Once More To The Lake By E. B. White

Renowned for his clear and lively writing style, E.B. White has been regarded as one of the most successful American essayist and author. Born on July 11, 1899 in Mount Vernon, New York, Elwyn Brooks “E.B.” White was raised by his parents, Samuel White and Jessie Hart White, and lived in a middle-class community along with his six siblings. White later attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he started writing for the Cornell Daily Sun, which was a student-run newspaper. After graduating from Cornell with a Bachelor of Arts degree, he freelanced as a reporter for several newspapers, including the United Press Seattle Times. In 1927, he secured a job as a contributing editor for The New Yorker, an American weekly magazine. Of
all of his writings, E.B. White is best known for his beloved children’s classics, including Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, and The Trumpet of the Swan.
In addition to writing children’s novels, White also published a series of essays. “Once More to the Lake,” originally published in the October 1941 issue of Harper’s Magazine, later appeared in White’s book entitled One Man’s Meat. An emotional essay, “Once More to the Lake,” effectively portrays White’s struggle to find his place in the world, as he deeply wishes to preserve his childhood memories. This personal essay begins in the past, which develops a nostalgic tone, as White remembers the experiences he shared with his family on the lake in Maine. The essay ends in the present, as White observes his own son and accepts the unkind reality of his future. In “Once More to the Lake,” White asserts that the only thing constant in our life is
change. In the beginning of the novel, White recalls his childhood memories with his family, displaying the timelessness of the lake. White reveals that the location has been untouched, that no time has been lost,
We went fishing the first day. I felt the same damp moss covering the worms in the bait can, and saw the dragonfly alight on the tip of my rod…It was the arrival of this fly that convinced me beyond any doubt that everything was as it always had been, that the years were a mirage and there had been no years. The small waves were the same, chucking the rowboat under the chin as we shed at anchor, and the boat was the same boat, the same color green and the ribs broken in the same places, and under the floorboards the same fresh-water leavings and debris (White 2-3).

The author’s repetition of the word, “same” and the phrase, “there had been no years” affirm, despite the passage of time, that everything appears unchanged. The familiar sights and sounds of the lake have also remained the same. It is clear he does not want to erase the memories, as they provide a sense of comfort and happiness. White wants to preserve his most memorable childhood experiences. While the author wants to cling to fond, foundational memories of his past, White begins to struggle as he demonstrates feelings of uncertainty, as he is not comfortable with the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
The author discloses his thoughts saying, “I began to sustain the illusion that he was I, and therefore, by simple transposition, that I was my father. This sensation persisted, kept cropping up all the time we were there. It was not an entirely new feeling, but in this setting it grew much stronger. I seemed to be living a dual existence” (White 2). White is truly confused about his role in life. Throughout the essay, White flips between the past and the present, as he views life through a different lens. The author is reliving the same things, but now as a father figure. This new sensation is rather puzzling, as he does not know whether to cling to the past or to face the
present. The tone of “Once More to the Lake” shifts quite substantially toward the end of the essay, as the author comprehends and accepts that change is inevitable. The last line of the essay asserts, “As he buckled the swollen belt, suddenly my groin felt the chill of death” (White 6). Despite his comfortable upbringing and his Ivy League experience at Cornell, E.B. White’s life certainly presented some difficult obstacles. In the end of the essay, the narrator feels the “chill of death” for the first time. This experience is quite disconcerting, and it is apparent he does not know how to emotionally cope with the situation. The experience, however, triggers White to finally realize that he must live in and experience the present and, hence, allowing new memories to form. “Once More to the Lake” clearly describes E.B. White’s struggle to find his role in the world. The timelessness of the lake provided him with comfort and security, as he remembered his childhood experiences. His transition between adolescence and adulthood caused feelings of uncertainly, as he could not decide to cling to the past or to face the present. Finally, the author concludes that the only thing constant in life is change. Thus, we must embrace each moment, each experience in life in order to create a multitude of lifelong memories.