One More Time to the Lake
Mr. Jordan
AP English 3
7/25/13
“One more time to the lake”
By E.B. White
Superficially, E.B. White's "Once More to the Lake" seems to be a recollection of a man's childhood vacations and his attempt to bond them with his son. Upon careful inspection, the essay is about worries brought upon by the nature fear of death. Expecting a peaceful return to nature, he finds that his childhood place has been changed, and through his son, realizes that his youth has slipped away. We first see this when White grasps the idea that “nature is forever but man is not.”
In White's mind, the lake being the most prominent piece of nature is his possession, nonexistent without his presence. This is well shown when he claims that "it was all that same as he left it" and there was "summer without end." This is derived from the nature's untouchable beauty and oblivious consistency. A tree does not know that it is a tree or why. It does not long for the time when it was half as big as it is now, and unlike humans, it does not dwell on its inevitable demise. Tragically, some memories of nature actually did turn up when White and his son came across the missing track in the road. Though track this may have meant nothing to him as a child, it represents one memory that can longer change. Although the lake itself had not changed, White is extremely bothered with the loud and obnoxious sounds of motors near the shore. He can no longer find the peace he once found within the lake.
There is a conflict amongst men occurring in this story as well. It is between the intuitive, which would come to enjoy what nature has to offer, and the ignorant, who are unsatisfied unless everything coincides with their schedule. They are also unable to detach themselves from modern lifestyles and its high end products. Something myself, I would have a hard time doing. As well as growing attachment that people have with their technology. Eventually due to these modernizations, the relationships
AP English 3
7/25/13
“One more time to the lake”
By E.B. White
Superficially, E.B. White's "Once More to the Lake" seems to be a recollection of a man's childhood vacations and his attempt to bond them with his son. Upon careful inspection, the essay is about worries brought upon by the nature fear of death. Expecting a peaceful return to nature, he finds that his childhood place has been changed, and through his son, realizes that his youth has slipped away. We first see this when White grasps the idea that “nature is forever but man is not.”
In White's mind, the lake being the most prominent piece of nature is his possession, nonexistent without his presence. This is well shown when he claims that "it was all that same as he left it" and there was "summer without end." This is derived from the nature's untouchable beauty and oblivious consistency. A tree does not know that it is a tree or why. It does not long for the time when it was half as big as it is now, and unlike humans, it does not dwell on its inevitable demise. Tragically, some memories of nature actually did turn up when White and his son came across the missing track in the road. Though track this may have meant nothing to him as a child, it represents one memory that can longer change. Although the lake itself had not changed, White is extremely bothered with the loud and obnoxious sounds of motors near the shore. He can no longer find the peace he once found within the lake.
There is a conflict amongst men occurring in this story as well. It is between the intuitive, which would come to enjoy what nature has to offer, and the ignorant, who are unsatisfied unless everything coincides with their schedule. They are also unable to detach themselves from modern lifestyles and its high end products. Something myself, I would have a hard time doing. As well as growing attachment that people have with their technology. Eventually due to these modernizations, the relationships