This article “Charlotte’s Web Analysis” is based on the popular children’s book Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
Charlotte’s Web is a phenomenal children’s book written by E.B White and it has been enchanting children’s world for nearly 7 decades (for a good reason)
There are two reasons why I like to talk about this beautiful story today. One is its ability to arouse our emotions of tenderness and compassion, the other is that I really enjoyed teaching this story at school. Having read this story so many times, I thought there was more to what we see on the surface. So, I’d like to dive into the depths of this lovely story and talk about the hidden gems that you may not be able to find in one go.
Having said that, if you or your child hasn’t read this story YET , this is the best place to get a thorough idea of what to expect in this book.
Charlotte’s Web Analysis -Summary of Charlotte’s Web by E.B White
The story begins on Mr. Arable’s farm where he is going to kill a new born runt pig because Mr. Arable thinks “it will never amount to anything”. He doesn’t want to spend his money and time raising a runt pig so he’s going to put an end to its life. His daughter, Fern had other ideas. She couldn’t bear the thought of killing an innocent animal and sprang to her feet to run and stop her father from killing the animal. She brings up really interesting (but valid) reasons and finally wins the arguments and gets to keep the runt.
“The pig couldn’t help being born small, could it? If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?”
Fern was overjoyed when Mr Arable surprised her the next day with a carton with the same runt pig inside it. She named him “Wilbur”. She fed him, put him to bed and soon they became best friends and wherever Fern went, Wilbur would follow her. When Wilbur was big enough to eat food, Mr. Arable suggested selling Wilbur and wouldn’t give in to Fern’s tears. Finally, they sold Wilbur to Fern’s uncle Mr. Zuckerman.
Mr. Zuckerman’s barn was quite a new place for little Wilbur but Fern’s daily visits to see him in his pen were comforting to him. Wilbur loved Fern’s visits but yearned for a friend in his life. At the barn, he finds a friend called Charlotte who is a spider. At first, Wilbur couldn’t help worrying about Charlotte’s little tricks of catching bugs and sucking their blood but he soon realised what a kind and loving friend Charlotte is. Charlotte treated Wilbur like a child and showered him with so much love and kindness. Just what poor Wilbur needed then.
However, their happy days come to an end with the thunderbolt of a news report by Old Sheep who said Wilbur is being fattened up to be killed at Christmastime. Wilbur was devastated by the news but Charlotte promised that she could save Wilbur from being killed.
Charlotte’s Web Analysis- Summary continues
Charlotte is not an ordinary spider. She is clever, kind and crafty. Just as she promised she executed her plan of action in the most unusual way. She wove the word “Some pig” on her web right behind Wilbur’s pen. Everyone in the Zuckerman family got tricked by it thinking that they have an “unusual pig” and that it’s the work of some Supernatural Power.
Soon the news spread across all four corners of the country bringing hundreds of people to see this “unusual pig”. Charlotte’s plan was working but she wanted to carry on misleading everyone until they admired Wilbur enough to stop killing him in Winter. The story goes on and becomes more and more interesting and at the same time it warms our heart to see the deep felt love, Charlotte had for Wilbur.
Charlotte’s hour of triumph is when Wilbur wins a prize at the county fair and gets applauded and appreciated for his indescribable charisma (thanks to Charlotte’s web). Their friendship is the highlight of this story and Charlotte as a true giver, gives wisdom, hope and solace to Wilbur.
However, Charlotte dies leaving behind unforgettable memories among her loved ones, especially Wilbur. The story ends with lots of hope though as Wilbur gets to show his gratitude by taking care of Charlotte’s egg sac (children). Wilbur lived on the farm happily ever after but he never forgot his one true friend, Charlotte for a second and never met anyone like her in his life again.
Charlotte’s Web Analysis -Themes
Friendship
Friendship is the foundation of this story. Wilbur had two real friends in his life. Fern and Charlotte. Both saved his life. But the friendship with Charlotte is what gave meaning to his life with so much hope and courage. Charlotte was an epitome of a true friend. She showed us that a true friend never judges you, a true friend uplifts you and believes in you when everyone else puts you down and does everything for the best interest of you.
Following words by Charlotte to Wilbur when Wilbur doubts himself are full of love and kindness and they show the true meaning of friendship.
“You are terrific as far as I am concerned, and that’s what counts. You are my best friend, and I think you are sensational”
Wilbur, on the other hand was truly grateful for what Charlotte did for him and always had a soft spot for her, even after her death.
Life and death
Life and death are inseparable parts of life. It’s great that this book shows little children what REAL life is all about and teaches them to be thankful for every moment, day, month and year we are alive. This story may not have a fanciful and gratifying fairy tale ending, but it definitely makes you ready for real life challenges. To be honest, oblivion to death is not something I recommend for young children.
In the very first chapter, you may be shocked to hear that Mr Arable was going to kill a newborn pig. The very idea can be disturbing but it is a reminder that it is not an uncommon thing on a farm. Even Fern seemed to have some idea about life and death when she said,
“This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself”
Next we hear about death when the old sheep breaks the bad news that Wilbur is going to be killed the following Christmas.
However, I found Charlotte’s death to be the most emotional moment of this story. With so many implications to death, I think everyone can predict that a tragic death was brewing in the plot.
One may think that it’s just a death of a spider but those who’ve read the story know that we all read that part with a heavy heart.
Having said that, death is not the only inevitable phenomenon in the story. Life also plays a key role here.
“Everywhere you look is life; even the little ball of spit on the weed stalk, if you poke it apart, has a green worm inside it. And on the other side of the leaf of the potato vine are the bright orange eggs of the potato bug”
The continuity of life is something that brings so much hope and joy to the reader. The writer spotlights them in the story in the sweetest possible way.
Wilbur’s birth gave joy and happiness to Fern, When the goose’s eggs hatched and goslings came there was a great joy in the barn and Charlotte’s eggs sac gave so much hope and solace to Wilbur. Furthermore, the egg sac gave Wilbur a golden opportunity to express his gratitude to Charlotte. Isn’t that wonderful? Yes, Death is inevitable but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t celebrate LIFE.
Most importantly, no matter what life brought to all these creatures, they all had a purpose in life that we can not turn a blind eye to. Charlotte to save Wilbur, Wilbur to take care of her children, even Templeton proved handy at the right time. In a nutshell, LIVE, HOPE, CELEBRATE.. DEATH IS INEVITABLE.
“What is life, anyway? We are born, we live a little while, we die.”
Charlotte’s Web Analysis -Themes Continued
Natural World
Natural process that exist and happen independently of people is a recurrent theme portrayed in this story.
The writer anthromorsoses (attributes human characteristics) animals in Zuckerman’s barn and lets us see that they are also living beings with feelings, fears and memories not just a survival instinct. We see Wilbur blush when praised, get dizzy and faint when scared or agitated, Charlotte tell stories about her relatives, goose and gander worry that Templeton would hurt little goslings etc. proving that the animal world is just as unique and full of personal traits as the human world.
As we see, the writer glorifies flora and fauna through the story . He paints a beautiful picture of “Dandelion stems full of milk, clover heads loaded with nectar, sparrow calling Peabody ! Peabody!, blooming lilacs that make the air sweet, ripe berries full of bugs, swaying summer grasses” This soothing and relaxing beauty of nature is well portrayed by White in this story.
Changing seasons play a key role in commanding almost every task on a farm which shows that all human day-to-day chores are guided by Mother Nature. We see that all human activities are determined by the changing seasons and weather.
Ex : When Avery heard the crickets’ sad song of summer ending he knew it was time to dig potatoes”
“Next day, if there were no thunder shower, all hands will help rake and pitch the load“
However, my favourite part of this book is the way the writer describes the natural world using rich words and other literary devices . He has used sensory imagery so skillfully that we feel like we are living in this story.
” Early summer days are a jubilee time for birds. In the fields, around the house, in the barn, in the woods, in the swamp everywhere there are love and songs and nests and eggs”
“The barn was very large. It was very old. It smelled of hay and manure. The barn was pleasantly warm in winter when the animals spent most of their time indoors, and it was pleasantly cool in summer when the big doors stood wide open to the breeze”
E.B White shows that human understanding of the natural world is limited. People know very little about spiders weaving a web, survival skills used by spiders (spider who “built her web across a small stream” to catch fish, the spider the balloonist). This proves that natural world is so much bigger than we can ever imagine.
” A spider knows how to spin a web without any instructions from anybody. Don’t you regard that as a miracle?”
The other important idea I got while reading the book is that Nature has a purpose for everything under her wings, it’s NOT our job to decide what is what.
For example, Mr. Arable at the beginning of the story thought Wilbur was a runt and would never amount to anything. But Nature had different plans for little Wilbur who grew up to be an amazing pig who brought glory (with Charlotte’s help) to Mr Zuckerman. And how about the goose egg that didn’t hatch and was looked upon as a useless dud? We all saw that it eventually saved Charlotte’s life.
It just reminds us that it’s not within our capacity to determine the purpose of other living and non-living things. May be because we are not bigger than nature but we are a small part of nature. In that way. this story humbles us and teaches us to respect law of nature.
Man’s yearning for acceptance and appreciation
E.B White mocks man’s extreme desire for appreciation and popularity. After hearing the news of the miracle in the barn, hundreds of people came to see Wilbur. As a result, Mr. Zuckerman got so busy entertaining visitors, he totally neglected farm work.
“The Zuckermans were so busy with visitors that they forgot about other things on the farm. The blackberries got ripe, and Mrs Zuckerman never put up any blackberry jam. The corn needed hoeing and Lurvy didn’t find time to hoe it”
Mr. and Mrs Zuckerman got blinded by this newly sprung popularity, they did a lot of silly things to feed their vanity. Washing Wilbur with buttermilk was one of them. Charlotte seemed to be aware of this human tendency, so she used it in Wilbur’s favour.
At the County Fair we see that Zuckermans are over the moon with the attention and appreciation they received. The writer shows they acted silly under the extra pressure of having so many eyes on them. Finally, we see that the prize is the greatest moment of Zuckerman’s life not just because of the prize money but because of the popularity and appreciation it brought him. They loved to be the center of attention.
“It was the greatest moment in Mr. Zuckerman’s life. It is deeply satisfying to win a prize in front of a lot of people”
I think this line sums it up really well.
Growing up
E.B White brings out the theme of coming of age in Fern’s and Wilbur’s characters. At the beginning of the story, Fern is an eight year old girl who is innocent, sensitive and kind. She saved Wilbur’s life and took care of him like a mother. Even at that age we see her motherly instincts very clearly.
Wilbur was tiny, childish and solely depended on Fern and her love. On Mr. Zuckerman’s farm we see how Wilbur matures physically, socially and emotionally. He craved for a friend to play with him, listen to him and be his companion. We see that things we like, do and feel change a little bit every day as the story goes on. The little girl, Fern who loved animals and Little runt pig, Wilbur who was helpless and scared were no more towards the end of the story. Maturity had transformed them into totally different beings.
Fern had different interests and Wilbur was more independent and confident in the company of Charlotte’s children.
I think it’s a great lesson for everyone. There is ONE THING that is omnipresent according to the law of nature. That is none other than “CHANGE” itself. Yes, it’s a bit of a bitter pill to swallow even for an adult but that’s the reality of life.
For example kids, our very own children who want to play with us 24/7 may not show interest in playing with us when they are teenagers, or even before that. Change is part of growing up and a part of life itself. The way White has brought these complexities to life is just wonderful and top notch.
Time passing
Yet another recurrent theme in this story. The writer has used the changing seasons to bring meaning and flow to the story while drawing attention to the underlying theme of cyclical nature of time.
For example : Wilbur was born in spring and thus he is a spring pig. The season of summer is considered as the “happiest and fairest days of the year“
The writer shows the richness and prosperity of the summer season like this.
“In early summer days there are plenty of things for a child to eat and drink and suck and chew. Dandelion stems are full of milk, clover heads are loaded with nectar”” Everywhere love and songs and nests and eggs”
The end of summertime is portrayed on a dull, sad note in the story.
“The crickets sang in the grasses. They sang the song of summer’s ending, a sad, monotonous song. The crickets spread the rumour of sadness and change”
The end of autumn and winter are portrayed by White in a beautiful way.
“The autumn days grew shorter,
the maples and birches turned bright colours and the wind shook them and they dropped their leaves one by one to the ground..,
One evening, just before Christmas snow began falling.. Cold settled on the world. The pasture was bleak and frozen”
End of winter and the beginning of spring is brought out with a ray of hope.
“The snows melted and ran away. The light strengthened. The sky seemed wider and a warm wind blew”
The end of winter reminds us that the story has come full circle and yet another spring is dawning. It takes us back to the beginning of the story where Wilbur was born and warms our heart to know this magical phenomenon of nature.
This cinematic way of presenting the changing seasons helps the plot develop and reminds us of the cyclical nature of natural life. Moreover, Ferris Wheel is a symbol to show this ongoing process of time passing.
Charlotte’s Web Analysis -Literary devices
What are Literary devices?
It is a tool used by writers to hint at larger themes, ideas and meaning in a story or piece of writing.
Literary devices used by E.B White are as follows.
Setting– Setting is the location and time at which a novel occurs. Charlotte’s Web takes place primarily in the country. A considerable portion of the story takes place on Mr. Zuckerman,s farm. Mr. Arable’s farm and the Country Fair are also important locations since life changing incidents took place in both places for Wilbur.
Sensory imagery– They touch specifically on five senses to make a visual picture on the reader’s mind.
Visual imagery(vision)-” He looked cute when he was sleeping because his eye lashes were long”,
‘The maples and birches turned bright colours and the wind shook them and they dropped their leaves one by one”
“The last remaining strands of Charlotte’s old web floated away and vanished”
Auditory imagery(sound)– “Rain fell on the roof of the barn,
The streams and ditches bubbled and chattered with rushing water,
All morning you could hear the rattle of the machine“
Olfactory imagery(smell)– The barn “smelled of hay and it smelled of manure”
“Who wants to live in a barn that is perfumed with rotten egg?”
Palatal imagery(taste)– “Dandelion stems are full of milk,
clover heads are loaded with nectar”
Tactile imagery( touch)– “The hay will be sweet and warm,
when they were thirsty they ate snow,
warm wind blew, I have hay inside my dress! It itches! called Fern”.
Charlotte’s Web Analysis- Literary devices continued…
- Personification – It is the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human.
“A little maple tree in the swamp heard the cricket song and turned bright red with anxiety”
“Summer is dying, dying”
“The maples and the birches turned bright colours and the wind shook them and they dropped their leaves one by one to the ground”
“The snow melted and ran away” - Metaphor and simile
Metaphor is a word or phrase denoting an idea comparing two things directly (without using like or as)
“What do you think I am a rat-of-all work?-
“A fair is a rat’s paradise”
“What do you think I am, a messenger boy?”
“That’s a fine specimen of a pig-it’s no bigger than a white rat”
“It is my egg sac, my magnum opus”
“He has the perfect right to smell, considering his surroundings. You are no bundle of sweet peas yourself”
Simile is the comparison made using “Like” or “As”
“His(Templeton’s) stomach was as big as a round jelly jar”
“Then you straddled the knot, so it acted as a seat” - Symbol – Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colours to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Charlotte’s Web– symbolises power of language. Charlotte used words so skilfully that everyone started admiring Wilbur. Her ability to use right word at the right context is what saved Wilbur’s life.
Charlotte’s egg sac– symbolises hope for future. Charlotte’s children will be there in the barn to keep Wilbur’s company. It gives hope and solace to Wilbur and relieved the pain losing Charlotte.
Ferris wheel– symbolises cyclical nature of life. As Charlotte says,” What’s life anyway? we are born, we live a little while and we die.” It symbolises changing seasons too.
Charlotte’s Web Analysis – Literary devices continued…… - Onomatopoeia– Word or group of word that represent a sound and actually resembles or imitates the sound it stands for.
“Rattle of the machine,
Rain spattered against Mrs, Zuckerman’s kitchen windows,
Fireworks began going off-rockets, scattering fiery balls in the sky,
The streams and ditches bubbled and chattered with rushing water”. - Humour – Humour is a prominent characteristic in this story. White uses it to make the story more interesting and appealing to the reader. In most of the places the reader needs to be quick witted and sensible to understand the subtle humour in the story.
Ex : “Really” said Wilbur. I wouldn’t want that to happen. Perhaps your web is a good thing after all” Wilbur says this when Charlotte explained that if they didn’t catch bugs the bugs will multiply and someday destroy the earth. His initial bad impression about killing bugs vanishes with this and these are the kind of humour that brings a smile to your lips and enchant you to the story.
Wilbur’s fainting when excited and Lurvy splashing a bucket of water on Mr. Zuckerman are hilarious and I am sure will be followed by a roar of laughter by the kids. - Hyperbole – This is a statement that represents something as better or worse than it already is.
“Pigs mean less than nothing to me”
“A fair has enough disgusting left-over food to feed an army of rats”
Charlotte’s Web Analysis- Conclusion
In conclusion, I must confess that this is NOT a book that you read, enjoy and forget. This is a story full of feelings , emotions and messages you will grow up along with and some day look back and attribute more meanings to . It’s such a wonderful feeling. And our children don’t want to miss out on that feeling of satisfaction. That’s exactly what I wanted to point out in this article “Charlotte’s Web Analysis”
“It’s not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both”
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Read my article about How to Raise a Reader
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