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Copywork
About This Passage
Wilbur asks why Charlotte did so much for him when he never did anything for her, and this is her answer. She does not boast or call herself a hero; she says plainly that any life is short and a little messy, and that by helping a friend she was 'trying to lift up my life a trifle.' Copying these calm, honest sentences shows how a writer can make a deep idea feel quiet and simple, letting a dying spider explain the meaning of her whole life in a few ordinary words.
After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I w...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell what happens in this chapter in order, from Charlotte and Wilbur resting alone after the ceremony to Wilbur winking good-bye from the crate. When you reach Charlotte saying she is dying and Wilbur saving her egg sac, slow down and tell why each one matters.
Discussion Questions
- When Charlotte tells Wilbur she will soon die, she says she feels 'peaceful,' yet Wilbur throws himself down 'in an agony of pain and sorrow.' Why do you think the two friends react so differently to the very same news? Use the details of what each one says and does to explain your thinking.
- Wilbur asks why Charlotte did so much for him, and she answers that by helping him she was 'trying to lift up my life a trifle.' What do you think Charlotte means by those words, and how do they answer Wilbur's question? Use Charlotte's own words to explain your thinking.
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Vocabulary
Item 1
Safe and protected, with no danger ahead; how Charlotte promises Wilbur will live.
Item 2
Deep grief and sadness; what overwhelms Wilbur when he learns Charlotte is dying.
Item 3
Calm and untroubled within; how Charlotte says she feels at the end.
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Critical Thinking
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