"It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both." --E.B. White, the last line of Charlotte's Web.
I think from the first time we read Charlotte's Web, we think about it as a story of friendship. But given this last line, would it pay off to start from the beginning and think about it, too, as a story about the power of storytelling to make things happen?
The community came to view Wilbur the way they did through the words Charlotte chose to describe him.
Did Charlotte, by granting Wilbur the self-confidence that someone believed in him, and giving him a goal to strive towards, also actually turn him into someone who could accurately be described in the words she wrote?
Does calling someone's attention to a quality they possess - nascent though it may be - inspire them to cultivate it?
7 comments:
I think that sometimes this can be true. If you see something in someone, ven though it may be through 'rose colored glasses,' and you make it known to them that you see them that way that it can inspire them to live up to your high opinion of them.
Another book this makes me think of is Little Lord Fauntleroy.
i will respond...just no time right now.
h
such a great question. I've been thinking about it for a few days really. As a parent I understand how important this is with my children. I'm sure our prisons are filled with men and women who did not receive such encouragement-kwim?
thank you for bringing this to my attention :)
"Ever since the spider had befriended him, he had done his best to live up to his reputation. When Charlotte's web said SOME PIG, Wilbur had tried hard to look like some pig. When the web said TERRIFIC, Wilbur had tried to look terrific. And now that the web said RADIANT, he did everything possible to make himself glow."
I think that we can have an impact with our positive attentions. I notice this with my students. I want them to believe they are good readers, writers, et cetera...and they are/will be.
heather
you know what i have that bet you'd love? an annotated charlotte's web. it's marvellous. it is a much beloved book of mine. can you believe in an earlier draft he opened the book with a description of the barn (that opens a later chapter)? it isn't the hook that, "Where's Papa going with that ax?" is!
-heather
Oh, I had no idea such a thing existed! That is very cool!
Post a Comment