Charlotte's Web (1952)

by E. B. White (Elwyn Brooks White), 1899-1985; with illustrations by Garth Williams

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• The main point of this story is the strength that derives to even the smallest creatures from a devoted friendship.
• The problem faced by Charlotte (the spider heroine) is the impending death by butcher of her friend, Wilbur the pig.
• Charlotte's plan to solve the problem is to shock the good farmers into Wilbur-worship by weaving the pig's praises into her web.
• The child appeal of this story is due to the touching story of friendship for the very child-like character of Wilbur.
• The parent/teacher appeal of this story is in the gentle approach to difficult issues of mortality.

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My notes while reading the book

• Among the justifications presented for Charlotte's dietary practices, there's one that would also justify the slaughter of the likes of Wilbur. Just like Charlotte, the farm's humans don't get their meals brought to them in a pail. They've all got to it eat, even if it means preying on cute critters like piglets.
  • Note that, in spite of making clear the ecological usefulness of her lifestyle, Charlotte is still compelled to make up for her 'hideous' habits by weaving the webs for Wilbur and thus save him.
• The theme of flying the coop is hinted at in Fern's changing interests as she grows up, and is reinforced by the baby spider aeronauts taking off.
  • Fern's outgrowing of her 'childish' pig-gazing, while hinting at a broader theme of lifecycle changes and attendant heartbreaks, also sends a message that there has to be an end to a child's maverick status. Fern will become a 'productive' member of the community (presumably intended literally as 'childbearing', given her precocious interest in boys).
• Charlotte is a supremely loyal, devoted, and self-sacrificing friend. Thankfully, her creepy penchant for sucking bugs dry makes her interesting and edgy.
• Wilbur evolves towards a higher ideal, and at the end of the story becomes a foster parent to the baby spiders. But the message is mixed: after all, the spiders have no need for him--they would come into the world regardless, and most end up drifting away. There is a strong suggestion that parenthood is an exercise designed to gratify the parents with little in return for the children.
  • This also points out a key difference between the animals (essentially fixed and immutable) and humans, who are 'clever' and evolve and ultimately fit in.
• One of the most interesting plot strategies in the book is the way that the hoary device of talking animals is introduced:
  • For the first few pages, Wilbur is just an ordinary dumb piglet. On page 16, he abruptly articulates his boredom--but it is unclear if it is his thoughts we see on the page, or mere projections of the narrator's voice. On page 49, in the middle of a "conversation" on butchering between the sheep and Wilbur, the latter screams, and Fern (who is not part of the dialog) "grows rigid"--is she merely responding to inarticulate squeals, or has she understood what was said of Wilbur's fate? Finally, on p. 52, Fern comes down for breakfast and simply starts reporting the animals' conversations to her parents.
  • The writer even tries very hard to make the extraordinary talents of the spider seem un-magical--after all, they are just what you'd expect from a talking spider.
  • There is in fact no sense of a pervasive 'further' level in this farm community (as opposed to, say, the palpable presence of magic in every corner of Harry Potter's Britain--Muggle-infested that it is).
    • Given this tone of unexceptionality, it's hard not to see Fern's mother's point when she goes to see the doctor. It is the latter character who behaves inconsistently with the rest of the book, going off on a poetic tangent instead of doing his job as a health professional.

Class discussion

• The book doesn't really question that a runt should be killed--Fern simply gets a one-time reprieve for her piglet.
• The book may suggests disturbing values--Wilbur only matters because he brings money to the farmer, and tourists to the state.
• Farm life is presented as idyllic--safe, nurturing, without details of animal slaughter.
  • Fern distancing herself from Wilbur suggests that the cycle of animals raised for slaughter will continue.
• Unconditional friendship--Charlotte remains fond of Wilbur even if he's occasionally irritating. Also shows the reassuring forbearance of a parent for the child's misbehavior.
  • This friendship makes Wilbur grow--represented by his attempts to live up to what Charlotte writes about him.
  • As Charlotte's concern with her eggs grows, however, Wilbur has to learn to accept that friends may not be entirely at his disposal.
• Change is a major theme in this book (as well as in all of children's literature--in accordance with the importance, and sometimes traumatic role, of change in children's lives):
  • Seasonal changes on the farm.
  • Wilbur's physical and spiritual growth.
  • Fern's coming of age.
  • Charlotte's decline and death. Wilbur's ultimate acceptance of this loss is meant to help children understand the possibility of loss in their own lives.
• While Wilbur grows up, Fern seems to grow straight into conformity. This outlook may be justified by the peculiar requirements of life on a family farm. Fern's relationship with Wilbur is a nice interlude, but it does nothing to alter the basic economical necessities of the family.
• Another typical childrens' literature issue is the role of adults in the tale: absent, obstacles, helpers. The doctor is a helper, the mother is an obstacle, the father oscillates between help and hindrance.
• The conflict that drives the plot arises from the split between child's passions (piglet is so cute) and adult values (a runt consumes gruel unproductively).
• The fact that animals talk in the book is a strong element in encouraging reader empathy with the animal's predicaments. This is analogous to how people reinforce their bond with their pets by talking to them.
• Charlotte is not mushy--even when Wilbur is justifiably terrified by the prospect of being slaughtered.
• The book pokes fun at people who fall for what's written in the spider webs, and suddenly have great respect for Wilbur. At the same time, the book asks the reader to believe that a spider can write.

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