E.B. White

E.B. White, "The Meaning of Democracy"

E. B. White (1899-1985) was born in Mount Vernon, New York and received an A.B. from Cornell University. He was a poet as well as a novelist and essayist, known for his witty, elegant style in all three modes of writing. White was an editor at The New Yorker for decades, as well as writing "The Talk of the Town" column there. White was responsible for the 1972 and later editions of The Elements of Style, building upon William Strunk's foundation,and he also wrote two classic novels: Stuart Little (1945) and Charlotte's Web (1952). His work has been collected in several volumes including Here is New York (1949) and The Essays of E. B. White (1977). Among many other awards during his lifetime, White was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honor in the U.S.—for his work. "The Meaning of Democracy" was first published in 1944 in The New Yorker and collected in The Wild Flag (1946).

CONTENT

1. What prompts White to write this brief essay?
2. What does the author mean by the phrases stuffed shirt and high hat?
3. How does White compare duty and pleasure?
4. Explain this reference: "Democracy is the score at the beginning of the ninth."
5. How does the author link voting booths to libraries?

STRATEGY AND STYLE

1. What types of support does White provide while constructing his definition of democracy?
2. What two-word phrase is repeated over and over in the second paragraph? How does this repetition reflect the author's feelings about democracy?
3. Again in paragraph two, the author starts by claiming that the War Board knows what democracy is, but proceeds with his definition anyway. How does the use of this rhetorical device suggest the author's state of mind concerning his audience?
4. Compare the first sentence of this piece with the last. What has White done to the first to construct last? How effective do you find this relation between introduction and conclusion to be?

1. Describe your mood while reading this essay. Were you amused, bemused, charmed, shocked, neutral? Were you thinking of your biology quiz? Were you glad it was so short? Were you thinking it would be a good idea to read more of White's work, maybe?
2. Describe your relationship with politics. How might your feelings in that regard have influenced your reading of "The Meaning of Democracy"?

SUGGESTIONS FOR SUSTAINED WRITING

1. Write your own definition essay about democracy. Following White's lead, incorporate creative comparisons into your work. How do your comparisons and White's differ? What are the major reasons for this difference?
2. How have ideas of democracy in America changed since White wrote this short essay? Some things you might want to consider: What view of war does this essay present? Of the mass media's relationship to war? Of voting? Of baseball, even?

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Do some research about the Writers' War Board. When was it formed? What was its mission? What official governmental status did it have? Who made up its membership? What did it do? How effectively did the War Board operate? How did your research deepen your understanding of your reading?

WEB CONNECTION

This is the homepage of the New Yorker, a magazine with which White had a close relationship for many years. Do you read it? What magazines do you read?

LINKS

Biographical

This NYT page has a couple of quotes, a photo of White, and some links to articles and reviews. As a bonus there's a link to a rare recording of White himself reading from Charlotte's Web and The Trumpet of the Swan. This is a very good place to start your online research of White. (Free registration required.)

Interested in White's personal history? Here is a biography of the author that also has a few embedded links.

Did you know that White has contributed to several films? Want to know more? Here is an E.B. White filmography.

Bibliographical

Here are some quotations and a White bibliography. Did you find anything there that could help you in your own writing? Can you trust the accuracy of this source? How can you tell?

Click here to hear White reading an excerpt from Charlotte's Web. If possible, read along. What did you find interesting in his reading?

Here's an excerpt from Stuart Little. Have you seen the movie? Come on, admit it. It was kind of cute.

Cultural

Here is an online early version of The Elements of Style, the one by Strunk. White later revised it and today we have what a lot of people call simply "Strunk and White." It's an essential book for all writers.

Here is the citation for White's Pulitzer Prize, which honored his entire body of work. Are any of the other writers on that page familiar? Where would you find out information about them?

This is a page about Brooklin, Maine, site of White's farm. How does having a bit of information like this help you understand an author's work?