45 Best Charlotte's Web Quotes By E. B. White

Anusuya Mukherjee
Dec 12, 2023 By Anusuya Mukherjee
Originally Published on Jan 08, 2021
Edited by Luca Demetriou
A horizontal image of the wall display for an upcoming performance of "Charlotte's Web" at historic Old Sturbridge Village.

The last line of the story is something pretty much sums up the complete novel. The story is the perfect example of story writing and why friends are essential for us.

Telling a story in your way can affect your and others’ lives is the book’s central theme. Charlotte’s Web is a story of an unexpected friendship between Wilbur the pig and Charlotte, a barn spider who saves Wilbur from slaughter. Charlotte spins Web in the form of words that describe Wilbur in a new light.

Charlotte’s Web includes four messages like “Some Pig!”, “Terrific,” “Radiant,” and “Humble” for Wilbur, the pig. These messages are noticed by Fern’s uncle, who thinks they are divine intervention and decides Wilbur should participate in a local competition.

Wilbur wins a special prize there, and the word spreads of Charlotte's Web, making the barn into a tourist attraction. This saves Wilbur’s life, and Charlotte, a spider, passes away due to her short life span.

Along with Charlotte’s Web quotes, you also gain inspiration from 'Charlie And The Chocolate Factory' quotes and Roald Dahl quotes.
 

Best Charlotte’s Web Book Quotes

The moral of Charlotte’s Web is loyalty and true friendship. Two completely different people can be friends too and help each other.

In the metaphor of a pig, which is to be slaughtered, we realize that hope and faith are something which is much bigger than fate. For some more inspirational Charlotte’s Web quotes about friendship, read below. Which of these Charlotte quotes are your favourite?

1. “Good things come to those who find it and shove it in their mouth!”

- E. B. White.

2. “Nobody, of the hundreds of people that had visited the Fair, knew that a grey spider had played the most important part of all. No one was with her when she died.”

- E.B. White.

3. “After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die.”

- E.B. White.

4. “By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”

- E.B. White.

5. “Never hurry and never worry!”

- E.B. White.

6. “Trust me, Wilbur. People are very gullible. They’ll believe anything they see in print.”

- E.B. White.

7. “Children almost always hang onto things tighter than their parents think they will.”

- E.B. White.

8. “The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year - the days when summer is changing into autumn - the crickets spread the rumour of sadness and change.”

- E.B. White.

9. “Don’t write about Man; write about a man.”

- E.B. White.

10. “It is quite possible that an animal has spoken to me and that I didn’t catch the remark because I wasn’t paying attention.”

- E.B. White.

11. “An hour of freedom is worth a barrel of slops.”

- E.B. White.

12. “Control myself? This is a matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself.”

- E.B. White.

13. “People believe almost anything they see in print.”

- E.B. White.

14. “Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid the world of injustice. As a result, she now has a pig...A small one to be sure, but nevertheless a pig. It just shows what can happen if a person gets out of bed promptly.”

- E.B. White.

15. “Wilbur didn’t want food, he wanted love. He wanted a friend—someone who would play with him.”

- E.B. White.

16. “I think it is only fair to tell you that I was devoted to your mother. I owe my very life to her...She was brilliant, beautiful, and loyal to the end. I shall always treasure her memory. To you, her daughters, I pledge my friendship, forever and ever.”

- E.B. White.

17. “Alone?” said Fern. “Alone? My best friends are in the barn cellar. It is a very sociable place. Not at all lonely.”

- E.B. White.

18. “I am a glutton but not a merrymaker.”

- E.B. White.

19. “It seems to me you’re a little off. It seems to me we have no ordinary spider.”

- E.B. White.

20. “It is quite possible that an animal has spoken to me and that I didn’t catch the remark because I wasn’t paying attention.”

- E.B. White.

21. “If I can fool a bug... I can surely fool a man. People are not as smart as bugs.”

- E.B. White.

22. “Well, he thought, ‘I’ve got a new friend, all right. But what a gamble friendship is! Charlotte is fierce, brutal, scheming, bloodthirsty—everything I don’t like. How can I learn to like her, even though she is pretty and, of course, clever.”

- E.B. White.

23. “If she took her doll for a walk in the doll carriage, Wilbur followed along. Sometimes, on these journeys, Wilbur would get tired, and Fern would pick him up and put him in the carriage alongside the doll.”

- E.B. White.

24. “There can be no mistake about it. A miracle has happened and a sign has occurred here on earth, right on our farm, and we have no ordinary pig.”

- E.B. White.

Quotes About Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte's Web is one of the most-read children’s novels. The book was actually banned previously but it is not now. E. B. White is a good writer, a talented author, which is a tremendous thing. Read along to find some motivational Charlotte's Web quotes.

25. “Some of Wilbur’s friends in the barn worried for fear all this attention would go to his head and make him stuck up. But it never did. Wilbur was modest; fame did not spoil him.”

- E.B. White.

26. “The message I wrote in my Web, praising Wilbur, has been received. The Zuckerman’s have fallen for it, and so has everybody else.”

- E.B. White.

27. “You can go back to sleep. O.K., Templeton, the soap ad will do, I guess. I’m not sure Wilbur’s action is exactly radiant, but it’s interesting.”

- E.B. White.

28. “Why did you do all this for me? he asked. ‘I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.’ ‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing.’”

-  E. B. White.

29. “After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die.”

-  E. B. White.

30. “Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself.”

-  E. B. White.

31. “To be honest, the only thing I ever really wanted to be was a writer - since I read ‘Charlotte’s Web’ as a child.”

-  Louise Penny.

32. “Charlotte’s Web Life is magic, the way nature works seems to be quite magical.”

-  Jonas Salk.

33. “Wilbur’s destiny and your destiny are closely linked. If Wilbur is killed and his trough stands empty day after day, you’ll grow so thin we can look right through your stomach and see objects on the other side.”

- Sheep.

34. “I never looked at it that way before.”

- Mrs Arable.  

35. “Maybe our ears aren’t as sharp as Fern’s.”

- Mr. Arable.

36. “On foggy mornings, Charlotte’s Web was truly a thing of beauty. This morning each thin strand was decorated with dozens of tiny beads of water. The Web glistened in the light and made a pattern of loveliness and mystery, like a delicate veil.”

- Narrator.

37. “That’s a fine specimen of a pig - it’s no bigger than a white rat.”

- Avery.

38. “I wouldn’t want that to happen. Perhaps your Web is a good thing after all.”

- Wilbur.

39. “Now that school was over, Fern visited the barn almost every day, to sit quietly on her stool. The animals treated her as an equal. The sheep lay calmly at her feet.”

- E.B. White.

40. “You may have the egg. But I’ll tell you one thing, Templeton, if I ever catch you poking-oking-oking your ugly nose around our goslings, I’ll give you the worst pounding a rat ever took.”

- E.B. White.

41. “Well, I don’t like to spread bad news,” said the sheep, “but they’re fattening you up because they’re going to kill you, that’s why.”

- E.B. White.

42. “That remains to be seen. But I am going to save you, and I want you to quiet down immediately. You’re carrying on in a childish way. Stop your crying! I can’t stand hysterics.”

- E.B. White.

43. “I knew you wouldn’t forsake me just when I need you most.”

- E.B. White.

44. “But I’m not terrific ... I’m just about average for a pig.”

- E.B. White.

45. “What do you mean you won’t see your children! Of course, you will ... It’s going to be simply wonderful next spring in the barn cellar with 514 baby spiders running around.”

- E.B. White.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Charlotte’s Web quotes, then why not take a look at 'Matilda' quotes or ['BFG' quotes].

Main image credit: Carol Ann Mossa / Shutterstock.com

Article image credit: Ben Molyneux / Shutterstock.com

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Written by Anusuya Mukherjee

Bachelor of Arts and Law specializing in Political Science and Intellectual Property Rights

Anusuya Mukherjee picture

Anusuya MukherjeeBachelor of Arts and Law specializing in Political Science and Intellectual Property Rights

With a wealth of international experience spanning Europe, Africa, North America, and the Middle East, Anusuya brings a unique perspective to her work as a Content Assistant and Content Updating Coordinator. She holds a law degree from India and has practiced law in India and Kuwait. Anusuya is a fan of rap music and enjoys a good cup of coffee in her free time. Currently, she is working on her novel, "Mr. Ivory Merchant".

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