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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does the goose say the last egg didn't hatch?

2. What does Wilbur do when he hears why the people are fattening him up?

3. Which of the following is not a reason the lamb gives for not playing with Wilbur?

4. What does Templeton take from Wilbur?

5. How would you describe Mr. Zuckerman's initial reaction to Charlotte's web?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mrs. Arable feel about all the time Fern is spending in the barn?

2. Why do you think Fern goes rigid on her stool one time while visiting with the barn animals?

3. How might you compare and contrast the goose and Charlotte's attitudes toward life and death?

4. Why is Wilbur so unhappy as a young pig after living in the Zuckerman's barn for awhile?

5. What effect does Charlotte's web have on the farm?

6. How grown-up is Wilbur by the end of Chapter 3?

7. Why does Mrs. Arable tell Fern in Chapter 8 that Fern can tell her more about the animals in Uncle Homer's barn that afternoon?

8. Why does Uncle Homer agree to buy Wilbur?

9. How observant is Lurvy when it comes to Wilbur, and how can you tell?

10. What is Wilbur's boast and how does Fern feel when she hears him make it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay examining mother-child relationships in this book, focusing on such relationships as Fern/Wilbur, Charlotte/Wilbur, Fern/Mrs. Arable, Charlotte/Charlotte's children, and the goose/the goslings. How are these relationships alike and different? How do some change over time? What does it mean to be a mother or a child in this book? Are motherhood and childhood different for humans than for animals?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay discussing what Charlotte's Web has to say on the subject of fame. Include discussion of issues such as how people (and pigs) might achieve fame, what some beneficial and hurtful byproducts and effects of fame might be, and how fame might change people (and pigs) either for the better or the worse.

Essay Topic 3

How can Charlotte's webs be thought of as both a symbol of life and a symbol of death? Be sure to explain how the things they symbolize affect the meaning of the narrative and to use specific examples from the text to back up your argument.

(see the answer keys)

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