Recently, I read the book Charlotte's Web for the first time since I was about five years old. The book was very different from what I remembered. This time as I read it I noticed how elaborate the descriptions were, how dynamic the characters were, and how there were so many different themes and ideas in the book. Among all the different themes and ideas that were involved in the book, as I read it I began to observe that the main theme of the book seemed to be love. The book, I realized as I read it, was a story about the love that these three friends had for each other and how it affected them.
I began to notice how important love and friendship is in the book from the very first chapter. In the chapter, Fern defy's her father and protests against him to save the life of Wilbur, the newborn pig. As I read the book, I could already see what kind of relationship the two friends were going to have. Later on in the book, you see the relationship grow between Fern and Wilbur when E.B. White describes how Fern takes Wilbur everywhere with her. Even though Ferns parents are concerned about her, Wilbur was truly helping Fern by giving her friendship and love. I think the bond between the two shows how important it is to have someone there for you throughout your life, no matter who it is.
As the book continues, the theme of love continues to be a huge part of the book. After Wilbur is sent to Ferns uncles farm, he feels lost and lonely without Ferns love and friendship in his life. He is miserable, his life has changed completely. Then, Charlotte (a spider who lives in the barn) gives him comfort and friendship after seeing him crying. After finding a new friend, Wilbur's life becomes once again filled with happiness and meaning. This chapter really showed me how much love and friendship can affect someone, and how important it is. It also made me think about how lost I would feel if I didn't have my friends and family by my side. I'm not even sure if I would be able to function without all the people I have in my life. When I first read the book, I don't think I could quite grasp the concept of how important family and friendship was because I was surrounded by it. When I was younger, I doubt I ever even imagined losing someone in my life, I always just assumed they would be around forever. Now that I'm older, I know thats not true. I understand that people come and go in your life, and you won't always feel loved. This particular part in the book really made me wonder how I would feel if I was Wilbur, if the only person I had ever loved was gone. Some of my peers in my class thought Wilbur was being dramatic, but I disagree. If I thought I had lost someone who was as important to me as Fern was to Wilbur, I would have had no reason to live. The people in my life are everything to me, and this chapter made me realize that.
Later, Wilbur is faced with a crisis and friendship helps him get through it. Wilbur finds out that he will most likely be killed when Christmas comes around, and this causes him to become hysterical. While he is crying, Charlotte decides to help her friend by using every ounce of energy that she had to weave a web of words describing how wonderful her friend was. She saves his life many a time, and continues to do so even when her life is at risk. At the end of the book, Charlotte becomes very weak and ill. She can barely move, but because she cared for Wilbur so much, she wove one last web to insure his safety. Her love for Wilbur saved his life, and ended hers, as the next day she dies. This part of the book really showed me how powerful love really is, and how much it can affect lives. It made me realize that anyone can be happy as long as they feel loved. I think that this is one of the messages that E.B White was really trying to convey through Charlottes Web to children. I'm glad he wrote this book, because I hope that it is teaching people all over the world how powerful and important love is.
