E.B. White’s essay “Once More to the Lake” is an excellent
example of creative non-fiction. Mr.
White captures the essence of his trip, but does so using strong diction,
connotation, and symbolism to not only give a depth of sensation about his
trip, but also a deeper meaning than a mere vacation. Instead, it is a perfect foiling of his own
trip as a boy to the lake, where he can connect to the role of the youngster
and the elder guardian, mimicking his father’s own behaviors during his trip
with his son. That being said, he also
touches upon the passage of time, as he often remarks about the changing
landscape. In doing so, Mr. White uses
excellent imagery and summary to capture the importance those memories had for
him and why the disappearance of a trail option matters, as opposed to saying, “There
used to be a horse trail here, but it’s no longer present”. By tying in past and present relationships into
his vacation location, Mr. White is able to create a connection between facts
and his emotions. Creating that
emotional connection is important to further draw the reader in, and make him
or her care about the story. I find
myself wanting to visit the lake now that I’ve read this story.
I enjoyed this scenery too. I think that without his retrospective overlapping of pasts, this story would be largely uninteresting. There's a lot of great scenery, but the significance of the moment to him becomes the significance of the moment for us. I wonder if the conflict in the story is that he desires the location to be unchanged, but that it had changed, and that it was okay because his boy was enjoying it?
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