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Wilbur

A pig that was the runt of the Arables’ spring litter. Fern saves Wilbur from her father, Mr. Arable, and Wilbur is sold to the Zuckermans after Fern raises him like a baby. Wilbur is kind but naïve and responds to the world like a child. He idolizes Charlotte and tries to live up to her positive view of him.

Read an in-depth analysis of Wilbur.

Charlotte

A spider that lives in the doorway of the barn at Zuckerman’s farm. Charlotte is kind, knowledgeable, and wise. She befriends Wilbur and proves herself to be both a faithful friend and a patient teacher. She is clever and comes up with an idea to save Wilbur’s life.

Read an in-depth analysis of Charlotte.

Fern

An eight-year-old girl who saves Wilbur from being killed as a piglet. Fern is compassionate and kind and quickly bonds with Wilbur as she cares for him. She loves animals and spends much of her time in the Zuckermans’ barn. She considers the barn animals her best friends.

Read an in-depth analysis of Fern.

Mr. Zuckerman/Uncle Homer

The man who buys Wilbur. Mr. Zuckerman is Fern’s uncle who agrees to buy Wilbur. He takes good care of his animals, giving Wilbur a safe place to live and good food. He plans to slaughter Wilbur for Christmas dinner before Charlotte’s webs convince him otherwise.

Templeton

A rat that lives in the Zuckerman barn. Templeton is selfish and only does things to help others when he knows it will benefit him as well. He is known for being sneaky and is not trusted by the other animals in the barn. However, his cunning and tendency to collect things makes him useful.

John Arable

Fern’s father and Wilbur’s original owner. Mr. Arable is a practical farmer who focuses on hard work and providing for his farm animals and family.

Mrs. Arable

Fern’s mother. Mrs. Arable is patient with Fern when she saves Wilbur’s life and even helps by bottle feeding him when Fern is at school. She becomes concerned about Fern when Fern tells her that her best friends are animals.

Mrs. Zuckerman

Mr. Zuckerman’s wife. She recognizes that Charlotte is a special spider.

Avery

Fern’s brother. Avery has a lot of energy and is known to get into trouble. He often keeps animals and objects in his pockets.

Lurvy

The hired hand on Mr. Zuckerman’s farm. Lurvy discovers Charlotte’s webs and reports them to Mr. Zuckerman each time he sees a new one.

Goose

A goose in Mr. Zuckerman’s barn. She gives Wilbur misguided advice when helping him break out of his pigpen and refuses his request to play because she is focused on the task of sitting on her eggs. She feels bad that Wilbur does not know that he will be slaughtered by Mr. Zuckerman.

Oldest Sheep

A sheep in Mr. Zuckerman’s barn. The oldest sheep is impatient with Wilbur when he is loud or rude but has compassion for him when he tells Wilbur that Mr. Zuckerman plans to kill him. He helps Wilbur in his quest to stay alive by persuading Templeton to help.

Uncle

A hog at the fair. He is very big but does not have an agreeable personality. He wins first place at the fair based on his size.

Henry Fussie

Fern’s friend. Fern’s mother hopes Fern will spend more time with him instead of animals.

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