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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. How many goslings hatch from the goose's eggs?

2. What does Mr. Arable say Fern will see once he agrees to let her raise the baby pig?

3. What does Wilbur witness Charlotte catch in her web in Chapter 5?

4. What does "salutations" mean?

5. How does Mr. Arable respond to the idea of Fern believing that animals can talk?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How do people react to Charlotte's first web?

3. For what reason was Mr. Arable going to kill the runt?

4. What sorts of things are most important to Fern at the beginning of the book?

5. What kind of a father is Mr. Arable described as being?

6. How would you describe the relationship between Fern and Wilbur in Chapter 2?

7. Why does Wilbur like Charlotte better and better each day?

8. Why does Uncle Homer agree to buy Wilbur?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the role cycles play in Charlotte's Web. Think about different kinds of cycles contained in the story, such as the span of time covered by the majority of the narrative (the cycle of a year) or the cycle that the life of each character follows.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Adults and children seem to see the world in different ways in this book, although some grownups (like Mr. Arable and Dr. Dorian) seem to at least appreciate the different way that children perceive animals and nature. Write an essay comparing and contrasting human adult and child characters from this story in terms of how they interact with and care for animals and nature.

(see the answer keys)

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