because we like the happy endings. They may be incredibly predictable, but they give us a refuge from the reality of our lives. But when our beloved storybook characters die, it can be especially hard, because we grow to love them. Possibly my saddest character death is that of Fred Weasley. Not only did I grow to love him throughout the Harry Potter series, but I love the Weasley family, and I think of their sadness and grief over losing their family member, and it makes me cry. I think of my own family, and the bond that we share. We are so close as a family, and I can't imagine how hard it will be for us when anyone dies. And this is where I turn to Me Before You. The movie came out this month, and it has caused quite an uproar. People are angry about the author's approach to the situation expressed in the book. The story focuses on a quadriplegic and his caregiver. At first, Will(the quad) is living a full, happy life. But he is hit by a motorcycle, and loses all ability to care for himself. He can barely move beneath his neck, and given the life he lived before his accident, he is severely depressed. Louisa is a free spirit unknowingly trapped by her family's financial issues and her own fear. Louisa says she is happy with her life, but only after experiencing life outside of her town does she realize what she is missing. Will is trapped in his own body, and he has decided to commit assisted suicide. Louisa spends his last four months trying to convince him otherwise. In the end, he doesn't change his mind, and once again, a beloved main character dies. I cried a lot. You cry for Louisa, who grew to love Will, and found that in the end, she wasn't enough for him. You cry, because you know he loved her too, but he chose to end his life because he couldn't be who he wanted to be for her. This book is controversial. People don't like that in the end, Will is allowed to end his own life. They don't like that the author used a quadriplegic, because not all quadriplegics think of committing suicide. But this book is real. It doesn't have a happy ending. They don't run off into the sunset together. Instead, Will dies and he leaves most of his inheritance to Louisa so she can live the life she never could before, because Will has changed her. But she is not happy. She was changed by Will, and now he is gone. Mommy often says that death is the one thing that Heavenly Father got wrong. How can He stand to see us so sad? The pain felt by losing someone you love can often be unbearable, and it seems so wrong that someone so loved can be taken away from this existence. But I do think that death gives us a greater appreciating for life, and for those around us. We think differently about how we treat people, because you never know what might happen. Each day is a gift, and every person that touches our lives is part of Heavenly Father's gift to us. Death stays with us, and I think it helps make us better people. It is an awful part of life, but it is real. And I am so grateful for the Gospel and the knowledge it gives me that we will see our loved ones again. This life is only the beginning, and while death can be scary, we can live knowing that this is not the end.
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