Mr. E.B.White, a leading American essayist, shares his most memorable experience around a lake in Maine with us. He drew a beautiful picture of that lake for us to appreciate the natural beauty, to know about the distinct custom of the people living around the lake and to comprehend White’s philosophy of life. It is true that we could learn all of the above from reading and appreciating this polished essay, Once More to The Lake. But what impressed me most is White’s meticulous description of the lake to express his feelings that there is no fundamental change around the lake and life stands still like it’s always been.

The most memorable thing in White’s eyes and we can feel it from the very beginning of his essay, is the peace by the lake, which has never changed. In the first paragraph, White shows us the reason why he decided to go to the lake for a week to fish and revisit after thirteen-seven years. It is the placidity of the lake in Maine that calls forth White’s happy memory. Certainly White did not want the lake change at all. On the train, White could not help imagining how the lake would look like after so many years’ passage and recalling his coves, streams and hills. How he missed all these things around the lake! And how happy he was when he found that time did not mar the holy spot at his arrival! Everywhere he revisited, say, the tar, the shore and the camp, he could easily find the figures of the man in accompany with his boy enjoying the peace of the lake. The exactly same dragonfly, the same trustworthy lake and the same person with a cake of soap, all reminded the author that the unique peace of this place is always the same.

The holy beauty of this lake remains unchanged and this can be the most cherishable thing for White. On the one hand, it is undoubted that the natural environment of that lake is beautiful. Mr. White named some of the sights that impressed him most, for instance, the shadows of the pines and the clean ribbed sand and he adopted personification, the enchanted sea to indicate how enchanted he was to the lake. In addition to this, we could sense the beauty as the author did because the smell of the lumber and the merest suggestion of a breeze are loveable, too. On the other hand, the artificial scenes are esthetical. For example, the green alleys with plantains and other weeds, the American flag floating against the white clouds and the steamboat running on the moonlight sails. The author was describing all the mentioned above carefully. He compared the steamboats to the lip of a Ubangi to make us clear about how a steamboat looks like. In a word, neither did the natural environment become different, nor did the artificial scenes do.

Obviously, White took great pleasure from circulating with the human beings living around the lake so he could be no more delightful when he found that people had not change fundamentally. Primarily, the author himself remained the same and this is the reason why he often got confused of his identity and his son’s. Boating, fishing and even taking a walk, the author was under illusion that he was his son and he was his father as well. Apparently, White is a nostalgic person who wished that nothing mar the lake and himself. Although he was becoming old, he still had a young heart as his son’s beating in his chest. Then, people living around the lake did not change a lot. Following White’s detailed narration, we can meet the fifteen year old waitresses, we can listen to the music and songs performed by the boys and girls around the lake and we can have a bottle of pop. It is true that folks around the lake led a simple but happy life which Mr. White was always valuing highly and dreaming of.

To draw a conclusion, the dreamlike and happy life that E.B. White has experienced did go back to him when he brought his son with him to the lake once more because life around the lake stands still. Even though he had only a short period of time, one week, he successfully recalled all the memorable things around the lake. It is the unchanged peace, beauty and human beings around the lake that lent him a helping hand to bring the happy days he spent with his father to mind and led to White’s confusion about his own identity. What’s more, they are the very things White attached importance to and treasured.

Comments:

The main idea of Life Stands Still is quite special because the author comments on the essay from an alternative aspect. Both of the structure and the language are logical.

[1]