Charlotte's Web Summary
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Setting
Charlotte’s web has three settings; fern’s house, her uncle’s barn, and the country fair. The main setting is on fern’s uncle’s farm.
Main Characters
Wilbur- Wilbur the pig is the novel’s main protagonist. He is rescued from slaughter when Fern Arable insists that her father let him live.
Charlotte- charlotte is a common barn spider with a number of extraordinary gifts.
Fern Arable- she is an eight-year-old girl with an intense love of nature and animals
Homer Zuckerman- he is Fern’s uncle and Wilbur’s second owner. Homer Zuckerman is a kind and practical man who runs a thriving farm and barnyard.
Dr. Dorian- He is The local doctor who advises Mrs. Arable when she comes to him out of concern for Fern, who has been spending all of her time at the Zuckerman farm "talking†with the animals.
Plot Summary
Eight-year-old Fern Arable is devastated when she hears that her father is going to kill the runt of his pig’s new litter. Persuading him that the piglet has a right to life and promising to look after it, she saves the animal and names him, Wilbur. When Wilbur becomes too large, Fern is forced to sell him to her uncle, Homer Zuckerman, whose barn is filled with animals who shun the newcomer.
When Wilbur discovers that he will soon be slaughtered for Christmas dinner, he is horribly distraught. He sits in the corner of the barn crying, "I don’t want to die.†Charlotte, the hairy barn spider who lives in the rafters above his sty decides to help him. With the assistance of a sneaky rat named Templeton and some of the other animals in the barn, she writes a message on her web: "Some Pig.†More strange messages appear on the web, sparking people from miles around to visit these "divine†manifestations and the pig that inspired them. Charlotte accompanies Wilbur to the county fair, where she spins her last note: "Humble.†Wilbur wins a special prize, and his survival is ensured.
It becomes apparent, however, that Charlotte is unwell. After laying hundreds of eggs, she is too weak to return to the Zuckerman’s farm. A saddened Wilbur takes the egg sac, leaving the dying Charlotte behind. Once home, he keeps a watchful eye on the eggs. Although most leave after hatching, three stay behind in the barn, and they and subsequent generations of Charlotte’s offspring comfort Wilbur for many years to come.
Themes
- Friendship and Sacrifice. The novel centers around the tender, the life-changing friendship between a pig named Wilbur and a spider named Charlotte. The book’s main theme is friendship, specifically the ways in which true friendship often involves self-sacrifice.
- Mortality and Rebirth. The author infuses the novel with happy moments of friendship, play, and the beauty of the natural world, while also communicating frightening lessons about sacrifice, growing up, and, most acutely, the idea of death as a necessary, normal part of life.