Dombroski 1 Lisa DombroskiProf. Harrison English 10118 September 2000 Footsteps of Time E. B. White’s essay, Once More to the Lake demonstrate his own security in consistency from growing up on into adulthood.
White begins to set the stage mid way through the first paragraph, mentioning that he and his father ‘returned [to the lake] summer after summer- always on August 1 for one month’ followed up by the fact that ‘has since become a salt-water man,’ longing to one day return to the ‘holy spot.’ This trip back to the lake brings back a great deal of memories, as if there ‘[had] been no passage of time.’ It is on this trip that White begins to realize that his son seems to possess the same enthusiasm that he did when White was a boy. To White, all of this is a shock because now his role is now reversed from a flamboyant and energized child to an observational parent, as he remembered his father. This vacation spot White describes through memories of his boyhood days always seemed to be so wonderful no matter what had gone wrong. White recalls the time when ‘[his] father rolled over in a canoe’ and another time when ‘[they] all got ringworm’ but none of this mattered in the long run, after all, this was the best place on earth.
To White the mountain lake is seen as ‘constant and trustworthy’, and on the trip back there with his own son, White wondered if ‘time would have marred’ the appearance of the lake. Thoughts of the time spent there summer after summer continued to revisit White throughout the trip and everything from thunderstorms to the stillness of the water Dombroski 2 was seen as a work of art, falling into place and creating an illusion as if it were known what was to follow. White’s son acted in the same manner as White did back when he was a young boy, recalling how ‘I was always the first up’ and now, he lay still in bed while his son stuck out early in the morning headed down to the lake. Having seen this anxiety in his son, White ‘began to sustain the illusion that he was I.’ Many times during their trip White would feel confused, unable to distinguish who he was, a father with his son, or him with his own father. In a way this means a great deal to White, because now he and his son share a bond, very similar to White and his dad and can enjoy this haven together over the years. ‘Everywhere I went I had trouble making out which I was, the one walking at my side, the one walking in my pants’ is a perfect example of how White would catch himself thinking back to when he and his dad came to the lake, now though his role is different.
The Dissertation on Youngest Son Time Father One
The Author's Reasons for undertaking the present Work -- -A Dissertation upon Vanity -- -Some Account of his Ancestors -- -He discovers that he is the youngest Son of the youngest Son for five Generations -- -Young Franklin is at first destined for the Church -- -His Father soon after takes him from School and employs him as an Assistant in making Candles, Etc. -- -He is desirous of being a Sailor ...
White expresses this feeling as ‘creepy’ and sometimes it made him feel ‘dizzy’ but he took pride in his son’s interest of the lake, an interest in which he once had, and still has but is shown more in his boyhood. White is realizing slowly that this is a stage of growing old and tries to give his son the same things his father gave him, hoping he too will continue to appreciate this ‘holy spot.’ In conclusion, White does realize that he is growing old and that some things don’t change, only the role in which you play. The lake is something that will remain special to both he and his father, as well as he and his son and it is a place that they will grow together with over the years. no additional works cited.
