Discovering Mortality in Once More to the Lake Essay

In E.B. White’s essay “Once More to the Lake,” he describes spending time with his son at a lake in Maine that he visited as a child. One month every summer he would vacation at this lake with his father. White had dreamt about bringing his son to the lake one day. Upon White’s return to this fabled lake, he realizes it’s not the same lake he visited as a child. He finds that the modern world has made its mark on the lake. To White, what developers in the area call progress he sees as destructive and has impacted the lake negatively. White’s use of figurative language allows him to show to the reader what he felt and how he viewed the changes sprouting up around him. To some, change is viewed as progress while to others it can be devastating and destructive.

“Once More to the Lake” is an essay that was published in Harper’s Magazine in 1941 by author E.B. White. The author tells the story through a first-person point of view and describes his experience at a lakefront camp in Maine. The essay shows White going through an internal conflict between perceiving the lake and acting as he did as a child and observing the lake and acting as an adult. White’s experience and views as an adult almost seem identical to his experience as a child until it is effected by his recognition of the technology difference in the boats. Certain moments, such as when the author and his son are fishing, reminds White of when he spent those moments with his father. These nostalgic moments help White realize that even though human life is transient and insignificant, but experiences are eternal. The author sees that even though his revisit is slightly different, his son still has the same experience that he had when he was young.

The son had loved his father dearly but does not favor his way of life. His interest in school greatly outweighed his interest or desire to work on ‘The Boat’. He still had a love for the sea and in some way felt like he should carry out his family’s tradition. After his uncle had accepted a new job he took his position on the boat and promised his father that we would continue to sail with him for as long as he lived, and when his father passed despite the desires of his mother he followed his dreams and pursued education and all of its wonders. After living his life he finds himself longing for the sea again and isn’t so satisfied with his life.

The short story, Once More to the Lake, is about a father who takes his son on a camping trip to a lake in Maine. The father sees that the camp is exactly how he remembers it as he goes through time of reminiscence. As he goes back to nostalgic memories, he sees, through his son, that the camp is the same as when he was a child; however, his time at the camp reveals the true meaning of what time is. Time is a continuing process of the past, present, and future.

First off, “Once More to the Lake” and “Forgetfulness” each utilize nostalgic diction in order to generate the theme of annihilated time. In “Once More to the Lake,” the narrator takes his son to a lake in Maine that he always went to as a child. Throughout the story, he mentions how he sees himself in his son, hence getting him caught up with how quickly time flew by. In more detail, he chooses specific words to describe these feelings, such as “sustain the illusion” (White 2) and “revisit old haunts” (White 1). By using these specific words to explain his experience with his son, it makes it seem both natural and unnatural, similar to the passing of forgotten time. Moreover, these specific

First and foremost, authors E.B. White and Billy Collins both use exceptional repetition to portray the themes of their writings “Once More to the Lake” and “Forgetfulness”. In the essay “Once More to the Lake,” the main character expressed his connection to the lake from a young age. Later in life he brings his son and begins to be at a loss for his identity while being at the lake. Similar in theme, the poem “Forgetfulness” is a tale describing the loss of parts of one’s life that used to be known, much like identity loss. Repetition is a major key in both texts for pushing the theme of identity loss. During “Once More to the Lake,” E.B White experienced many moments that

This line is the epitome of remembrance. We all look back on our childhood and reminisce on the joyful moments in our life. We cling on to the details, remembering what the scene smelled, tasted, and looked like. This is exactly what E.B White is portraying in his passage “Once More to the Lake.” This line is a

An event very related to his feeling after his father’s death was when he saw

E.B White portrays such a strong message through his writing. A message where all of us can relate to, Once More to the Lake, the lake serves as the setting for both the author's past and present. Early on, White reflects on his own childhood when his father would take him to the lake. He then explains that now he is taking his own son to that very same lake. In this context E.B uses rhetorical devices such as, metaphors, similes, and personification. E.B lets the reader really envision the summary of his trip to the lake in Maine. White has come full circle, accepting his own mortality. In his son's image, he no longer sees himself. He is clear that his son's maturation is a sign that White is getting closer to death. White not only understands

“Once More to the Lake” by E. B. White is about a man who decides to take his son on the family vacation to the lake he took with his father when he was a child. During the essay, the author reminisces on his trips to the lake during his youth and tells the reader about how things have changed. The author uses wonderful detail and at some points in the essay feels as if he is a boy again standing in his son’s place with his father next to him. The author shows the readers he is a man who enjoys time with his family and cherishes his memories at the lake by expressing how he values the way things were in the past, and the joy that he experiences at this lake with his family.

Moving on, the poem “Forgetfulness” by Billy Collins and E.B. White’s essay “Once More to the Lake” both use important figurative devices to describe the theme of how

E.B. White’s essay, "Once More to the Lake," ends with a feeling he can only describe as "the chill of death." This at first seemed like a startling way to end the essay. In the beginning, the essay sounded like a narrative about E.B. White recalls his journeys to the lake in Maine. The further I got into his essay, it was clear to see the literary references made to death. For example White’s father rolling over in a canoe in the early morning, signifying old men rolling over in their graves, a common saying. This foreshadowing of death leads me to the conclusion that as White watches his son take over the role of the child he once was, by putting on the wet bathing suit, White assumes the role of the generation before, his father’s role,

he is forced to keep the image of his father alive by writing letters pretending to be his father. In

The water beats at the bank feel gently, and resides carefully to avoid over soaking it. The air is fresh and overwhelming with cool gushes of wind blowing past, provoking the trees to yawn and some times sleep. It was a lovely Valentine day and perfect for a picnic at Lake Lavon.