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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. What spider body part does Charlotte teach Wilbur about?

2. What does the Zuckermans' barn mostly smell of?

3. Why is Wilbur saddened by his new friend?

4. Why can't Charlotte see Wilbur as clearly as he can see her?

5. What does Templeton take from Wilbur?

Short Essay Questions

1. Are the goose and the gander more sentimental or more practical? Why do you think as you do?

2. What is the relationship like between Fern and the animals at the beginning of Chapter 8?

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

4. How seriously does Fern take her new responsibility of taking care of the pig?

5. Why does Uncle Homer agree to buy Wilbur?

6. How might the goose's personality be described?

7. What kind of voice does Wilbur use to call for his new friend, and what does this voice tell the reader about Wilbur's development at this point?

8. Why does Wilbur have so much trouble sleeping at the beginning of Chapter 5?

9. Why might Wilbur feel particularly betrayed that John Arable is in on the "conspiracy" to kill him?

10. How would you describe Wilbur's feelings about his early life with Fern in Chapter 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the most appealing aspects of this story is the humor it contains. Choose one of the following options to write about:

1.) Explain what various types of humor are contained in this story (such as wit, descriptions of slapstick situations, or irony) and provide examples of each, discussing why the author might have used each of these types in the telling of this tale.

2.) Focus on one specific type of humor contained in this story and discuss many examples of it, discussing how it adds to the meaning of the story and the reader's experience of reading it.

Essay Topic 2

Identify and discuss examples from the novel that support the idea that one can live a happy life by accepting and loving all parts of nature, good and bad, from (as Wilbur puts it when thinking at the close of the novel that the barn is the best place to be) "the smell of manure" to "the glory of everything."

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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