Literature
The book is appropriate for a child who is five years old or less it will help the child to develop his or her emotional, moral, cognitive and social theories. The central or primary purpose of this story that talks about friendship and making sacrifices for the people you love. In the point of view of a child, it will help them understand the importance of friendships and how to value the person who is willing to stand by you in times of trouble. This book is not only enjoyable for a child, but also for an adult. However, the response of an adult reader is different compared to the response of the child in terms of the depth in grasping the concept of making self-sacrifices. A young child can still not understand the rationale of self-sacrifice means that one’s own personal interest is disregarded for the well-being of another. In the story, the Charlotte, the spider was willing to give her life for her friend, Wilbur, the pig who was at the risk of being slaughtered. The plan of Charlotte to save the life of Wilbur from Homer Zuckerman who was about to slaughter him was to use her spider web to weave messages to break the impending doom of her friend. When the time came that Charlotte was about to die, she entrusted Wilbur her unborn offspring whom she called her “magnum opus” to guard it with his life. Wilbur was devastated when Charlotte told him that she was nearing death. Wilbur remained loyal to his friend by safe keeping Charlotte’s “magnum opus” and awaited for the moment it will hatch. Soon after, the egg sac hatched and several baby spiders were born and some of them that were strong enough left on their own. However, there were three others that stayed behind because they are still too young to leave. Thereafter, Wilbur named them Nellie, Aranea and Joy, who later became his new-found friends along with the other generations of spiders that came after. The book ended with a happy note that Wilbur never had to feel sad after all since he realized that Charlotte left him with more friends to keep him company.
This story deals about the value of friendship. Under the conventional level, it is the age when children reach the age of 7 to eleven years that they learn to value the family, the group and community (Russell 37) In this story, a child will be able to discover the importance of the gift of friendship. No man is an island as the old saying goes. It is part of human development to interact with people, much so if it will enrich our lives and teach us moral values. The climax of the story is meaningful in the sense that it highlights the essence of true friendship. It means that when a relationship is tested by faith, no amount of money can repay the loyalty of a friend because one is willing to give his or her life for the well-being of another. As part of the psychosocial development theory of a child, reading this book will allow him or her to discover that in life there are people who will be there to help you in times of need and in return, he or she should give them back the respect, loyalty and affection that they deserve.
Works Cited:
Russell, David. Literature for Children: A Short Introduction. New York: Allyn & Bacon, 2008.
Print.
White, E.B. Charlotte’s Web. New York: Harper Collins Publishing, 2006. Print.
