《夏洛特的网络》于1952年10月15日首次出版，是一本颇受欢迎的儿童读物，由美国著名作家E.B.怀特撰写，加思·威廉姆斯（Garth Williams）为其作插图，涉及友谊、失落、命运、接受和更新等主题。故事的中心是一头名叫威尔伯的猪，以及他与一只名叫夏洛特的非同寻常的蜘蛛之间不太可能但深厚的友谊。

逃避命运

虽然在农场的活动过程中，当猪达到一定的大小和年龄时被屠宰是正常的，但狡猾的夏洛特策划了一个计划，通过在威尔伯的网络中编织文字来阻止威尔伯的命运，从而创造了一个相当于一头猪的宣传活动。夏洛特将威尔伯提升为名人，最终用屠刀将他从约会中解救出来。

然而，“夏洛特之网”的结局是苦乐参半的，因为威尔伯活了下来，夏洛特却没有。但即使是夏洛特的去世也给威尔伯和那些阅读他关于死亡和重生本质的故事的人上了一课。

生命的循环

死亡和命运都是本书探讨的主题。虽然夏洛特愿意帮助威尔伯逃避他无法控制的外部力量强加给他的命运，但她也明白有些命运是不可避免的：所有生物都是出生、有生命周期和死亡的。夏洛特毫无悔意地接受了她在这个自然圈子中的角色。

夏洛特帮助威尔伯认识到，不朽不是永生，而是确保新一代的到来。她还帮助他理解爱情和友谊不是有限的。虽然我们可能会失去一个朋友，但新的友谊可能会出现，不是作为我们失去的东西的替代品，而是作为我们所学到的东西的祝福。

摘自《夏洛特的网络》

"Wilbur didn't know what to do or which way to run. It seemed as though everybody was after him. 'If this is what it's like to be free,' he thought, 'I believe I'd rather be penned up in my own yard.'" "Wilbur didn't want food, he wanted love." "I am a glutton but not a merrymaker." "[W]hen your stomach is empty and your mind is full, it's always hard to sleep." "It's true, and I have to say what's true." "'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?'" "A rat is a rat." "There's a regular conspiracy around here to kill you at Christmastime." "If I can fool a bug... I can surely fool a man. People are not as smart as bugs." "It seems to me you're a little off. It seems to me we have no ordinary spider." "But nobody pointed out that the web itself is a miracle." "I don't understand it, and I don't like what I don't understand." "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." "No one was with her when she died." "She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both."