The thesis of this beautifully written essay is
that one’s existence is fleeting, while certain elements of life, such as the enjoyment of youth, continue forever for different generations
. In this memoir, White returns with his son to the bucolic Maine lake where he summered as a child.
What is the purpose of Once More to the Lake?
E. B. White’s “Once More to the Lake” is a deeply personal essay and clearly has more than one purpose. One reason for writing is
to record his memories of a place he loved as a child and the experience of revisiting it as an adult
.
What is the story Once More to the Lake about?
“Once More to the Lake” is an essay first published in Harper’s Magazine in 1941 by author E. B. White. It
chronicles his pilgrimage back to a lakefront resort, Belgrade Lakes, Maine, that he visited as a child
. In “Once More to the Lake,” White revisits his ideal boyhood vacation spot.
What does Once More to the Lake say about the theme of identity?
Throughout the essay, White describes
a dual existence that he experiences when spending time with his son at the lake
. This dual existence is apparent whenever White has a hard time distinguishing himself from his own son. In some ways, White is lost to the setting, suffering an identity crisis.
What does the last line in Once More to the Lake mean?
This means he is
that much closer to his own death
, a painful emotion that hits him fully as he realizes he is no longer the young boy his son still is. In his son, and in the passage of time, White comes face to face with the unsettling inevitability of his own demise.
What is the dominant impression in Once More to the Lake?
The dominant impression of the short story
concerns the passage of time and how memories fade in the face of change
. Adding to these impressions is the role of technology, the eroding nature of memory, and the passage of time changing the way White views his past memories of the lake.
What changed at the lake in Once More to the Lake?
The inboard motors have been replaced with the outboard ones. As a result,
the sense of sound
has changed at the lake. The cosmetic appearance of the waitresses is another sensory example of change. White notes how the girls of now have screen starlets to model their looks after.
What is E.B. White’s tone in Once More to the Lake?
In the summer of 1941, as he turned 42, White returned to the same lake with his son, wondering if the magic could be repeated. He finds that despite the decades, much remains the same. But in recounting his experiences, White strikes
a tone of elegy
, as if his lake adventure is already receding into memory.
How long is Once More to the Lake?
This wonderful lake is five miles wide, and
about ten miles long
, with many coves, points and islands. It is one of a series of lakes, which are connected with each other by little streams.
How does White describe the lake itself?
Why does White describe the lake as
“fade-proof”
and the woods as “unshatterable” (par 8)? -He describes the lake “fade-proof” and the woods as “unshatterable” because they will always be inbeded into his memory. E.B. White can never forget his childhood memeories, especially the meoris he enjoyed the most.
What is the theme of down at the lake?
Q. #9 What is the theme for “Down at the Lake?”
You should never swim without a lifeguard
. If you can’t swim, don’t go to the lake.
How are the writer and his son alike?
He and his son are
alike in their shared experience of going to the same lake
and enjoying the same activities while there, but different in that they are from different generations. White feels that he is living a dual existence because he sees so much of his past self in his son.
How does White’s conclusion echo the first paragraph of the essay?
In the first paragraph,
he talks about his memories of going to the lake as a child with his father
. In the closing paragraph, the roles are reversed: he is experiencing the lake as a father with his son.
What causes the uneasy feelings of the narrator in Once More to the Lake?
The memories of the vacations with his family
and particularly White’s father have become an obsession with the writer. White uses literary techniques such as imagery, metaphor, and tone to illustrate the comparison of the lake as he remembers it as a boy to the subtle changes the lake has faced since he has been away.
“Once More to the Lake” is structured as
a chronological narrative
; it is developed with passages of exposition as White compares and contrasts the lake he visits with his young son with the lake…
What is dominant impression in descriptive writing?
The dominant impression of a description is its central and unifying theme; it is
the feeling you are trying to convey condensed into a single word or phrase
. In a paper of this nature, you should describe as vividly as you can the physical characteristics of a person or a place about which you have a strong feeling.
