CASE: Once More to the Lake by E. B. White
Questions of Subject and Theme
1. White says that he seemed to be living “a dual existence” as a father in the present and as a son in the remembered life of the past. Point to some moments when that dual existence seems most natural and to some when it seems more difficult to maintain. What seems to explain the differences to him and to you?
2. What do you make of the final sentence of the essay? How is the earlier extended theme of annihilated time related to and resolved in the ending of the essay?
Questions of Method and Strategy
1. In what ways do White’s physical descriptions of the lake and its surroundings suggest why he loves the place? Analyze an example or two in which emotion is created by style.
2. What makes the thunderstorm a good episode with which to end the essay? What earlier themes does the moment collect and connect?
