Abstract

Charlotte’s Web is the most famous work of Elwyn Brooks White. It is a typical initiation story. It contains a protagonist’s growth and psychological change. The events that he experienced transformed him from a runt piglet into a mature healthy one. 

This thesis intends to interpret Wilbur’s development stages from the perspective of an initiation. In the typical initiation stories, protagonists’ development can primarily be divided into three stages: innocence, half awareness and maturity. In the first stage, Wilbur is in the mental state of innocence. This thesis expresses Wilbur’s carefree childhood and the love between Wilbur and Fern, then reveals that the strong love has a profound effect on Wilbur. In the second stage, he is in the mental state of half awareness. This thesis expresses the love between Wilbur and Charlotte. In addition, this paper also discusses the events that witnessed the development of Wilbur’s mentality. In the last stage, he become much mature. He has almost completed his transformation. The thesis probes into the significant event—Charlotte’s death, then interprets his change in this event. Then it interprets his transformation in this stage. Meanwhile, as an adolescent, the initiation process of the protagonist Wilbur is significant to all the youths who are stuck in confusions. The innovation of the thesis rests with its intention to analyze initiation story from the perspective of a protagonist’s development stages. The research on Charlotte’s Web will extent the scope of the study to the initiation story and benefit the development of the literary research.

Key words: initiation story; innocence; transformation

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1 Introduction1

2 Initiation story .3

2.1 Definitions of initiation story 3

2.2 Characteristics of initiation story ..4

2.2.1 Protagonist’s development ..4

2.2.2 Friends surrounding .5

3 Literature review of Charlotte’s Web ..5

3.1 Studies abroad 6

3.2 Studies at home ..6

4 The analysis of Wilbur’s development stages from the perspective of an initiation story 8

4.1 Innocence .8

4.1.1 Wilbur’s carefree life as a baby pig8

4.1.2 The love between Wilbur and Fern 9

4.2 Half awareness 9

4.2.1 The love between Wilbur and Charlotte .10

4.2.2 Wilbur’s confusion 11

4.3 Maturity .12

4.3.1 The death of Charlotte ..12

4.3.2 Transformation completed 13

4 Conclusion14

References ..16