Once More to the Lake

“Once More to the Lake” Response Once More to the Lake was written by E. B. White. This essay is about a boy and his childhood, but more than that. E.B. White talks about his childhood and decides to take his son to the same place. He talks about all the familiar smells, and what the cabin looks like. White keeps confusing his own childhood with the present. White taught his son all the things that his dad taught him. He also taught his son how drive an outboard boat, though the sound irritated him. E.B. White and his son went into the old store, that hasn’t changed a bit since he was a boy; everything in the store was in the same spot. So many things remained the same from when he was a child. The storm came across the water, and it was exactly as he remembered it.
E. B. White came to visit the place he went to when he was a child, even though it wasn’t the same. At the end of the essay White said, “My groin felt the chill of death”. White finally had the realization that he was his dad now, and that his childhood was over.

Questions
1. White’s conflicted feelings about things different and the same, are really because of his change in rolls. White was once the child, and now he’s the father, so it’s really a change for him. Everything was the same but in his head, it was different.
2. When White is talking about how “My groin felt the chill of death”, he means that his childhood is really over.
3. The thesis of this essay is that everything changes over time. It is mostly implied because White does not specifically say anything about changes.
4. This essay would appeal most to older men, who are fathers. It would remind them of their dads and what their childhoods were like.