Charlotte's Web by E.B White

           I've just finished reading Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. Even though the book is usually targeted to a younger audience, it still has some complex themes happening throughout the book. I think two of these themes would be bullying and friendship.



             When Wilbur first gets to the barn, the animals aren't nice to him at all. Some of them make rude remarks, some are just plain mean. For example, when Charlotte is trying to talk to Wilbur, the sheep interrupts them. "...Kill you. Turn you into smoked bacon and ham. Almost all the young pigs get murdered by the farmer as soon as the real cold weather sets in. There's a regular conspiracy around here to kill you at Christmastime. Everybody is in on the plot- Lurvy, Zuckerman, even John Arable.... Certainly. When a pig is to be butchered, everybody helps. I am an old sheep and I see the same thing, same old business, year after year. Arable arrives with his .22, shoots the..." This is only one of the instances where the other animals tease him about being killed and make him scared and sad. They would also call him naive and "too young and innocent". The teasing and the things the animals say to Wilbur was something I had never really noticed before.





                Another important theme in the book is friendship. The bond between Charlotte and Wilbur was incredibly strong. Charlotte never gave up on trying to help Wilbur. And Wilbur always enjoyed when she taught him new things. When the animals would tease Wilbur about being killed Charlotte said "...But I am going to save you..."  Even though her plan wasn't fully formed yet, she promised to save him and she did. Charlotte also taught him things. "...Furthermore, each leg of mine has 7 sections- the coxa, the trochanter, the femur, the patella, the tibia, the metatarsus, and the tarsus. Wilbur sat upright. 'You're kidding. Say those names again' Charlotte and Wilbur were incredibly close throughout the entire book.




                  Both the theme of bullying and the theme of friendship come up a lot in the story.  Sometimes they are combined, like when Charlotte stands up for Wilbur when the other animals are bullying him. Both are really important, and happen in real life as well. I think if there were more friendships like Wilbur and Charlotte's, things would be a lot nicer.