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Charlotte's Web Essay Topics & Writing Assignments

Essay Topic 1

Evaluate how Wilbur's position in the barn changes over the course of the story, including discussions of incidents such as the goose convincing Wilbur to "escape," Wilbur's interactions with the other animals while seeking a friend, Wilbur's actions during various important barnyard events, and how Wilbur is spending his days at the close of the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Evaluate Templeton's character and the role he plays in the story. Most of the characters think of him as a glutton who only helps others to help himself, but are there any examples of him acting selflessly? Does he always expect some sort of reward for the work he does, even if the reward is just amusement? How does Templeton feel about Charlotte and Wilbur and they about him? Does he have any friends or act out of real friendship toward any of the other characters? If he...

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“Charlotte’s web” by E.B. White Explicatory Essay

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Introduction

Works cited.

Charlotte’s web is a book written by the author White E.B. and was initially printed in 1952. It is demonstrated by Garth Williams. This book begins when John Arable’s sow gives birth to several piglets. Mr. Arable finds out that one of them is a runt and makes a decision of killing it. The piglets name is Wilbur.

The book gives a story of a spider by the name Charlotte and her acquaintance with Wilbur, the piglet. The story rotates around Wilbur’s rescue from being killed for food by Charlotte and is regarded as the best of children’s writing. Charlotte’s web contains some fascinating characters playing different roles for different purposes.

This paper will focus on two characters in the story, that is, Wilbur and Charlotte A. Cavatica. It will determine their overall purpose in the story, their impact on the themes and any development that takes place in these two characters over the course of the narrative. Wilbur loves life though he at times feels abandoned and fearful. Charlotte A. Cavatica, on the other hand, initially appears blood thirsty due to her way of obtaining food.

Development of Wilbur

Wilbur is the favorite piglet of Fern Arable, a young girl. He is to be killed by John, Fern’s father, on the morning after his birth. This is because Wilbur is a runt in John’s litter of eleven piglets. He is extremely small in size at the time of his birth. Fern persuades her father to permit her to take care of Wilbur for a period of six weeks.

Wilbur survives and grows into a mature pig. Fern is now obliged to take Wilbur to the Zuckerman’s homestead, where he is to be prepared for a feast. Seclusion looms around Wilbur’s life and Wilbur’s hope shrinks.

In the process of losing hope, Wilbur is noticed by a remarkably expressive spider, Charlotte A. Cavatica. Charlotte’s voice surfaces from the shadows asking Wilbur whether he wants a friend. The author of this novel refers this as a story of friendship and rescue in the farm. Wilbur accepts this friendship and becomes the best friend of Charlotte’s.

Wilbur’s character changes throughout the story. This is seen in the fact that he changes from a minute weak and helpless piglet that is reliant on the assistance and protection of others. He grows from this to a mature character capable of taking on the accountability to protect others. This is seen where he pays Charlotte back for her assistance by looking after her children.

Development of Charlotte A. Cavatica

Charlotte A. Cavatica is a spider. She inhabits the space immediately on top of Wilbur’s pen in the Zuckerman’s shed. She makes friends with Wilbur and chose’s to protect him from being killed for food. With assistance from the other animals in the shed, Charlotte assures the Zuckerman family that Wilbur is an exceptional animal.

He does this by describing Wilbur as some pig in her web and interpreting its meaning. It is, therefore, evident that Charlotte’s character does not change throughout the story. She is depicted as intelligent, resourceful and sympathetic from the beginning of the story to the end.

Wilbur’s purpose and his impact on the themes of the book

Wilbur is the main character in this book. It is his needs and wants that endow the story with a context. Without him, there would be no story. He portrays the theme of friendship by looking after Charlotte’s children after she passes. In this way, Wilbur portrays true friendship.

He plays the role of showing people that death is not the most terrible outcome in life compared to living without friends. Charlotte’s life is made rich she reaches out to help her friend Wilbur. This is seen when Wilbur eventually helps her children to grow under proper care. He, therefore, portrays concern and compassion as friendship qualities.

The story quotes that Wilbur never overlooked Charlotte. Chapter 3 of the book quotes that: “Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both” (White et al . 3).

Wilbur also portrays the theme of farm life. He is going to be killed simply because he is a rant. By using Wilbur, E.B.White shows that farm animals are brought up for food and other products. The fact that Wilbur goes for fairs also shows that many farmers keep animals and display them at county exhibitions. Wilbur and the other animals in the play are exemplified throughout the amusing, touching and appealing barnyard setting of the novel.

Wilbur contributes to the theme of the natural cycle of life and death. In this story, it is a customary practice to slay pigs for Christmas dinner. Wilbur is frightened about the end of the period. This is because he is aware that some time will come, where he will be finished up as dinner. He creates a plan with Charlotte to make sure that this will never occur. Through much of the story, Wilbur struggles with the menace of slaughter.

Charlotte’s purpose and her impact on the themes of the book

Charlotte’s key purpose in the story is to save and shield Wilbur from being slaughtered. He takes care of Wilbur throughout the story. Charlotte A. Cavatica plays a role in enhancing the theme of friendship in this novel. She works hard to rescue Wilbur’s life. She even procures new terms for her web to depict Wilbur.

For instance, when Wilbur is under risk of being butchered by the Zuckerman farmer, Charlotte composes messages applauding Wilbur. He pleads with Zuckerman to let Wilbur free. Charlotte quotes “We do not want Zuckerman to think Wilbur is crunchy. He might start thinking about bacon. No, we must advertise Wilbur’s noble qualities, not his tastiness” (White et al. 2).

At the beginning of the novel, Charlotte approaches Wilbur when he is disappointed. She, however, does not ask anything from Wilbur but merely helps him because he is her friend. In this case, Charlotte shows that she is a true friend of Wilbur. This proves that having a friend may make someone’s ordinary way of living special.

Friendship in this book is depicted as a matter of listening, acting in response, encouraging and offering assistance while staying true to one self. For instance, Charlotte did not stop feeding on flies though her friend Wilbur took it as disgusting. She explained to Wilbur that it was part of her nature and the nature of spiders in general.

Charlotte explains the importance of being Wilbur’s friend and quotes: “you have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you.

After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, and we die. A spider’s life can not help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that” (White et al. 5).

Charlotte develops the theme of loyalty in the novel. She struggles to save Wilbur from murder because she cares for him. Even when she is worn out and nearing the termination of her life, she is still contemplating on helping Wilbur.

The two characters focused in this paper include Wilbur and Charlotte A. Cavatica. Wilbur is the protagonist in this book. It is his needs and wants that endow the story with a context. Without him, there would be no story.

Charlotte’s key purpose in the story is to save and shield Wilbur from being slaughtered. He takes care of Wilbur throughout the story. Wilbur has an impact on themes such as friendship, farm life and natural cycle of life and death while Charlotte’s impact is seen in Friendship and Loyalty.

Charlotte’s character does not change throughout the story. She is depicted as intelligent, resourceful and sympathetic from the beginning of the story to the end. Wilbur’s character, however, changes throughout the story. He changes from a minute weak and helpless piglet that is reliant on the assistance and protection of others. He grows up to a character capable of taking on the accountability to protect others.

White, E. B., Williams, Garth., & Wells, Rosemary. Charlotte’s web. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2001. Print

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Charlotte’s Web

E. b. white.

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Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on E. B. White's Charlotte’s Web . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Charlotte’s Web: Introduction

Charlotte’s web: plot summary, charlotte’s web: detailed summary & analysis, charlotte’s web: themes, charlotte’s web: quotes, charlotte’s web: characters, charlotte’s web: symbols, charlotte’s web: theme wheel, brief biography of e. b. white.

Historical Context of Charlotte’s Web

Other books related to charlotte’s web.

• Full Title: Charlotte’s Web
• When Written: Early 1950s
• Where Written: New York City and Maine
• When Published: October 15, 1952
• Literary Period: Contemporary, midcentury
• Genre: Young adult fiction; coming-of-age tale
• Setting: Rural America
• Climax: Wilbur wins a special prize at the county fair due to Charlotte’s help in signaling, through her intricately-woven webs, how special he is to the humans around him.
• Antagonist: Templeton; aging
• Point of View: Third person

Extra Credit for Charlotte’s Web

Classic. Charlotte’s Web occupies a unique space not just in the American literary canon, but also in the ranks of great world literature. It is one of the most popular children’s books of all time, having sold more than 45 million copies worldwide and having been translated into 23 languages. It has been ranked as the best-selling children’s paperback ever published, and has been widely adapted as a film, play, and even a video game.

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Charlotte's Web

By e. b. white.

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Sample of Discussion & Essay Questions

• Friendship is a major theme of the novel. Examine the strongest friendship in the book and the special qualities that that friendship exhibited. Then look at who maybe wasn't the truest of friends and figure out why.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Charlotte's Web — Charlotte’s Web: Theme Analysis

Charlotte's Web: Theme Analysis

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Published: Mar 20, 2024

Words: 643 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

The theme of friendship, the theme of love and sacrifice, the theme of the cycle of life.

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Charlotte's Web

by E.B. White

• Charlotte's Web Summary

One morning at the breakfast table, eight year old Fern sees her father leave the house with an axe and asks her mother where he's going. Her mother delivers the shocking news that Mr Arable is going out to kill a runt that was born the night before. Fern chases her father down and persuades him to spare the runt, telling him that it is unjust to kill a piglet just because it is small. Moved by his daughter's plea, Mr Arable decides to give the runt to her to look after.

Fern names the piglet Wilbur and looks after him like a baby, pushing him in her pram alongside her doll and feeding him with a bottle. At five weeks old Mr Arable insists that Wilbur is sold and he goes to live in the Zuckerman barn down the road.

Wilbur initially struggles at the barn because he misses Fern so much but soon he becomes acquainted with new friends, the best of whom is a lady grey spider called Charlotte . Wilbur is fascinated by Charlotte, although to begin with he is slightly suspicious of the way she catches her food - he doesn't like the idea that she spins bugs in her web and sucks their blood. He soon realizes that Charlotte is everything but cruel and bloodthirsty and that her method of eating is entirely necessary for a spider.

Wilbur is complete happy during the summer days - Fern comes to visit and his new friend tells him exciting stories and has the patience to try and coach him about how to spin a web (although she knows fine well he will never be able to) but one day he gets some terrible news that puts an end to his carefree attitude.

The sheep tells Wilbur that Mr Zuckerman is fattening him up for Christmas dinner and Wilbur is distraught - he is so happy on the farm and doesn't want to die. Charlotte calms him down and promises him that she won't let him be killed. She hasn't worked out how to save him yet, but she is determined that she will.

One morning as Lurvy pours Wilbur's slops, he notices Charlotte's twinkling spider web in the morning fog. The words 'SOME PIG' have been weaved into the web. Lurvy is gobsmacked and utters a prayer. He quickly tells Mr Zuckerman who is equally amazed and soon the news spreads near and far.

Worried that people may be getting bored of 'SOME PIG', Charlotte asks Templeton the rat to aid her in finding more words to write in her web. Knowing that if Wilbur is killed he won't have access to his slops, Templeton reluctantly scavenges for newspaper clippings to help Charlotte. The next word she writes is 'TERRIFIC' and after that, 'RADIANT.'

Meanwhile, Mrs Arable is concerned that Fern is spending too much time down at the barn and becomes even more alarmed when her daughter tells her about Charlotte and the stories Charlotte tells. Mrs Arable decides to go and see Dr. Dorian to ask him what he makes of Fern thinking the animals can talk and what he makes of the mysterious writing in the web. Dr Dorian is very calm and rational and says that the real miracle is not the writing in the web but the fact that a spider instinctively knows how to build a web without any tuition. He says that it is quite possible that animals can talk and that the reason that adults cannot hear them might be because they talk too much to hear what is going on in nature.

With the news of Zuckerman's famous pig spreading, the Zuckermans and Arables decide to take Wilbur to the County Fair. Charlotte agrees to go too although she is feeling tired and soon has to build a sac to hold her eggs. At the fair, Charlotte is disappointed to see that beside Wilbur's pen is a much larger spring pig called Uncle . Knowing he is fierce competition, Charlotte decides to spin another web and once again Templeton is sent off to find a word.

The adults and children enjoy themselves at the fair and Avery and Fern are particularly excited that they are allowed to go off without their parents all afternoon. Fern spends all afternoon with Henry Fussy and they go on the Ferris wheel together. For months after, Fern will look back nostalgically at her time on the Ferris wheel with Henry.

Before nightfall Charlotte weaves her web with the new word 'HUMBLE' written into it and throughout the night she makes her egg sac. In the morning the Zuckermans and Arables see the web but they also notice that Uncle has a blue tag on his pen - he has already won first prize. Mr Zuckerman ignores the tag and tells everyone to buck up and give Wilbur a buttermilk bath. Everyone who comes to Wilbur's pen has something good to say about him.

Suddenly, over the loudspeaker a voice is heard asking Zuckerman to bring his famous pig to the judges' booth for a special award. Wilbur is awarded a medal for being phenomenal and completely out of the ordinary and Mr Zuckerman is given $25. Since the writing first appeared in the web, the miracle has been on everyone's mind. After the press photos and the commotion, Wilbur is returned to his pen.

Wilbur notices that Charlotte is quiet and looks unwell. She tells him that she is content now that she knows he is safe - she knows Mr Zuckerman will never harm him now, but she tells Wilbur that she is failing and will be dead in a day or two. Panicked and distraught Wilbur races around the pen, begging Charlotte to come home with him, but she hasn't enough energy to move. Wilbur decides to take Charlotte's egg sac and promises Templeton first choice of his slops if he retrieves the sac. As Wilbur carries the sac in his mouth and is led into the crate, he winks at Charlotte and she musters all the energy she can to wave goodbye. The next day, as the Ferris wheel is being taken apart, Charlotte dies.

Back at the Zuckerman’s, Wilbur is given a noisy welcome home. He waits patiently for the birth of Charlotte's children and often looks longingly at her empty, broken web. When her children are finally born, Wilbur is distraught to see them let out loose clouds of fine silk that carries them far away on the breeze. Three of Charlotte's children stay in the barn with Wilbur, however and become his good friends. Year after year new spiders are born to replace the old but no one ever replaces Charlotte in Wilbur's heart.

Charlotte’s Web Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Charlotte’s Web is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Wilbur was born during the night.

“Out to the hoghouse,” replied Mrs. Arable. “Some pigs were born last night.”

Vocab chapters 9-12

Like a crossward? I need to see the letters of the word to try to help.

An animal in the story with webbed feet?

Goose has webbed feet.

Study Guide for Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte's Web is a book by E.B. White. The Charlotte's Web study guide contains a biography of E.B. White, 100 quiz questions, a list of major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Charlotte's Web
• Character List

Essays for Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte's Web is a children's novel by E.B. White. Charlotte's Web literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Charlotte's Web written by E.B. White.

• Didacticism and Teaching in Animal Literature and Charlotte’s Web
• Charlotte's Web: Our Connection with Food
• The Not So Subtle Portrayal of Supernatural Elements in E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web and Louis Sachar’s Holes
• E.B. White's Faith in Nature: The Critique of Christianity in 'Charlotte's Web'

Wikipedia Entries for Charlotte’s Web

• Introduction

Charlotte's Web

83 pages • 2 hours read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Introduction

Before Reading

Reading Context

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

After Reading

Discussion/Analysis Prompt

Essay Questions

Exam Questions

Exam Answer Key

During the course of their short but meaningful Friendship , Charlotte and Wilbur learn The Influence of Words and use this influence to save Wilbur’s life. Why do you think the words that Charlotte spun were so powerful?

• Why was Charlotte so particular about the words she chose to use to describe Wilbur?
• Why did the humans think that Charlotte’s work was a miracle?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt aims to tie together two of the novel’s central themes and inspire students to examine the underlying reasons for why Charlotte’s demonstrations saved Wilbur’s life. The Influence of Words also connects to the novel itself; to encourage students to directly connect to the events of the novel, consider asking students to cite evidence from the novel to support their responses to this question.

Differentiation Suggestion: Advanced learners, students who demonstrate existential or naturalistic intelligences, or those interested in psychology and psychoanalysis can also attempt to tie the novel’s third central theme, The Inevitable and Fleeting Nature of Life , into the discussion prompt by addressing how mortality motivated Charlotte’s decisions and inspired her concern for Wilbur.

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