Charlottes web Dramaturgy

A.J. Lingad, Sami Salmi, Nicolette Zangara, Emily Andersen, Marco Antonio Guadiana, Ava Howard,
Zachary Relova and ALex Adame

Location & Setting

Arables FARM:

Home of fern, Homer and Mrs. Arable

Homers farm:
Home of goose, gander, sheep, templeton, Charlotte and Wilbur, and of course homer.
Place where lurvy works
Fairgrounds:
Where Wilbur is judged, and Charlotte weaves webs

unknown words
sulfur and molasses:A teaspoon of sulfur and molasses was an old way used to prevent health
problems. It is best known as the spring tonic
carousing: drinking and having a good time

Themes
Nature and the natural world is a persistent theme throughout the text,
with most of the story taking place on farms and many of the characters being animals
Determination is a major theme, with charlotte braving a risky trip to the fair and working until
death to save wilbur.
friendship is perhaps the most obvious theme, since wilbur and charlottes relationship is the
backbone of the story, and references to their affection for one another permeate the plays dialogue

County Fairs
Many believe that fairs started out as religious events where people from
many areas gathered to worship.
The first fairs were thought to have taken place as early as 500 B.C.
The particular type of fair in the play is called a county fair or an
agricultural show.
Agricultural fairs include exhibits of equipment, animals, and sports and
recreational activities that are associated with animals and agriculture.

County Fairs (continued): Pig Contests

Pig contests are often included in Agricultural shows.
Contestants enter pigs that are judged on their market quality.
Judges take into account a pigs muscle, fat, and overall body
structure. They also look for specific qualities for their certain
breed.

The Book

The children's book was published in 1952

Written by E.B White and illustrated by Garth Williams
The book has many copies and has been translated into 23 languages
There is a video sequel called Wilbur's Great Adventure
It is believed that E.B. White wrote the book out of grief from not being able to save a sick pig on the
farm. This is him trying to save the pig in retrospect.
In 2000, Publishers Weekly listed the book as the best-selling childrens paperback of all time

Live Action Movie

Directed by Gary Winick Released December 15, 2006
Cast
Fern Arable: Dakota Fanning Uncle: Abraham Benrubi
Charlotte: Julia Roberts
Goose: Oprah Winfrey
Templeton: Steve Buscemi
Wilbur: Dominic Scott Kay
Sheep: John Cleese
Narrator: Sam Shepard

Charlottes Web (Movie) ((animated))

This movie was made March 1, 1973. It
is an animated movie. It was directed
by Charles A. Nichols and Iwao
Takamoto.
The cast is to the right.

charlottes web the musical

The musical was produced at the Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage in England in April 2015
Some of the songs include:
Mamma, You Dont Understand Me
Freedom Now
County Fair
"Charlotte At Work"
"You're You"

The Video game

Made in 2006 for Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS,
Playstation 2, and PC
In this game you go through a series of minigames
trying to save Wilbur
DEveloped by backbone entertainment and published by
the now defunct Thq
considered a surprisingly decent Game

The Creators
E.B. White
White was born in New York, on July 11, 1899. He died well into the next century on October 1st,
1985 at his home in, Maine. He attended Cornell University and graduated in 1921. WHite was a
writer for his entire life, working on the school newspaper in college, serving as a poet and
journalist in the years after his graduation and finally getting hired by The New Yorker as a
contributor and editorhe would work there for the rest of his life. While at The New Yorker, White
authored such famous texts as Charlottes Web and Stuart Little. Besides childrens literature,
White produced many poems and essays. he also revised and republished the writing how-to book The
Elements of Style which has been praised by such prolific writers as Stephen King for its brilliance.

The Creators

Joseph Robinette
Joseph Robinette is an American playwright who has authored
or co-authored over fifty different plays and musicals,
including Charlottes Web. His productions have been
performed in all of the states of our Union as well as in 21
foreign nations. Twelve of his creations have been translated
to to other languages, a further testament to his skill. Hes
won several awards and even been nominated for a Tony, the
most prestigious theatre award out there.

The Characters!

Fern Arable
Fern saves wilbur from being killed at the beginning of the play. After that, the two form a
special bond, described by the Line, Fern loved Wilbur more than anything.
Shes 8 years old at the beginning of the play. Shes sort of at the age where shes too old to play
with dolls, but not old enough to like boys, so she fills the empty void in her life with wilbur.
By the end of the play, we see her start to grow up, as she starts becoming more interested in
other things (cough cough Henry Fussy), and spending a bit less time at the farm.
Farm Life: Daily life probably consisted of waking up at the crack of dawn, and helping with
chores on the farm, then going to school, and coming home to do chores again. The familys
livelihood was largely dependent on the weather.

Wilbur

-In a group of animals (usually a litter of animals born in multiple

births), a runt is a member which is smaller or weaker than the others.
Due to its small size, a runt in a litter faces obvious disadvantages,
including difficulties with competing with its siblings for survival
and possible rejection from its mother. They are usually killed on the
spot and used as food for the family.
-Pigs on farms are used for slaughtering, breeding, plowing soil,
manure, eating unwanted plants, and sleep. Mainly, they become the
reason why the farm is under a bioavailable state. They clean up what
needs to be done that other animals will not do.

Wilbur (part 2)
When it comes to helping his friends or trying new tricks, he's gung-ho. But when it
comes to saving himself, Wilbur panics. Wilbur is a seriously great buddy to have. He's
there for his friends through the little stuff and the big stuff. If you're looking for a
friendly little pig who just wants to hang out in the hay, Wilbur is your guy. But if
you want someone to carry your egg sac with 514 baby spiders in his mouth so that they
can stay safe, Wilbur is happy to do that too. Wilbur will do anything for his friends.
For Wilbur, being a good friend also means being selfless sometimes. Wilbur is the
protagonist in the story.

Charlotte A. Cavatica
CHarlotte saves wilbur from becoming a meal with her cleverness and loyalty. She writes words
in her web that describe Wilbur, which the humans interpret as a Miracle. This leads to several
events, but ultimately ends in the people deciding not to Eat Wilbur.
Charlotte is a barn spider. Barn spiders are nocturnal, and usually make their webs in humanmade, wooden structures, like barns. They take their webs down during the day, and remake them
at night, reusing thread from their previous webs to conserve resources.
The scientific name for a Barn spider is Araneus Cavaticus. However, at the time when E.B. White
was writing Charlottes Web, the scientific name was Aranea Cavatica. This is where the A.
Cavatica part of her name came from.

Goose & Gander

Basically, Goose & Gander are the mouths of the farm. They
blabber about the recent news and spread the rumors of Wilbur
s death. Geese are used as food for the farm. They can have up to
30 pounds of meat for dinners, which are usually around the Once mated, geese
holiday times. Other than that, they basically walk around
stay faithful to each
and do nothing. They eat grass...but so do the other animals. other forever, even if
one dies.

Sheep
On a farm, Sheep can be used for meat, wool, and
milk. Sheep are sheared in the spring, and their wool is used for
coats, blankets, thread, and clothing for the winter.
The old sheep is pretty rude. Her lines have to do with Wilbur dying ,
and teasing Wilbur throughout the play. All around, shes a great,
honest, sheep that gets her jobs done. Although shes mean, shes
telling the truth, and ques Charlotte to help Wilbur.

Sheep fact #398:

Sheep do not have teeth in their upper front
jaw.
Sheep Fact #283 :
A group of sheep is called a flock.
Sheep fact #958:
The small intestines of 11 sheep are needed to
make 1 tennis racquet.

John Arable
Fern and Averys dad. He has an open mind and can be a bit of a pushover. Overall he seems to be a
loving father and husband.
Role in the story: At the beginning of the story, he plans to kill WIlbur because he is a runt, but
is persuaded by Fern not to. He later has to sell Wilbur, much to Ferns dismay, but proposes a
compromise to give him to the Zuckermans so Fern can still see him.
Hes a farmer, and is responsible for most things on the farm. He works hard and does what he
needs to in order to care for and provide for his family.

Avery Arable
Ferns older brother (at least in the book). Hes 10 at the beginning of the story.
Role in the play: Tries to antagonize characters in the story
Hes wild, rambunctious, and a bit violent (though he never actually hurts anyone that we know of).
The book talks about him setting frogs lose in the kitchen, bringing snakes home, getting into poison
ivy, playing in mud, and breaking almost everything he lays his hands on.
As a farmers son, he probably also has to get up early and do some chores on the farm. Being the oldest,
and a boy, he probably has to do a bit more than Fern.

Homer Zuckerman
Fern and Averys uncle
buys Wilbur because, Fern seemed so desperate to find a home for it, he couldnt say no.
However, he plans to fatten him up and turn him into ham. He is convinced not to because of
the award he wins at the fair and all the attention the writing in the web brings to the farm.
He proves to be quite the publicist. Hes the main force behind making Zuckermans Famous
Pig, famous. While he probably does this because he enjoys the attention himself, it saves
Wilbur so its cool.
Hes pretty gullible, like most of the people in the story. Hes quick to believe everything that is
written in the web about Wilbur.

Lurvy
Works on the Zuckermans farm. Hes a hard worker, and the first to notice Charlottes web.
Having a famous pig on the farm makes a lot of extra work for him to do, but he doesnt seem to
mind.
A hired farm hands responsibilities vary based on what the farmer wants. It seems that he is in
charge of feeding the animals, and taking care of the animals.

Templeton
Rats are considered nuisances on farms and in general by most people (except those people who
keep them as pets).
Most farmers have cats to keep rats out of their barns. The Zuckermans either dont have a cat,
or have a really fat lazy one (top right).
Lets be honest. Templeton is mean, rude, and selfish. He only agrees to help Wilbur for his own
personal gain. However, he does play an important part in saving Wilburs life by finding two
of the words Charlotte puts in her web (radiant and humble).

the end