Charlotte's Web

Summary

Charlotte's Web opens at breakfast on the Arable farm, when eight-year-old Fern learns that her father is going out to kill the runt of a new litter of pigs. She protests so fiercely against killing a creature for being small that he gives her the piglet to raise. She names him Wilbur, feeds him from a bottle, and wheels him about in her doll carriage. When he is five weeks old, Mr. Arable sells him for six dollars to Fern's uncle, Homer Zuckerman, who lives down the road, and Wilbur moves into the cellar of the Zuckerman barn. Fern visits nearly every day and sits on a milking stool listening to the animals talk. Wilbur is lonely until a quiet voice in the dark offers to be his friend: Charlotte A. Cavatica, a large grey spider whose web spans the top of the barn doorway. Wilbur is at first shocked that she drinks the blood of flies, but comes to love her wisdom and kindness. The old sheep tells Wilbur that he is being fattened to be killed at Christmas, and Charlotte promises to save him. Her plan is to write words in her web. The first, SOME PIG, astonishes Mr. Zuckerman and his hired man Lurvy, Zuckerman consults the minister, word spreads, and crowds of visitors come to see the miraculous pig. With the help of Templeton, a greedy rat who scavenges words from scraps of paper at the dump, she weaves TERRIFIC and then RADIANT. Mrs. Arable worries that Fern spends too much time in the barn and says the animals talk; she consults Dr. Dorian, who tells her not to worry and that the web is a miracle no one fully understands. A rotten goose egg that Templeton has kept saves Charlotte when Avery, Fern's brother, tries to knock her down and falls, smashing it. The Zuckermans take Wilbur to the County Fair, where Charlotte and Templeton ride in his crate. Wilbur loses the blue ribbon to a huge pig named Uncle, but Charlotte spins HUMBLE, and Wilbur wins a special prize; he faints at the honour and Templeton revives him by biting his tail. Meanwhile Charlotte has made her egg sac, her magnum opus, and she is dying. She cannot go home, so Wilbur persuades Templeton to fetch the sac, and Wilbur carries it home in his mouth. Charlotte dies alone at the empty fairground. In spring her children hatch; most float away on the wind, but three, Joy, Aranea and Nellie, stay in the doorway, and Wilbur lives on in the barn, honoured and safe, never forgetting Charlotte. Fern, growing up, now prefers riding the Ferris wheel with Henry Fussy. Harper & Brothers published the book on 15 October 1952 with drawings by Garth Williams; it was a Newbery Honor book in 1953.

Plot or Argument

• Chapters I–II: Before Breakfast and Wilbur

  Fern saves the runt pig from her father's ax and raises him as a baby, feeding him from a bottle and wheeling him in a doll carriage.

• Chapters III–V: Escape, Loneliness, Charlotte

  Sold to the Zuckermans, Wilbur briefly escapes, longs for a friend through a rainy day, and meets the spider Charlotte in the barn doorway.

• Chapters VI–VIII: Summer Days, Bad News, A Talk at Home

  Goslings hatch and Templeton claims the dud egg; the old sheep reveals the Christmas plan; Charlotte vows to save Wilbur; Mrs. Arable worries about Fern.

• Chapters IX–XI: Wilbur's Boast, An Explosion, The Miracle

  Wilbur's failed attempt to spin a web; Avery's attack on Charlotte is foiled by the bursting rotten egg; SOME PIG appears in the web.

• Chapters XII–XV: A Meeting, Good Progress, Dr. Dorian, The Crickets

  The animals collect new words through Templeton; TERRIFIC and RADIANT draw crowds; Dr. Dorian reassures Mrs. Arable; the crickets sing that summer is ending.

• Chapters XVI–XX: Off to the Fair, Uncle, The Cool of the Evening, The Egg Sac, The Hour of Triumph

  At the County Fair Wilbur meets the big pig Uncle, Charlotte weaves HUMBLE and lays her egg sac, and Wilbur receives a special prize before the grandstand.

• Chapters XXI–XXII: Last Day and A Warm Wind

  Charlotte tells Wilbur she is dying; Templeton fetches the egg sac; Charlotte dies at the fairground; in spring her children hatch and three remain as Wilbur's friends.

Characters

• Wilbur, protagonist

  A runt spring pig, affectionate, anxious and humble, saved twice from slaughter.

• Charlotte A. Cavatica, Wilbur's friend

  A grey barn spider, clever, calm and self-giving, who writes words in her web to save him.

• Fern Arable, Wilbur's first protector

  Eight-year-old girl who rescues and raises Wilbur and listens to the barn animals.

• Templeton, barn rat

  Gluttonous, grudging scavenger who helps only for a reward, yet repeatedly makes the plan possible.

• Homer Zuckerman, farmer

  Fern's uncle, who buys Wilbur and takes the web as a sign of a remarkable pig.

• Edith Zuckerman, farmer's wife

  Homer's wife, who suspects the spider is the remarkable one and bathes Wilbur in buttermilk for the fair.

• Lurvy, hired man

  The Zuckermans' farmhand who first sees the writing in the web.

• John and Mrs. Arable, Fern's parents

  The farmer who spares Wilbur and the mother who worries about Fern's days in the barn.

• Avery Arable, Fern's brother

  Ten-year-old boy whose attempt to catch Charlotte ends in the explosion of the rotten egg.

• The goose and the old sheep, barn animals

  A talkative goose who repeats her words and an elderly sheep who tells Wilbur the truth about his fate.

• Dr. Dorian, family doctor

  Wise physician who calms Mrs. Arable's fears about Fern and speaks of the web as a miracle.

Lessons

• A true friend gives

  Charlotte spends her last summer and strength saving Wilbur and asks nothing in return. Wilbur learns from her how to love, and repays her by bringing her children home and caring for them.

  • What does Charlotte gain by helping Wilbur?
  • How does Wilbur show that he has become a good friend by the end of the book?
  • Who is your idea of a true friend, and what makes them one?

• Every life is worth saving

  The story begins with Fern's protest that a pig should not be killed simply for being small. That sense of justice runs through the book, as a runt becomes the most admired pig in the county.

  • Why does Fern think it is wrong to kill the runt?
  • Why does Mr. Arable change his mind?

• Death is part of the seasons

  White does not hide that Charlotte must die or that spring pigs are often killed in winter. He sets these sad facts inside the turning year of the barn, so that death comes with new life, as Charlotte's children hatch in spring.

  • How does Charlotte help Wilbur face her death?
  • Why do you think the author let Charlotte die instead of giving the story a different ending?
  • What does Wilbur feel when Charlotte's three daughters decide to stay?

• Words have power

  Four ordinary words written in a web change how a whole county sees one pig. Charlotte chooses her words carefully and truthfully, and the book shows how much good a well-chosen word can do.

  • Which of Charlotte's four words do you think fits Wilbur best, and why?
  • Why does Charlotte choose HUMBLE for the fair?

Context

The book grew out of E. B. White's life on his farm at North Brooklin, Maine, where he kept pigs, geese and sheep and watched a barn spider spin her egg sac. In his 1948 essay 'Death of a Pig' he had described his failure to save a sick pig, and the novel is often read as his imaginative rescue of one. It belongs to a postwar flowering of American children's books that spoke to children plainly about friendship, loss and growing up.

Composition

White studied spiders closely while writing, and tried several openings before beginning with Fern and the ax. Harper & Brothers, under the children's editor Ursula Nordstrom, published the book on 15 October 1952 with black-and-white drawings by Garth Williams.

Reception

It was named a Newbery Honor book in 1953, losing the medal to Ann Nolan Clark's Secret of the Andes, and became one of the best-selling American children's books. White received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal in 1970. It was adapted as an animated film in 1973 and a live-action film in 2006.

Comparisons

• the-wind-in-the-willows

  Both are animal stories rooted in a beloved rural place and the passing seasons, in which friendship carries the plot and home is the final good.

• the-cricket-in-times-square

  Garth Williams illustrated both, and both build a friendship among small, unlikely creatures; Selden's city cricket returns to the country, while White's story never leaves the farm and fair.

• little-house-in-the-big-woods

  Wilder's farm year and White's barn year both follow the seasons of rural chores, butchering time included, seen through a child's eyes; Garth Williams also illustrated the 1953 Little House editions.

• the-velveteen-rabbit

  Both treat love as what makes a small creature truly valuable, and both let loss and change come before the happy ending.

• aesops-fables

  Talking animals with distinct characters, such as the greedy rat and the wise spider, recall the fable tradition, though White's animals are rounder and his story is not reduced to a single moral.

Quotes

For Students

A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.

Reading Guide

Watch for

• Fern's argument with her father at breakfast in Chapter I, and how her love for Wilbur changes as she grows older by the last chapter.
• Each of the four words in the web, when it appears, and how the people react to it.
• Every bargain Templeton makes, and what he asks in return for helping.
• The crickets' song in Chapter XV and other signs that the seasons are turning.
• Charlotte's egg sac at the fair, and what Wilbur does to carry it home.

Key terms and names

Runt

The smallest and weakest pig in a litter. Wilbur is the runt, which is why Mr. Arable means to kill him in Chapter I.

Zuckerman's barn

The big old barn where Wilbur lives after he is sold, with cows, horses, sheep, geese, a rat and a spider in the doorway.

Spinnerets

The parts of a spider's body that make silk. Charlotte uses hers to spin words and to make her egg sac.

Some Pig

The first words Charlotte weaves, which make Mr. Zuckerman believe he owns a miraculous pig.

Egg sac

The silk bag holding Charlotte's eggs, which she calls her greatest work. Wilbur carries it home from the fair in his mouth.

County Fair

The fair where Wilbur competes, Templeton feasts, and Charlotte spins her last word.

Magnum opus

Latin for great work. Charlotte uses the phrase for her egg sac, and teaches Wilbur what it means.

Seminar Questions

1. Comprehension Why does Fern's father agree to let her keep the runt pig?
2. Comprehension What news does the old sheep give Wilbur, and what does Charlotte promise him?
3. Comprehension How does Templeton help Charlotte find words for her web?
4. Interpretation At first Wilbur thinks Charlotte is cruel because she eats flies. Why does he change his mind about her?
5. Interpretation Why do you think Charlotte chose the word HUMBLE for the fair, and was it a good choice for Wilbur?
6. Interpretation At the end Fern would rather ride the Ferris wheel with Henry Fussy than sit in the barn. Is that sad, or is it right?
7. Big Question Charlotte gives her last strength to save Wilbur. What is the most important thing one friend can do for another?

Faith Connections

• John 15:13 (Scripture)

  Jesus says no one has greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. Charlotte spends her final summer and strength on Wilbur, which gives children a picture of self-giving love.

• John 12:24 (Scripture)

  Jesus says a grain of wheat must fall into the earth and die to bear much fruit. Charlotte dies at the fair, but her egg sac brings hundreds of new lives to the barn in spring.

• Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (Scripture)

  There is a time to be born and a time to die. White's barn year, from spring goslings to crickets in late summer and Charlotte's children in spring, follows that pattern.

• Proverbs 17:17 (Scripture)

  A friend loves at all times. Wilbur's faithfulness to Charlotte's children after her death shows a friendship that lasts beyond a single season.

Logic and Rhetoric

Central argument: Wilbur is small and doomed by the ordinary customs of a farm. Charlotte reasons that people believe what they read, so a few true words about Wilbur, placed where everyone can see them, will make him too admired to kill. The plan works, but it costs her, and she dies. Therefore the book argues that friendship is shown in sacrifice, and that love remembered goes on through those who are cared for afterward.

Rhetorical device: foreshadowing. The crickets' song in Chapter XV, announcing that summer is over, prepares readers for Charlotte's weakening and death at the fair in Chapters XX and XXI.

Debate: Resolved: Templeton is a true friend to Wilbur.

Writing Prompts

Essay: Explain how Charlotte's four words, SOME PIG, TERRIFIC, RADIANT and HUMBLE, each change what people think of Wilbur, and which one best describes him by the end of the book.

Comparison with The Wind in the Willows: Compare the friendship of Wilbur and Charlotte with that of Mole and Rat. Which friend in each pair does more for the other, and how?

Medical Lens

Not a medical book, but two strands may interest a psychiatrist. Chapter XIV is a gentle portrait of a mid-century family doctor as counsellor: Mrs. Arable fears that something is wrong with Fern because she spends her days in the barn and reports what the animals say, and Dr. Dorian answers with patience, curiosity and reassurance rather than a diagnosis, expecting the girl to outgrow it, which she does. The second strand is Charlotte's death, often cited as an early reading experience of grief for American children: she dies of natural causes after laying her eggs, calmly and alone, and Wilbur's mourning turns into faithful care for her offspring. White's own 1948 essay on the death of a sick pig on his farm stands in the background.

• Chapter XIV

  Mrs. Arable consults Dr. Dorian about Fern's absorption in the barn animals; he reassures her and reflects on the web as something no one fully understands.

  Physicians Doctors
• Chapter XXI

  Charlotte tells Wilbur she will not return to the barn and dies alone at the fairground after the crowds leave.

  Death Dying Grief
• Chapter XXII

  Wilbur guards the egg sac through the winter and welcomes Charlotte's daughters in spring, keeping her memory.

  Grief

Creative Prompts

• Classroom

  Draw the barn doorway with Charlotte's web and choose a fifth word she might have written for Wilbur. Explain your choice.

• Fiction

  Write the scene from Templeton's point of view on the night he searches the fairground for food and words.

• Dialogue

  Write the conversation between Fern and Dr. Dorian if she had visited him herself.

• Essay

  Templeton is greedy, but he saves the plan more than once. Is he a friend? Use events from the barn and the fair to decide.

Further Reading

• Stuart Little, E. B. White

• The Trumpet of the Swan, E. B. White

• Essays of E. B. White, E. B. White

  Includes 'Death of a Pig', the 1948 essay behind the novel.

• The Story of Charlotte's Web, Michael Sims

  On White's life in Maine and the writing of the book.

• E. B. White: A Biography, Scott Elledge