Looking at Charlotte's Web in a new way...

[Rll52014_lori]

When I think of Charlotte's Web, I think of the plot and how I know it backwards and forwards. Now that I am re-reading the book and am looking more closely at the literary elements, I found some pleasant surprises that I had not noticed before.
One example that comes to mind is the strong sense of fighting for justice when Fran comes to stand up for Wilbur when he is born as the runt of the litter. She kept saying that it was not fair, but she also was able to reason in a very adult way why she thought it was not fair to kill a small pig by asking her father would he have killed her if she were small at birth. I thought that by her being able to make her father stop and think about this for a moment was pretty powerful. And to have this happen within the first few pages of the book kind of really sets the tone of how E.B. White felt about the character of Fran.
Besides that, I was pretty impressed with how I was able to really bring myself into the story with the wonderful images that E.B. White was able to portray through words. One great example comes from the first page with the smell of the grass and the "sopping" shoes. The description was so well, that I related it to my experiences of sopping shoes and "felt" the wet shoes myself. There are many more examples of wonderful descriptions, but that was probably my favorite one.
I am really glad that I have had the chance to re-read this novel again because I have had the chance to catch these different experiences!
Lori Nolan

[Liv Liv]

Rll52014_lori wrote: "When I think of Charlotte's Web, I think of the plot and how I know it backwards and forwards. Now that I am re-reading the book and am looking more closely at the literary elements, I found some ..."

i love this book! Who was your favorite charecter?

[Rll52014_lori]

I would have to say that Fran is my favorite character. She seems to be mature beyond her years and she even teaches the adults some lessons on being loving and caring.

[Liv Liv]

Yes!!

[Taigan]

Love this book!!! Great lessons and also a sweet story.

[Carrie]

It's Fern, but that's ok;) I LOVE this book. It holds a special place in my heart. I've read and reread this book so many times as a child. I remember being very young when I read this and I connected w Fern right away. I grew up on a farm, owned animals all of my life so I learned about life/death and the brutality of humans and nature at a very young age. I really believe this book is responsible for my career in veterinary medicine and as an animal rights advocate,and why I'm involved in rescuing/rehab animals, domestic and wild.

[Ahmed]

Carrie wrote: "It's Fern, but that's ok;) I LOVE this book. It holds a special place in my heart. I've read and reread this book so many times as a child. I remember being very young when I read this and I connec..."

cool

[Estella]

I love this book! Best story ever!

[Estella]

This book is great!

[Abigail]

When I think of Charlotte's web, i think of awesomeness!

[[deleted user]]

I grew up with the cartoon but recently read the book for the first time, and though the plot remained the same, I was surprised by the maturity of the themes. There's even a hint of Wilbur becoming depressed (one could even argue suicidal) when he is left by Fern. But mostly it was the themes of mercy/sacrifice that struck me, and they seemed to have an almost religious aspect. Which for me brought the beauty of the story to a higher level that I hadn't expected. Truly one of the best children's books I've read.

[Susan]

I am in a literary group and I have been trying to find a book Fifty Shades of Grey is not my type of book. Trying to find the extremem opposite of it. What is more opposite than a pulp fiction of the grey calibre - I think it would have to be Charlotte's Web. Full of moral goodness and friendship. I remember a pink pig and a hairy spider who died creating a work of love for her friend. Going to read it again but first reading E B White's autobiography.