Once More To The Lake

Words: 706
Pages: 3

In the essay, “Once More to the Lake,” the essayist, E.B. White apprises the readers about the time he visited the lake with his father. He loved visiting the lake as a child, and now, he visits the lake with his own son. At the lake, White compares his past and present experiences and perceives that nothing has changed in all these years. He feels that the lake and its surroundings have remained constant and upon visiting the lake, he starts feeling like a child he once was. Although, White’s impression towards the lake remains unaltered at first, he soon realizes that time has changed many things at the lake and realized that he is not the same boy as he once was, but has aged. When White is revisiting the lake with his son, he speculates …show more content…
When White was travelling to the farmhouse, he noticed that the there was only a “two-track road” present, and the “middle path, the one with the marks of hooves and the splotches of dried, flaky manure was missing” (White 83). This signifies that the nature has not remained the same in all these years. Additionally, the waitresses had changed as “their hair had been washed, and they had been to the movies and seen the pretty girls with clean hair” (White 83). This signifies that the values of individuals were changing as the waitresses washed their hair because they wanted to look like other famous individuals. Another change that White is most annoyed about is the sound of the outboard motors. He mentions that these motors made a “petulant, irritable sound, and whined about one’s ears like mosquitoes” (White 84). This notifies the readers about this change of the role of technology. Earlier, there used to be only inboard motors, which made a “sedative” noise (White 84). White realizes that nothing is the same as before. He mentions that “arriving at the lake was less exciting” (White 84). Therefore, White realizes that time has changed many things at the lake and it is not the lake he used to remember. Towards the end of the essay, White recognized himself and does not experience dual existence anymore. He realized that he is no longer the boy