Charlotte's Web

Charlotte chooses her words carefully — SOME PIG, TERRIFIC, RADIANT, HUMBLE. Why these four words in this order? What would be lost if she had written AMAZING or WONDERFUL instead?

Wilbur says 'I don't want to die, plain and simple.' Why does White use the phrase 'plain and simple' here? How does the word 'plain' connect to how Charlotte speaks at the end of the novel?

Charlotte is a spider who eats flies. Wilbur is disturbed by this when he first sees it. By the end of the novel, does his view change? Does it have to change for their friendship to work?

Templeton the rat helps save Wilbur's life — but always for selfish reasons. Is Templeton a good character? Can self-interest produce good outcomes?

The crickets' song says 'Summer is over and gone, over and gone.' This appears before anything bad has happened. Why does White introduce grief before Charlotte dies or Wilbur is threatened?

Fern can understand the animals in the barn. By the end of the novel, she is spending her time with Henry Fussy on the Ferris wheel instead. Is this a loss? Does White think it is?

Charlotte says 'I'm not afraid of dying. I just don't want to.' What is the difference between fearing death and not wanting to die? Why does White make this distinction?

The humans — Zuckerman, Lurvy, the minister — believe Wilbur is miraculous because the web says so. Are they foolish? Or is Charlotte's strategy brilliant because she understands human psychology?

Charlotte writes 'HUMBLE' as the final word. White says it was the right word because Wilbur actually is humble. How does the fact that one web-word is true change the meaning of the whole project?

Charlotte dies alone in the empty fairground. 'No one was with her when she died.' Why does White make this choice? Should Wilbur have stayed?

The novel ends: 'It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.' Why does White pair 'true friend' with 'good writer'? Are these two separate things, or is the novel arguing they are connected?

Mr. Arable is about to kill Wilbur in the first chapter, and by the end of the novel Wilbur is saved and living happily at Zuckerman's farm. Does Mr. Arable ever do anything wrong? How does the novel handle the fact that farms kill pigs?

Charlotte calls the egg sac her 'magnum opus' — her great work. Is the egg sac greater than the web? What does it mean to call leaving children behind a 'great work'?

White was the co-author of The Elements of Style, whose most famous rule is 'omit needless words.' How does Charlotte's web practice this rule? What would happen if the web said 'THIS IS A REALLY WONDERFUL AND SPECIAL PIG'?

Wilbur 'never forgot Charlotte.' The new spiders are her children, and he loves them, but they don't replace her. Is this realistic about how grief works? Should Wilbur eventually 'get over it'?

Charlotte's first word to Wilbur is 'Salutations.' Why does she start their friendship with the fanciest word in the novel? What does this choice tell us about Charlotte?

Three of Charlotte's children stay behind at the barn. They are named Joy, Aranea, and Nellie. Why does the novel name them? What would be lost if they had no names?

The novel's very first scene is Fern stopping her father from killing a pig. The novel's very last image is Wilbur living in the barn, surrounded by Charlotte's grandchildren. What has changed? What hasn't?

Dr. Dorian says the real miracle is not that Charlotte writes words in her web — the real miracle is that any spider builds a web at all. What is White saying about where we look for miracles?

The ballooning spiders at the end float away on silk threads. White uses the scientific word 'ballooning.' Why does he choose the technical word instead of a more magical-sounding one?

Compare the way Charlotte and Wilbur talk. Find three differences in their language. What does each character's way of speaking tell you about their personality?

The novel is called Charlotte's Web, not Wilbur's Web or Fern's Farm. Who is the novel really about — Wilbur, Charlotte, or Fern? Why does White choose to name the book after the spider?

White revised Charlotte's Web eleven times before publication. What does that suggest about his relationship to language and revision? How does the finished prose show evidence of that care?

The novel never tells us what Wilbur does to deserve saving. He doesn't do anything heroic or special. Is that a flaw in the story, or is that the point?

Fern's story ends with her on the Ferris wheel. She was the moral center of Chapter 1. By the end, she barely appears. Is the novel's ending satisfying given how important Fern was at the start?

Charlotte says friendship is 'one of the most satisfying things in the world.' She doesn't say it makes you happy or gives you joy — she says satisfying. What's the difference? Why does she choose that word?

White grew up to write The Elements of Style, a book about writing. Charlotte's Web is also, secretly, a book about writing — about what words can do. Find three moments in the novel where a word changes something real in the world. What does the novel believe about language's power?

Read the sentence: 'Charlotte died quietly that evening. The fairground was deserted. No one was with her when she died.' How does the sentence length and structure affect how this moment feels? What would be lost if White had written more?

The novel treats the cycles of the farm — birth, growth, slaughter, spring, death — as natural rather than cruel. Do you agree? Is there something the novel is asking us to accept that we should question?

If Charlotte could weave one more word — after SOME PIG, TERRIFIC, RADIANT, HUMBLE — what would it be? Explain what word you would choose and why it fits Wilbur's character, using evidence from the novel.