Charlotte's Web 1

Dec 4. 2025

Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's Web is a book of children's literature by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams. It was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. It tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and his friendship with a barn spider named Charlotte. When Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered, Charlotte writes messages in her web praising him, such as "Some Pig", "Terrific", "Radiant", and "Humble", to persuade the farmer to spare his life.

The book is considered a classic of children's literature, enjoyed by readers of all ages.[1] The description of the experience of swinging on a rope swing at the farm is an often-cited example of rhythm in writing, as the pace of the sentences reflects the motion of the swing. In 2000, Publishers Weekly listed the book as the best-selling children's paperback of all time.[2]

The book was adapted into an animated feature film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Sagittarius Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures in 1973. In 2003, the company released a direct-to-video sequel, Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure; Universal released the film internationally.[3] A live-action feature film adaptation of the book was released in 2006. A video game based on this adaptation was released that same year. A three-episode miniseries produced by Sesame Workshop and Guru Studio was released on HBO Max on October 2, 2025.

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sequel [ˈsiːkwəl] (책·영화·연극 등의) 속편

adaptation 각색

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Plot

The Arable family is a farm family that raises and sells animals. One day, John Arable attempts to slaughter the runt of a litter of 11 piglets that were born the night before, but his daughter Fern pleads for the piglet's life, and John gives him to her. Naming him Wilbur, Fern treats him as a pet, and the two become incredibly close. Eventually, Wilbur is no longer small, and so John decides to sell him, to Fern's dismay. Wilbur is given to Fern's maternal uncle-by-marriage, Homer Zuckerman, allowing her to periodically visit him.

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Arable [ˈærəbl] 곡식을 경작하는

runt (한배에서 태어난 새끼들 중) 제일 작고 약한 녀석

litter 한 배에서 난 새끼들

the runt of the litter 한 배에서 난 새끼들 중 가장 약한 놈

piglet [ˈpɪɡlət] 새끼 돼지

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From here on, the various farm animals are depicted as anthropomorphic. In Zuckerman's barnyard, Wilbur yearns for Fern and is met with varying reactions from the other animals, with some, such as the motherly goose, showing him compassion, and others, such as the head ram, treating him with scorn. One day, the ram offhandedly tells Wilbur that Zuckerman is raising him for slaughter and consumption, leaving him distraught. As he mourns his fate, a barn spider named Charlotte, whose web sits in a doorway overlooking his pigpen, comforts him. She promises to find a way to save his life and takes on a motherly role for him. Meanwhile, Fern often listens in on the animals' conversations, to her mother's concern.

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anthropomorphic [|ænθrəpə│mɔːrfɪk] 동물·사물을 의인화해서 보는

scorn [skɔːrn] 경멸[멸시](감)

offhandedly 퉁명스럽게

distraught [dɪˈstrɔːt] (흥분해서) 완전히 제정신이 아닌, 심란한

mourn [mɔːrn] 슬퍼 하다, 애석해[애통해] 하다

listen in (on/to something) (남의 대화를) 엿듣다

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As summer passes, Charlotte comes up with a plan to save Wilbur. Reasoning that Zuckerman would not kill a famous pig, she weaves words and short phrases in praise of Wilbur into her web, the first phrase being "Some Pig". This turns Wilbur, and the barn as a whole, into a tourist attraction because many people believe the web to be a miracle. After the excitement dies down, the phrase gets destroyed. On the goose's suggestion, Charlotte weaves the word "Terrific" into her web, beginning the cycle anew. Although Zuckerman is pleased with Wilbur's fame, his plan to slaughter him stays firm. In another effort to maintain the public's interest in him, Charlotte tells Templeton, a gluttonous rat that lives under Wilbur's trough and holds a contentious relationship with the other animals, to get another word for the web. Templeton finds a laundry detergent ad with the word "Radiant", which Charlotte then weaves into her web.

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Reason (논리적인 근거에 따라) 판단하다, 추리[추론]하다, 사고하다

weave into …에 짜[섞어] 넣다.

Some 대단한, 상당한

die down 차츰 잦아들다[약해지다/희미해지다]

anew (처음부터) 다시, 새로

gluttonous [ɡlʌ́tənəs] 게걸들린, 많이 먹는; 탐욕스러운, 욕심많은(greedy);

trough [trɔːf] 여물통

contentious [kənˈtenʃəs] 논쟁이 많이 벌어지는

Radiant [ˈreɪdiənt] 빛나는

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As a result of this latest round of fame, Zuckerman enters Wilbur in the county fair, and Charlotte and Templeton accompany him. The Arables also go to the fair, but Fern, despite still cherishing Wilbur, has matured, and instead spends time with her childhood sweetheart, Henry Fussy. Charlotte weaves another word brought by Templeton, "Humble", into the web she spins at Wilbur's stall at the fair. Wilbur fails to win first prize, but is awarded a special prize by the judges. Charlotte, who has laid an egg sac at the fair, hears the presentation of the award over the public address system and realizes that the prize means Zuckerman will cherish Wilbur for as long as he lives and will never slaughter him.

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fair (농·축산물) 품평회, 축제 마당, 풍물 장터

sac 주머니[-낭]

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However, Charlotte, being a barn spider with a naturally short lifespan, is already dying of natural causes by the time the award is announced. Knowing that she has saved Wilbur, and satisfied with the outcome of her life, she decides not to return to the barn with Wilbur and Templeton. She gives them her final request to have her egg sac taken back to the barn, and then dies alone at the fairgrounds.

Wilbur waits out the winter, during which Charlotte's children hatch. Most of them fly away, to Wilbur's dismay, but three choose to remain. Future descendants of Charlotte keep Wilbur company for many years, though he always holds Charlotte in more esteem than them all.