Discuss the conflict between childhood and adulthood in Charlotte's Web. Think about how the adults are portrayed, how the children are portrayed, and how the adults interact with the children. Use examples from the novel to help support your answer. It would be a good idea to focus on specific characters.

*Please edit this small essay. Thanks!!!*

p.s. English is my second language!

This book Charlotte’s Web teaches lessons to both children and adults. In this novel, the children are very energetic, and eager to learn and discover new things while adults portray the opposite, which are serious, and lack of imaginations.
The adults and children have their own way of seeing things. When Fern asked her mother, “I don’t see why he needs an ax,” and her mother said, “One of the pig is a runt.” (White. 1) To Mr. and Mrs.Arables “runt” may be something that is small, weak, and useless. But to Fern it is a pig that is helpless and in need of care. Fern had referred to her parent’s decision as “injustice” to killing a pig because it’s small by stating, “If I had been born very small at birth, would you have killed me?” (White. 3 While her parents valued the usefulness of things to provide them economically, Fern values that all life are equal and has right to live. Mr.Arables also mentions to fern, “I know more about raising a litter of pigs than you do.” (White. 3) This shows that adults tend to think that they are smarter and went through everything that children goes through. Fern has proved her father wrong. She mothered the pig by starting off by training it to drink the milk from the bottle. Like any mother, she warms his milk and tied his bib on, held the bottle for him and later on put him to sleep. This tells the adults to never under estimate their children.
Children are full of imagination whereas as adults think realistically. When Charlotte wrote “SOME PIG” on her web to save Wilbur, Mr.Zuckerman just didn’t want to admit and had a hard time believing that it was written by a spider but a miracle. When Mrs.Arables was worried about her daughter visiting the barn and her imagination about the talking animal, the doctor reminds her that children will be children and change as they grow. “Children pay better attention than grownups.” (White. 110) This shows that some parents forget about how they behaved as a child themselves. It is nature that children will be living life with imaginations and discovering things as they grow up and just focus on the present. On the other hand, the adult are very realistic and thinks about the future.
Therefore, children and adult will always have different view of things.

3 answers

opposite, which are serious = opposite; they are serious and lack imagination.

One of the pig = one of the pigs

as “injustice” to killing a pig = as unjust killing a pig...

all life are equal = all life IS...

has right to live = has the right...

frn = Fern

went through everything = and have gone through

that children goes = that children GO

she warms his milk and tied = don't shift from present to past = warms and ties, holds...puts him to sleep

wereas as = wher eas adults

but a miracle = and not by a miracle.

imagination = imagination (singular)

the adult are = the adultS are....think

children and adults

"It's called the generation gap!"

Sra ( aka Mme )

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