E'B White 18991985

1
E.B White 1899-1985

• He is well-known for his childrens books
  Charlottes Web and Stuart Little.
• Many of his essays appeared in the New Yorker.
• Believed that the small details of life are often
  most interesting to readers because they were
  common experiences shared by everyone.
• Born in Mount Vernon, New York.
• Attended Cornell University (New York) and edited
  the school newspaper.
• Served in World War I.
• Worked as a reporter and a mess boy on a ship to
  Alaska.
• Moved back to New York and worked for the New
  Yorker.
• Often wrote about life in rural Maine
• He received a Pulitzer Prize (award for
  literature).

2
Once More to the Lake

• Example of personal essay brief nonfiction work
  that expresses the writers thoughts, feelings,
  and opinions on events in his own life.
• The personal essay mixes factual information and
  the authors opinions and insights about these
  events.
• The personal essay often has elements of
  autobiography, a form of writing in which a
  person tells the story of his or her own life.
• Uses comparison and contrast throughout the essay
  to explore his childhood vacations in Maine with
  his present vacation with his son.

3
Words that compare

• same,
• just as,
• still,
• always

4
Words that contrast

• since,
• difference,
• now,
• in those days,
• more,
• not so much.

5
Once More to the Lake

• What is a special place or memory from your
  childhood that you wish you could revisit?
• What made this memory or place special to you?
• Why does this memory or place still impact you
  today?

6
Preview of the essay

• White returns with his son to the lake White used
  to visit when he was a child. While there, White
  realizes that his son exhibits many of the same
  traits he has as a child. White understands that
  while the lake has experienced minor changes over
  the years, he has changed in noticeable ways. He
  sees that he has become his father and his son
  has become White.

7
Assignment

• Read Once More to the Lake
• Create a diagram that compares and contrasts the
  lake when White was a child and the lake when
  White revisits with his own son. You should note
  both the differences between the two visits and
  also similarities that existed.
• Vocabulary Check on the five Words to Know
• Answer questions 1-3, 7-8 on page 121.