Sally's Adolescent Novel 3/5

Charlotte's Web

By E.B White

Illustrated by Garth Williams

Charlotte's Web is a narrative by E.B White (1952) is a classic story which has been adored by generations. This text tells the story of Fern a young girl who saves a piglet named Wilbur from being killed because he was the runt of his litter. Fern keeps Wilbur as a pet but as they grow older they slowly grow apart and Wilbur is moved to a farm. At the new farm Wilbur is befriended by a beautiful grey spider named Charlotte. Wilbur soon learns that the farmer plans to kill and eat him for Christmas dinner, but luckily Charlotte saves Wilbur by writing words in her web in order to show the humans how special he was. The planned worked, but unfortunately life takes its course and Charlotte dies at the fair. Wilbur is devastated and brings home a sac of eggs Charlotte laid before she died. When the eggs hatch all the baby spiders leave to make their own lives, expect three, Joy, Aranea and Nellie, who stay with Wilbur and become his new friends. 

The characters that White has used in this text are engaging and relatable for both young and old. Wilbur the pig is a truly wonderful character and the reader is able to fall in love with his innocence and fear of being alone. This innocence and fear are two qualities that children will most likely be able to identify with and relate to, which allows them to engage with the story and the characters. 

This text presents various concepts and ideas regarding friendship, love, life and death. The overriding theme of friendship is present through the relationship which is formed between Charlotte and Wilber. The unlikely couple share an unbreakable bond which is formed when Wilbur is in a time of need and is consumed by loneliness. When Wilbur is at his lowest Charlotte appears and asks,

“Do you want a friend, Wilber? I’ll be a friend to you.” (White 1952, pp. 31). 

This relationship allows children to understand the complexity of friendships and relationships. The reader can also relate their own feelings to the story, which may include feelings fear or doubt in new situations, such as at the beginning of new friendships. White also highlights that friendship can be one of the most fulfilling parts of one’s life. 

This text also presents ideas regarding life, death and moving on. This is shown in the text through Wilbur's initial fate when he is born at the beginning of the story as he screams,

"I don't want to die" (White 1952, pp. 50).

This is a difficult concept for children to comprehend and this text beautifully displays the stages. As throughout the story as Wilbur grows and matures he begins to understand the circle of life. This concept is cleverly constructed through the death of Charlotte, which is then followed by the hatching of her young. By displaying both the death of Charlotte and the birth of her young White softens the fear of death and loss by comforting the reader through displaying the concept of moving on and valuing the memories they leave behind. 

This text is a fantastic story as it deals with key issues which all individuals will have to overcome within their life. White doesn't fill the reader with false hope or a false reality, but provides a realistic view of life which exposes the pain and anguish of death and the beauty of life. 

This text could be used for a wide variety of purposes within the classroom. This could include using the story as a tool to encourage students to talk about their own fears and express their feelings. This text allows teachers to tackle more serious concepts and ideas with their students in a 'less formal' way which could potentially aid in them successfully expressing themselves which is a crucial skill for children to understand and develop.