Francisco Gomez
Mrs. Elaine Corwin
English Composition Section 4002
November 10, 2009
“Once More to the Lake”
E.B. White’s “ Once More to the Lake” invites various interpretations. However, I suggest that he refers to something other than the trip to the lake. I propose that White’s “ Once More to the Lake” describes his view about the passage of time and change that it brings.
First, White portrays his views about the passage of time and describes the lake where he had been in his childhood years. With great detail and description White writes, “The early mornings, when the lake was cool and motionless, remembered how the bedroom smelled of the lumber it was made of and the wet woods whose scent entered through the screen” (343).Very well written and relevant citation. This detailed description intertwines the past and present while the father looks back at those years and tries to relive the moments through his son’s eyes. Despite the fact that he remains a salt-water man, he has difficulty dealing with the fact that he remains unable to go back in time. White also writes, “For a moment I missed terribly the middle alternative . . . ” describing how the father remains uncomfortable with changes in the lake since the last time he visitED it (345).
As the trip continues, White writes about the changes that the passage of time brings repeating “there had been no years”(344).
The Essay on Of The Lake White Years Back
An Analysis of Once More to the Lake The smell of an old wood cabin or the feel of a cool lake breeze against one s face can bring back many fond memories for many people. The senses, in their own way, can physically bring back memories that seem so real you can get lost in your own imagination. E. B. White tells in the essay Once More to the Lake about how his trip back to a childhood vacation ...
He now describes his perspective of change through his son. The father can almost see himself as his son doing the same things he did in the past. This duality is expressed when White writes, “I felt dizzy and did not know which rod I was at the end of” (344).
As the story progresses, the father begins to point out the differences of his once peaceful summer cabin. To White something in particular was wrong,comma? as he writes, “ . . . Was the sound of the place, an unfamiliar nervous sound of the outboard motors . . . ” (346).
These changes mean nothing to his memory as he continues to remember the places he went as a child, and the ones he visited with his son. White writes” Everywhere we went I had trouble making out which one was I, the one walking at my side, the one walking in my pants” (347).
Lastly, White brings up the thunderstorm. He writes, “ It was like the revival of an old melodrama that I had seen long ago with childish awe” describing his epiphany (347).
He now appears to understand the meaning of his trip. Once the rain clears up and the dark skies disappear, he looks at his son and the entire trip differently. He realizes that the passage of time and the changes that it brings remains inevitable. White writes at the end “ As he buckled the swollen belt suddenly my groin felt the chill of death” understanding the time passage trough his son and the moment to let go has arriveD (348).
A few grammar glitches, however, your interpretation and the citations you use to support those interpretations remain excellent. You show that you know exactly what White was trying to say and what he was experiencing emotionally.
VERY good work. Thank you.
GRADE: 100 points
