Charlotte’s Web: Very nice intro 製作者 王美玲老師 報告者 黃鴻潔 蔡孟洵 胡芳煊

About the Author E.B. White was born in 1899 in Mount Vernon, New York. He served in the army before going to Cornell University. There he wrote for the college newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. His full name was Elwyn Brooks White, but people at the newspaper began calling him “Andy”, and the name stuck. After he graduated, he worked as a reporter. In 1927 he became a writer for The New Yorker magazine, where he became well known. He wrote a column for Harper’s magazine from 1938 to 1943. Awkward title. 2

About the Author E.B. White White’s career had already brought him much fame, but he was about to try something new. His nieces and nephews always asked him to tell them. In 1945 he started publishing these stories as books. All three are now considered classics of children’s literature. In 1957 White moved to North Brooklin, Maine, with his wife, Katharine. There he continued to write. White died in 1985. Sounds similar to Lewis’ statements, doesn’t it?

Characters Fern (the girl taking care of Wilbur) Wilbur (the pig) Charlotte (the spider) Templeton ( the rat)

The Summary I One spring, on a farm in Maine, Fern Arable learns that her father plans to kill the runt of a litter of newborn pigs. She successfully begs him to spare its life. He gives it to her, who names him Wilbur and raises him as her pet. Very good summary

The Summary II To Fern’s regret, when he grows into an adult pig, she is forced to take him to the Zuckerman farm, where he is to be prepared as dinner for Christmas. When he is in the barn, he is scared and lonely. Wilbur starts to cry and he hears a sweet voice saying “Don’t cry. I will be your friend.”

The Summary III Charlotte, a spider, lives in the space above Wilbur’s sty in the Zuckerman’s barn; she befriends him and decided to help prevent him from being eaten. With the help of the other barn animals, including a rat named Templeton, she convinces the Zuckerman family that Wilbur is actually quite special.

The Summary IV Charlotte helps Wilbur by spelling out descriptions of him in her web: “Some Pig”, “Terrific”, “Radiant” and “Humble”. All of the people believe Wilbur is a very special pig and they are going to take him to a fair, where Wilbur is entered in a contest.

The Summary V With Charlotte’s help, Wilbur wins a special prize. Fern and all his family are very happy because Wilbur will live a happy life.

The Summary VI At the fair, Charlotte produces an egg sac. She cannot return home because she is dying. Wilbur tearfully says goodbye to her but manage to take her sac home, where hundreds of offspring emerge. Most of the young spiders soon leave, but three, stay and become Wilbur’s friends.

Love and Friendship You have been my friend, replied Charlotte. That in itself is a tremendous thing” (White 164). A friendship can be very fulfilling and integral part of one’s life. The friendship between Charlotte and Wilbur is like no other; not only do they share an unbreakable bond, they establish a friendly environment within the barn. In the story, Charlotte works very hard to save Wilbur’s life but she is not asking for anything in return.

Love and Friendship II Although Charlotte is no longer in the physical presence, Wilbur never forgets her. Wilbur takes care of Charlotte’s babies after she dies. Wilbur finally realizes that friendship is the most satisfying thing in the world.

夏綠蒂的網 在一個春天，一群小豬誕生了，但其中卻有隻小豬特別的瘦弱，小女孩芬恩的爸爸計畫殺了這隻小豬。因為牠太瘦小，根本就擠不進小豬群中吸取媽媽的母奶，就算把牠留下來，也遲早會因為喝不到母奶而夭折。可是善良的芬恩卻堅持留下這隻小豬，並成功的拯救了牠。芬恩對他很友善，把牠當成自己的寵物，還為牠取了個名字，叫做韋伯。

夏綠蒂的網 但很遺憾地，當韋伯長大了之後，芬恩卻被迫將牠送到另一個農場，韋伯即將變成聖誕節的大餐。韋伯被關在穀倉，牠感到寂寞又害怕，所以牠哭了起來，但這時牠卻聽見了一個甜美的聲音告訴牠:「不要哭，我來做你的朋友。」是誰呢?原來是一隻灰色的大蜘蛛，牠的名字是夏綠蒂，牠也住在這個穀倉裡。

夏綠蒂的網 夏綠蒂和韋伯變成了好朋友，並且決定阻止韋伯成為人類的食物，穀倉裡的其他動物以及老鼠Templeton也決定幫助牠們，夏綠蒂織了一個寫了字的網來說服農場的人們，告訴他們韋伯是很特別的。

夏綠蒂的網 夏綠蒂又織了幾個寫了字的網，所有的人類都誤以為那是韋伯寫的。人們認為韋伯是一隻會利用蜘蛛網寫字的豬，他們相信韋伯是特別的，於是他們決定帶韋伯去博覽會，並讓韋伯參加比賽。

夏綠蒂的網 因為有夏綠蒂的協助，韋伯獲得了特別獎，芬恩以及她的家人都非常開心，因為韋伯將擁有快樂的生活。

夏綠蒂的網 但在博覽會上，夏綠蒂卻在產下了一個卵囊之後死了，韋伯很難過，因為善良聰明的夏綠蒂是最棒的好朋友。牠哭著和夏綠蒂告別，同時也替牠將卵囊帶回農場。

夏綠蒂的網 春天又來臨了，一群小蜘蛛從卵囊裡鑽了出來，大部分的小蜘蛛都離開了，但有三隻小蜘蛛卻留了下來，並且成為韋伯的好朋友，陪伴著牠。

In Conclusion It is safe to say that Charlotte’s Web is a book of timeless concepts. The concepts of friendship, love, life and death, time, faith, self identity, and greed are illustrated in a creative way; making the story easy for children to relate to. The characters within the story, each with their own personality, creates an enchanting tale about the significance in each concept. As White ends the story he states: “It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and good writer. Charlotte was both”. This is significant because without Charlotte’s ability to write, the heroic tale as we know, wouldn’t have been so.

Thanks for your listening!