E.B. Whites Drafts of Once More to the Lake

E.B. White's Drafts of 'Once More to the Lake' At the start of every fall term, countless students are asked to write an essay on what must be the most uninspired composition topic of all time: How I Spent My Summer Vacation. Still, its remarkable what a good writer can do with such a seemingly dull subjectthough it may take a bit longer than usual to complete the assignment. In this case, the good writer was E.B. White, and the essay that took more than a quarter century to complete was Once More to the Lake. First Draft: Pamphlet on Belgrade Lake (1914) Back in 1914, shortly before his 15th birthday, Elwyn White responded to this familiar topic with uncommon enthusiasm. It was a subject the boy knew well and an experience that he fiercely enjoyed. Every August for the past decade, Whites father had taken the family to the same camp on Belgrade Lake in Maine. In a self-designed pamphlet, complete with sketches and photos, young Elwyn began his report clearly and conventionally This wonderful lake is five miles wide, and about ten miles long, with many coves, points and islands. It is one of a series of lakes, which are connected with each other by little streams. One of these streams is several miles long and deep enough so that it affords an opportunity for a fine all-day canoe trip. . . .The lake is large enough to make the conditions ideal for all kinds of small boats. The bathing also is a feature, for the days grow very warm at noon time and make a good swim feel fine. (reprinted in Scott Elledge, ​E.B. White: A Biography. Norton, 1984) Second Draft: Letter to Stanley Hart White (1936) In the summer of 1936, E. B. White, by then a popular writer for The New Yorker magazine, made a return visit to this childhood vacation spot. While there, he wrote a long letter to his brother Stanley, vividly describing the sights, sounds, and smells of the lake. Here are a few excerpts: The lake hangs clear and still at dawn, and the sound of a cowbell comes softly from a faraway woodlot. In the shallows along shore the pebbles and driftwood show clear and smooth on bottom, and black water bugs dart, spreading a wake and a shadow. A fish rises quickly in the lily pads with a little plop, and a broad ring widens to eternity. The water in the basin is icy before breakfast, and cuts sharply into your nose and ears and makes your face blue as you wash. But the boards of the dock are already hot in the sun, and there are doughnuts for breakfast and the smell is there, the faintly rancid smell that hangs around Maine kitchens. Sometimes there is little wind all day, and on still hot afternoons the sound of a motorboat comes drifting five miles from the other shore, and the droning lake becomes articulate, like a hot field. A crow calls, fearfully and far. If a night breeze springs up, you are aware of a restless noise along the shore, and for a few minutes before you fall asleep you hear the intimate talk between fresh-water waves and rocks that lie below bending birches. The insides of your camp are hung with pictures cut from magazines, and the camp smells of lumber and damp. Things dont change much. . . .(Letters of E.B. White, edited by Dorothy Lobrano Guth. Harper Row, 1976) Final Revision: Once More to the Lake (1941) White made the return journey in 1936 on his own, in part to commemorate his parents, both of whom had recently died. When he next made the trip to Belgrade Lake, in 1941, he took along his son Joel. White recorded that experience in what has become one of the best-known and most frequently anthologized essays of the past century, Once More to the Lake: We went fishing the first morning. I felt the same damp moss covering the worms in the bait can, and saw the dragonfly alight on the tip of my rod as it hovered a few inches from the surface of the water. It was the arrival of this fly that convinced me beyond any doubt that everything was as it always had been, that the years were a mirage and there had been no years. The small waves were the same, chucking the rowboat under the chin as we fished at anchor, and the boat was the same boat, the same color green and the ribs broken in the same places, and under the floor-boards the same fresh-water leavings and debristhe dead hellgrammite, the wisps of moss, the rusty discarded fishhook, the dried blood from yesterdays catch. We stared silently at the tips of our rods, at the dragonflies that came and went. I lowered the tip of mine into the water, pensively dislodging the fly, which darted two feet away, poised, darted two feet back, and came to rest again a little farther up the rod. There had been no years between the ducking of this dragonfly and the other onethe one that was part of memory. . . . (Harpers, 1941; reprinted in One Mans Meat. Tilbury House Publishers, 1997) Certain details from Whites 1936 letter reappear in his 1941 essay: damp moss, birch beer, the smell of lumber, the sound of outboard motors. In his letter, White insisted that things dont change much, and in his essay, we hear the refrain, There had been no years. But in both texts, we sense that the author was working hard to sustain an illusion. A joke may be deathless, the lake may be fade-proof, and summer may seem to be without end. Yet as White makes clear in the concluding image of Once More to the Lake, only the pattern of life is indelible: When the others went swimming my son said he was going in too. He pulled his dripping trunks from the line where they had hung all through the shower, and wrung them out. Languidly, and with no thought of going in, I watched him, his hard little body, skinny and bare, saw him wince slightly as he pulled up around his vitals the small, soggy, icy garment. As he buckled the swollen belt, suddenly my groin felt the chill of death. To spend almost 30 years composing an essay is exceptional. But then, you have to admit, so is Once More to the Lake. Postscript (1981) According to Scott Elledge in E.B. White: A Biography, on July 11, 1981, to celebrate his eighty-first birthday, White lashed a canoe to the top of his car and drove to the same Belgrade lake where, seventy years before, he had received a green old town canoe from his father, a gift for his eleventh birthday.

Discussion 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Discussion 4 - Essay Example Hence, it might be stated that the introduction of cloud computing came into limelight mainly to fulfil the requirements or utilities of the individual in this advanced age. As a result of which, the process of attainment of varied essential information became extremely faster and quicker than before (Jamsa, 2011). However, it also includes varied types of issues such as control or managing problems, performance or reliability trouble, security, cost of bandwidth, vendor lock-In, transparency, reliability and final thoughts. But among all these above mentioned issues, the most note-worthy challenges are security and performance among others (Furht & Escalante, 2010). After reading the paragraph and watching the video, I totally agree that, utility is the main driving force that fascinated the customers towards the concept of cloud computing or advanced technology. This is surely a revolutionary move that fuelled the utilities of the customers or business enterprises. As a result of this technological change, the business entrepreneurs may very easily cope-up with the changing requirements of the customers that might enhance the reputation and reliability of the brand to a certain extent. Not only this, cloud computing also enabled the facility of accessing various information or facts at any time from their office locations thereby reducing their work-load. Therefore, due to all these facilities, the concept of cloud computing became extremely popular and eminent in this rapidly changing market among other techniques. In spite of various advantages, cloud computing also comprises of numerous pitfalls or issues such as control problem, performance or reliability issue, security, cost of bandwidth, vendor lock-In issue, transparency and reliability problems. However, among all these issues, the most challenging one is the trouble of security. This is because, in case the valuable data or information about the total sale of the

For-Profit Colleges and Universities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

For-Profit Colleges and Universities - Essay Example rt in providing admission to all desired candidates, for-profit institutes were the second best option left for students to pursue their desired courses. For-profit institutes provide ample choices in the matter of class-timings, anytime admissions, provision of online options, small strength of class and accessible locations. For such students who are pursuing jobs, doing part-time jobs, or having children, for-profit colleges and universities seem to be the viable option (NCSL, 2013). The trend for for-profit colleges was started by John Sperling, a humanities professor at San Jose University from 1961 to 1973. He started remedial reading classes for Mexican Americans and courses in social issues for police personnel. Going against the education norms, he started similar other programs for the for-profit University of Phoenix, presently online and the largest U.S. university, with nearly 500,000 students. Sperling and his supporters changed the mom-and-pop trade school scenario into a $30 billion industry by roping in such investors as Washington Post Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. For-profit colleges give admissions to 12 percent of U.S. undergraduates and use 24 percent of U.S. Pell grants for poor students (Golden, 2010, Dec. 29). Sperling supports for-profit colleges for providing the opportunity to low-income people to attain degrees and jobs. His reaction to the administration’s â€Å"onerous† initiatives was that it â€Å"would make it impossible for the sector to offer many programs† that help students to become teachers, nurses and police officers, and â€Å"would have a devastating impact on institutions that enroll low-income students.† Thus, Sperling and his supporters have set the stage for opposing government regulation and starting a fight between the Obama administration and the rising Republicans (Golden, 2010, Dec. 29). Stakeholders of the larger society need to view the traditional economic theory, which shows that profit-making is not an

Skills practice Essay Example for Free

Skills practice Essay There are many safety aspects that need to be considered when designing a training programme. A warm up is very important as it increases the blood flow, stimulates the level of activity and decreases the risk of injury and also may well help one concentrate better on the activity being performed. It also helps to prepare the body for the physical exercise that should follow it. It gently raises the pulse rate, which in turn prepares the heart for more strenuous activity. More oxygen and other fuels are transported to the muscles by the body. In a warm up there should be three phases; a pulse raiser, stretching and a skills practice. A cool down must also be preformed at the end of the session as this allows the body to recover by starting to remove the build up of lactate, and by stretching it allows the muscle fibres return to their initial condition. This helps return the body to its normal state in the quickest time possible. The blood flow will be kept high, waste products are washed out and the temperature slowly returns to normal. The equipment should always be checked before a match as if anything is not working properly or broken it could result in serious injury. This could be done by checking the bats for splits in them, using the correct rounders ball and making sure the posts are securely in position and that they cannot fall or cause an injury to a player.  The clothing should not be baggy or get in the way while playing, and if playing in warm weather light, airy clothes should be worn so as to prevent the player getting too hot and feeling faint. Jewellery should not be worn at all as this can get caught and cause damage or injury. Trainers must be worn as there will be running involved and so flat shoes will be needed. The playing surface should be on grass and should be firm. The pitch should be marked out with the course to run in a diamond shape. The posts and batting/bowling boxes should be clearly marked out.  The batting team must stand far back from the where the playing batter is standing as they could get hit either by the bat or if the ball goes behind. Also, players standing by a post must stand on the inside; otherwise it is obstruction, which could also cause injury by the batter running into the fielder. Throughout my training programme I managed to keep a high level of interest through each session, as each was very different, allowing me to try knew skills out each time. However, as I found chin-ups so hard, it made me dread doing that particular station, but at the same time more determined to do better. For each station and session I wanted to try and beat my own personal best, which made it a task and goal for me to reach, thus making it more interesting for me to complete. Planning of Monitoring  The exercises were in the correct order as no station followed another by using the same muscular groups. They were set in an order of using torso, arms, and legs and then repeated again. This made it easier to continue, and not too much strain was placed on a specific muscular group.  They were the correct choice as they tested my different abilities and helped improve my skills in diverse areas. This can help me while playing a rounders match, as the different skills needed would have been looked at and practised. I did not make any changes to my training programme during the course, although it would have been wise to have changed the chin-ups station in my fitness session as I did struggle with them. I was still able to do them, but I was unable to work flat-out for the whole required time. My heart rate was taken before I started, after the warm up and after every station. This helped me find out how hard I was working and whether over the course of the five weeks, I became fitter, resulting in a lower heart rate. My results show which stations I found easier and which I was best at performing. Final Evaluation  My post test score of the Illinois agility test was 20.37secs, but after my five week training programme, and having re-done the test, my time has improved to 19.18secs. It was an improvement of 1.19secs. Also, for my first abdominal curls test, I managed 82 sit-ups, but when I re-took it I was able to get up to 108, making an improvement of 26 sit-ups. This shows that my fitness level has increased form doing the five week training programme. My training programme was designed for one person during the fitness session and to work in pairs during the skills sessions. However, I had to work in a pair during the fitness session also as we had to time each other for each station. But this was not a problem as the rest gaps stayed constant, and it made it less complicated to do. All the equipment that was needed was available and there was not much setting up to do making it quick and easy to get on with. Overall, the programme was manageable and simple, as long as you are working in a pair. After completing the course, I find it a lot easier to complete each station with higher repetitions as my fitness level improved.  Although it was an exhausting and hard experience, I did enjoy it. I was able to increase my level of fitness, do a training programme that I designed and enjoyed and work with people that I got on with. This interaction did make it a lot more enjoyable. Out of the fitness stations, I enjoyed doing the sit-ups most, as I do these regularly and it is something I find easy and fun. However, I definitely liked the skills sessions best, as this put my rounders skills to the test and slowed me to play a part of a sport that I enjoy.  If I had to redo this in the future I would definitely change my chin-ups station in the fitness session as I found these hard and would probably have benefited a lot more with a different station.

Free Essays - Tale of Two Cities :: Tale Two Cities Essays

Tale of Two Cities The main purpose of this book is to show the contrasts between the peaceful city of London and the city of Paris, tearing itself apart in revolution. This is apparent in the very first line of the book, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." This is a contrast of the two cities, London, the tranquil home of Mr. Lorry and the Darnays'; and Paris, the center of a bloody revolution. The author shows gentleness in these violent times in the persons of Dr. and Lucie Mannette, both gentle and peaceful. He also characterizes the evil side of the revolution in the apathetic and depraved Misuser and Mademoiselle Defarge, who go about their business while death carts roll-- as do heads-- through the streets of Paris. He does though, depict a ray of light amongst all this evil; the heroic Carton, who gave his life for his friend and a woman he knew he would never have. The biggest contrast of all, is in the person of Misuser Darnay, the gentle English family man, who is also related to the evil Marquis Evremonde. I personally like stories that use historical events as backdrops because it brings these seemingly distant events closer to us. This book definitely offers insight into life in the two cities at the time of the French Revolution. I think it does an excellent job of depicting just how totally involved some people became in the revolution. It shows how people were blinded by the desire for freedom from their former oppressors, so much so, that they attacked anyone and anything that was even remotely related to their past rulers. I think this was effectively done by excellent characterization, using each character to depict a different aspect of society, then contrasting them by making them rivals. I really took away a different view of that time period. Some of the language he used was definitely outdated. The language was exactly what you would expect for a novel of that time period. I was able to follow the story pretty well, although there were a few times, in switching back and forth between cities, that I got a little lost Still on the whole I liked the way the story flowed. Unlike some stories of that time, there wasn't really any profanity or taking of God's name in vain, which is always good to see.

John’s Case

Case Study John Stokes May 27, 2012 An overview of John’s case John Stokes is a manager of the Tri-Mart Corporation. He recently received an inappropriate email from an employee that showcased nude men in a calendar. He also noticed that the email was forwarded to 50 other people in the organization. Key Issues or Problems He recently received an inappropriate email from an employee that showcased nude men in a calendar. He also noticed that the email was forwarded to 50 other people in the organization. Alterative that John can considerThere are many companies that are currently marketing e-mail monitoring services. John needs these services range from a full e-mail monitoring application to a program that only records the time at which employees pick up their e-mail. The full e-mail application program will record all of the following information. The e-mail recipient ?The e-mail sender ?The number of words in the e-mail The time the employee spent reading e-mail ?The time t he employee spent composing e-mail ?The number of attachments ?The type of e-mail – business-related or non-business related.A potential solution to John’s dilemma Full E-mail monitoring application to a program that only records the time at which employees pick up their e-mail. The full e-mail application program will record all of the following information. The e-mail recipient ?The e-mail sender ?The number of words in the e-mail The time the employee spent reading e-mail ?The time the employee spent composing e-mail ?The number of attachments ?The type of e-mail business-related or non-business related My conclusion on the case studyEmployee’s privacy rights in the workplace depend on whether they work in the public sector or private sector. Because constitutional rights operate primarily to protect citizens from the government1 state action is required before a citizen can invoke a constitutional right. Therefore, since most Americans work in the private se ctor, the United States Constitution and its corresponding Fourth Amendment privacy protect provides little guidance in private sector e-mail monitoring situations.

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