Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White is truly a flawless piece of children's literature. I enjoyed tapping back into my childhood and reliving the morals of love, friendship, and devotion that the story has to offer.
The story tells of a young child named Fern and her adoration for a baby pig. The tale begins when Mr. Arable, Fern's father, realizes that his sow has given birth to a litter of piglets. However, he soon discovers that one of the piglets is just a runt and decides to kill it. Fern earnestly discourages her father from killing the baby pig and decides that she will take care of the little pig. She later names the little pig Wilbur. To Fern's dismay,however, her baby pig is soon sold to the Zuckerman's when Mr. Arable claims that Wilber is too big to keep as a pet. It isn't long before Wilbur begins to make friends with Mr. Zuckerman's barn of animals which include sheep, cows, geese, and even a pesky mouse. However, the most important and desirable friend that Wilbur encounters resides at the very top corner of the barn. It isn't until the sheep in the barn tell Wilbur that he will be slaughtered in the winter, that Wilbur's new friend, Charlotte the spider, displays her undying devotion to Wilbur. Charlotte constantly attempts to remind Zuckerman that Wilbur is no ordinary pig. She spends her time spinning webs with hidden messages that tell of Wilbur's virtues. The messages include "SOME PIG", "HUMBLE", and "RADIANT". To the barnyard animal's astonishment, the Zuckerman farm becomes famous overnight. People from all over the county come to catch a glimpse of Wilbur and the web. This inspires Zuckerman to enter Wilbur in the county fair where the pig wins a ribbon. Sadly, due to the short life span of spiders, Charlotte's life ends at the county fair. Wilbur repays Charlotte by taking her sac of eggs back to Zuckerman's farm at the closing of the book.
There are two important themes within the story that instantly transforms the tale into a classic: Friendship and maturity. First of all, the theme of friendship is found throughout the entire story. Fern's love for Wilbur and the barnyard's attempt to save Wilbur from his terrible fate are prime examples of this particular theme. Secondly, Fern's maturity into adolescence aids in pointing out that the act of growing up is inevitable. Ferns practically matures before the reader's very eyes. At the start of the tale Fern is a young girl who is only interested in her baby pig, dolls, and Zuckerman's barn animals. Towards the closing of the tale, however, Fern interests have changed. Even though it is aparent that Fern still adores Wilbur she is now interested in boys instead of her dolls. The combination of these two themes make E.B. White's Charlotte's Web a wonderful piece for all audiences.