Charlotte's Web Essay

There are numerous genre’s in literature, but the level of importance and influence on an individual will differ. Exposure to books and stories is especially important for children because it their chance to acclimate themselves to written language and in turn create their own visuals for the toneless words. “Why Fairy Tales Matter: The Performative and the Transformative”, by Maria Tatar contains an ample amount of textual evidence from author’s research into fairytales, as well as writer’s personal experiences with fairytales. Although Tatar supports her claims with evidence, her resources are not concrete, and seems excessive at times. Also, her assertions are weakened by her failure to defend her conclusion against competing beliefs.

Fairy tale characters, along with other fictional beings, have entertained and inspired many children for centuries. Various little girls, all over the world have dreamed of one day finding their Prince Charming and meeting their godmother, while little boys were on the look out for dragons and dragon slayers. At some point however, the magic in many of the little children eyes slowly drifted away, and their belief in this fictional reality wavered. Americans in the 21st century seem to have lost their connection with imagination. In “Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?,” Ursula LeGuin claims that Americans fail to read fictional novels because they have lost faith in an alternate reality, and find books useless, due to the lack of personal gain. Yet, LeGuin overlooks the many maturely developed Americans who have never touched any fictional print, and exaggerates their self-indulging nature.

It surprised me at first that Contemporary Realistic Fiction is the most popular genre in children’s books. But after reading this it made more sense why contemporary realistic fiction is the most popular genre. It approaches the reality of children’s own lives. They can also connect to it so much easier than other genres.

Children’s Literature is a wide range. It is collection of culture, concepts and future values. After reading the introduction” Trade And Plumb-Cake Forever, The Riverside Anthology of Children’s Literature), I considered most insightful in reading this section , Children’s literature differs from adult literature, Children’s literature plays a key role in raising children's imaginations, and it plays an important role in the development and creative thinking in children.

Unconditional Love in E.B. White's Charlotte's Web In fantasy like Charlotte's Web, the animals are true to their natures, yet similar to people. They think and worry and love and hurt and laugh and needle one another as people do. In Charlotte's Web, human truths of friendship and love are revealed. I strongly agree with the statement that Charlotte is truly the ideal role model of unconditional love and will support my stand by highlighting Charlotte's selfless acts, contrasting her with Templeton, showing why he is the complete opposite of her, comparing her with other models of love such as Fern, Mrs. Arable and the goose and lastly, proving that Wilbur's change is a result of her unconditional love.

When readers read a story written by an author they will usually think that the author likes to read books and is what led the author to writing a book. William Goldman said, “As a child, I had no Interest in reading” (Goldman 3), this can lead readers to imagining the author as a young child rather than an adult not wanting to read a book. When Readers imagine the author as a young child the image imagined can give a better sense of how the author felt as a young child. The imagination of a child giving the reader a picture to think about is less complex than that of a adult giving a reader a picture to think about.

Children’s literature has existed for as long as there have been stories to be told to children. Stories, books, songs, poems are all made for children. Children’s literature does not have a definite definition of what it is; basically, it is anything a child reads (Lerer, 2008). Children begin to learn what reading and writing are used for before even knowing how the system works. Children recognise the function of written language by seeing examples of written language that are being used around them. Many children know the difference between reading and talking, they are aware that written language is used to do things in this world (Emitt, Zbaracki, Komesaroff and Pollock, 2015). Quintilian, John Locke, Saint Augustine and Doctor Seuss speculated on the ways children learn the Australian language and learn about their lives from literature (Lerer, 2008). In fact, Lerer states that “the history of children’s literature is inseparable from the history of childhood, for the child was made through texts and tales he/she studied, heard and told back,” (2008, p.1). Children’s literature nurtures an understanding of narrative structures and visual images played in storytelling, this helps develop

Children’s literature can take many forms, from far-fetching science fiction to spell binding who-done-it mysteries. One of the most popular ideas presented in these various forms is that of escapism. The characters in these stories explore quite complex social issues in ways that are less confrontational then realism. One might consider why escape is such a central theme; as a child there are numerous benefits to fantasy, it allows readers to experiment with different views of the world and takes hypothetical situations and invites them to make connections between this fictive scenario and their own reality. John Stephens an English professor at Macquarie University has said “ Fantasy writing operates through metaphor- so that the unfamiliar is used to stand in for, or comment upon, the familiar.”

I have never been as comfortable with people made of flesh and bone than I have been with those made of words. Whatever information I lose in the contours of the human face, I have no trouble locating in the unchanging, permanent text of a book. There is something about literature that felt safe to me; the worlds created within far more welcoming to little girls with problems fitting in than the one outside the pages. For this reason, fiction, from Harry Potter to The Book Thief, has remained my greatest passion ever since I learned to read.

As the wrestlers left for Atlanta, Georgia after “The Final Battle for Love,” so too disappeared the illusory hope of the narrator which he had romantically instilled within him since he moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. In Tony Earley’s “Charlotte,” the exaggerated, transparent spectacle of professional wrestling are, as Roland Barthes wrote in his essay, “The World of Wrestling,” as “signs [that] at last correspond to causes, without obstacle, without evasion, without contradiction” (Barthes 178). However, unlike wrestling’s superficial and clear-cut appearance, one has to understand that reality is anything but obvious and is awash with complexity. The narrator understands that the wrestlers “were as superficial as we [the people of Charlotte]

Fantasy and science fiction are two wonderful genres of literature that can be enjoyed by all ages. They allow us to escape into other worlds filled with magic, mythical creatures, and futuristic societies. While all ages enjoy these stories, they are particularly important for children as they can help them to grow and understand the real world around them. Although these books have fictional settings and characters, they contain experiences, emotions, and messages that children experience in the real world. Two of the works of fantasy/science fiction that I read this week are Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming and Leo a Ghost Story by Mac Barnett. Both of these stories create worlds of fantasy that children can relate to and learn from.

Reading novels is an experience unlike any other. With the crack of a new book, the reader is transported into the pages, into a new land, ready to take on the role of protagonist. Each little girl has the chance to be a pirate-fighting hero, each little boy able to become the doting husband. If that sentence sounds strange, it is because society has socialized individuals to gender any and all activities, reading included. Elizabeth Segel drives this point home in her article “As the Twig is Bent… Gender and Childhood Reading,” which gives an in-depth analysis of gender in children’s book, and the implications it has for readers.

Charlotte does not leave Wilbur until age and the circle of life leads to her natural death, but not before teaching him the skills and knowledge he needs to continue without her successfully. While Charlotte does not leave Wilbur’s side as Gandalf leaves Bilbo, both are able to successfully teach the necessary lessons and encourage personal growth as parental

Literary heroes that are also ordinary children are engaging to readers, particularly child readers. James Pope and Julia Round write that “Roald Dahl is a fascinating author in that his books for children feature child heroes who are very often neither hero nor villain, but a wild, subversive combination of both” (258). These characteristics are also true of Coraline and Harry Potter, as they are presented as imperfect, but ultimately find the power within themselves to save what is important to them. Children readers are empowered by Coraline and Harry because they identify with these ordinary children and feel as if they can also make a difference in their lives, as the characters defeat the evil in theirs.

The entire story is written in Liz’s point of view, which becomes clear when she thinks; “Yes, yes I know! And I want it too!” (page 3, line 104) and when the narrator reveals her thoughts, “was she crazy, utterly crazy?” (page 3, line 106-107). This narration makes it possible to concentrate on her development and how some women are attracted to immoral men. The title “The Web” refers to a spider’s web. A spider’s web is sticky and when the fly has made contact with the web it is caught. The title is very fitting, because she is caught in Gavin’s web of immorality. The most important theme in “The Web” is morality. Morality in general and the moral of relationships like Gavin and Liz’s. There are other themes e.g. love and hate, but they are all connected to the morality theme. Liz’s moral standard “had been so swiftly knitted[…] (page 6, line 212), which means that her view on right and wrong was rather inflexible, but in the end her high moral standard had “[…] begun to unravel” (page 6, line 213). There are many references to morality in the short story, e.g. when the lady on the bus indignantly says, “’What a way to speak to a blind person!’” (page 1, line 11). The lady thinks Liz is immoral and cruel when she talks to Gavin, which the lady only thinks because he has deceived