English 2033E Lecture : Charlotte's Web
17 Apr 2014
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Life and death dilemma at center, but no real villain. Individual selfishness not a threat to the community. Charlotte makes arguments similar to the justification for human farming when she justifies her killing for food. Necessity (no one feeds her like wilbur and the other barn animals) Tradition (it"s what spiders have always done) Humane practices/mercy (she puts her victims to sleep before she eats them) Ecological purposes (keep fly population down) her self-interest here aligns with everyone else"s interests. She can make people see what she wants them to see and change their opinions. Able to change wilbur"s self-image and make him more confident in himself. Identified as a writer at the end of the book. Teaches new words (salutations, anesthetic, gullible, etc. ) Her relationship with wilbur is entirely verbal and they both share a fascination with words. But they are separate in the way that their gender roles work.
