One connection that I had to other readings, is that this story made me think about "Stuart Little". I read "Stuart Little" when I was in elementary school. This story was also about an animal that had human characteristics. Stuart Little was an rodent, that lived in New York City. Since Stuart was adventurous, this story reminded me a lot of the characters in "Charlotte's Web".
One question that came to mind, was "I wonder how the rest of Wilbur's life turned out to be like"?. Since Wilbur managed to escape death, it would be interesting to know how the rest of Wilbur's life panned out. I hope that Wilbur lived to have an very long and rich life.
One connection that I could make to my own life experiences is that I am an vegetarian. Even though I do not condone others for eating animal products, I have not eaten meat in almost an year. My mother and I both decided that eating meat was not something that we were comfortable with. I am an strong supporter, of my choice to have made this important decision.
Also, while reading this story, I thought of having read the actual "Charlotte's Web" story when I was in elementary school. This was one of my favorite books. I feel as though White was an good writer. When I am in the teaching profession, I will most likely read "Charlotte's Web" to my classroom. I feel as though children can relate more to stories about animals, than they often can to stories about humans.
Lastly, this story can be summarized as being about the relationship between an pig and an spider. The name of the spider is Charlotte, and the pig's name is Wilbur. Wilbur manages to escape death, by the help of his trusted friend Charlotte. Charlotte resides in the rafter above the barn were Wilbur is placed on a farm. Wilbur is scared, at the prospect of dying. So Charlotte creates an spiderweb, that would convince the farmer to not have Wilbur killed. The farmer was able to realize, that Wilbur was an extraordinary animal that derserved to live. In the excerpt of "Charlotte's Web", this expalins how Charlotte is dying.
I personally felt, as though this was an very sad and very touching story. This story told the ultimate sacrifice that one friend would make for another friend. That is why I personally find Charlotte's Web to be such an touching tale, of friendship in the strongest sense of the word. I feel like people wish that they could have an friend that would do for Charlotte, like Wilbur did for her. Wilbur knows that he will have an secure future, since Charlotte did everything in her power to save him. Wilbur feels bad, since he used to view Charlotte as being an blod-thirsty, mean spider. however, Charlotte reassures Wilbur that he helped made her life be better. And that she knows, that she will not be returning home from the fair. However, she wants Wilbur to help protect her babies. So, Wilbur gets Simpleton, the rat to help get down Charlotte's web sac. He promises Simpleton, that he will allow him to be the first to eat. So, Charlotte dies at the conclusion. Wilbur helps raise her children and grandchildren. However, there is no one that is able to take Charlotte's place.
I would like to make several comments, about the class discussion concerning "Charlotte's Web". One comment is that the animals had been giving human characteristics. For instance, pigs are often raised to be slaughtered on farms. Likewise, spiders serve the means of killing flies. So it was interesting, to note how these aniamls had been transformed into having more out of life, than simply just this. Also, rodents are considered to be vile. SO it was interesting, to observe how Simpleton had to paly an role in saving Charlotte's babies. Also, this book is an example of death in children's literature. Since this book was mainly intended for an child audience, they can use this book to learn about how everyone eventually dies someday. Since Simpleton was looked down on for being an rodent, this generated discussion about how people are often looked down on, for their race or occupation. This can be seen, by the caste system in India. Also in America, the Mexicans working in the fields are looked down on for two reasons. Their home country and their occupation.
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