What Is The Main Idea Of Once More To The Lake By E. B. White

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The short story Once More To The Lake written by E.B. White really grasps the feeling of time, and how little some places change. This story begins with Whites reminiscing on his childhood memories at a cabin and his longing to return there. My own family has a place up in Bootjack, Michigan, and I can completely relate to that wanting feeling of being back to how it used to be up at the camp. This relation gave me the ability to really feel how E.B. White was while he was writing this story. When White is explaining the camp he has this idea that everything is going to be very different, but once him and his son arrive he starts realizing how little things have changed. He continuously uses analogies such as, "there had been no years between," and "there having been no passage of time." to emphasise his feeling of nostalgia to …show more content…

One line in the story that really stood out to me was, "The middle track was missing... There had always been three tracks to choose from... now the choice was narrowed down to two. For a moment I missed terribly the middle alternative." This segment not only gives the feelings of sadness and absence, but also shows how some things do change and that is okay, and change can lead to new opportunities that we didn't know were out there. Throughout this story E.B. White touches on how much his son has grown up to be like him in the aspect of fishing, and sneaking out early in the morning to be in the boat alone. I believe this is a very common occurrence for parents and the way he portrays his emotion towards it is very intriguing to me. He finds him and his son so similar to the point that he sees himself fishing while they're in the boat together and the fact that he is able to share this place with his son and watch him create the same memories that he did is very heartwarming, and also gives a feel of longing for that childhood