Comparing Once More To The Lake And How To Say Nothing In 500 Words
Between White and Roberts
Nathan Goodson
ENG 121: English composition 1
Instructor: Patrice Jones
4/7/2014
Between the descriptive essay "Once More to the Lake" by E.B. White, and the narrative essay "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words" by P.M. Roberts I find the descriptive essay to be far more interesting to read for the way it is written appeals to the senses of the reader. Both essays, however, carry good merit and are written very well. The essay that is currently being presented is an interpretation of the similarities and differences between the styles of these two essays, and the impact they have on the reader as well.
Among the major differences between the two essays is the way they are structured. In the essay “How …show more content…
He makes no attempts at humor in his essay like Roberts does, but he instead paints pictures of scenery with words in exuberant detail. The depth and detail with which he writes stirs the readers’ emotions and memories in the way he tells of his own memories. He takes the mind of the reader on a journey with him as he recounts memories of his childhood. The tone he uses is one that is somber and serious, but also quite casual. “Summertime, oh summertime, pattern of life indelible, the fade proof lake, the woods unshatterable, the pasture with the sweet fern and the juniper forever and ever, summer without end; this was the background, and the life along the shore was the design, the cottages with their innocent and tranquil design, their tiny docks with the flagpole and the American flag floating against the white clouds in the blue sky, the little paths over the roots of the trees leading from camp to camp and the paths leading back to the outhouses and the can of lime for sprinkling, and at the souvenir counters at the store the miniature birch-bark canoes and the post cards that showed things looking a little better than they looked.” (E.B. White) It is with the use of this kind of language that White fills the writing canvas, as well as the reader’s thoughts, with the detailed images of the surroundings of the
Nathan Goodson
ENG 121: English composition 1
Instructor: Patrice Jones
4/7/2014
Between the descriptive essay "Once More to the Lake" by E.B. White, and the narrative essay "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words" by P.M. Roberts I find the descriptive essay to be far more interesting to read for the way it is written appeals to the senses of the reader. Both essays, however, carry good merit and are written very well. The essay that is currently being presented is an interpretation of the similarities and differences between the styles of these two essays, and the impact they have on the reader as well.
Among the major differences between the two essays is the way they are structured. In the essay “How …show more content…
He makes no attempts at humor in his essay like Roberts does, but he instead paints pictures of scenery with words in exuberant detail. The depth and detail with which he writes stirs the readers’ emotions and memories in the way he tells of his own memories. He takes the mind of the reader on a journey with him as he recounts memories of his childhood. The tone he uses is one that is somber and serious, but also quite casual. “Summertime, oh summertime, pattern of life indelible, the fade proof lake, the woods unshatterable, the pasture with the sweet fern and the juniper forever and ever, summer without end; this was the background, and the life along the shore was the design, the cottages with their innocent and tranquil design, their tiny docks with the flagpole and the American flag floating against the white clouds in the blue sky, the little paths over the roots of the trees leading from camp to camp and the paths leading back to the outhouses and the can of lime for sprinkling, and at the souvenir counters at the store the miniature birch-bark canoes and the post cards that showed things looking a little better than they looked.” (E.B. White) It is with the use of this kind of language that White fills the writing canvas, as well as the reader’s thoughts, with the detailed images of the surroundings of the