once more to the lake presentation

8/3/2019 Once More to the Lake Presentation

1/22

By: Matt, Veronica, Dennis, and Ashley


2/22

Father who takes his son to the same lake he went to

with his father as a child Follows similar path as father

Glorifies the past (has a bias)

It seemed to me, as I kept remembering all this, that

those times and those summers had been infinitelyprecious and worth saving. There had been jollity andpeace and goodness.

Speaker


3/22

At a camp on a lake in Maine

A father and son go on a camping trip at a lake At first the trip seems to mirror the experiences the narrator

had with his father at the lake years earlier

During the trip he comes to a realization of mortality.

It was the arrival of this fly that convincedme beyond any doubt that everything was asit always had been, that the years were amirage and that there had been no years.

Occasion


4/22

1) Adults in general

Story explores time changes It is strange how much you can remember about places like

that once you allow your mind to return into the grooves thatlead back.

2) Fathers/Parents

Explores the father-son relationship

I took along my son, who had never had any fresh water uphis nose and who had seen lily pads only from trainwindows.

Audience


5/22

Discovered mortality

Realizes that, like his father, he too will meet death as he buckled the swollen belt, suddenly my groin felt

the chill of death.

Loss of Youth

Cant relive the childhood awe he once had at the lake I began to sustain the illusion that he was I, and

therefore, by simple transposition, that I was myfather.

Purpose


6/22

Passage of time

There had always been three tracks to choose from in

choosing which track to walk in; now the choice wasnarrowed down to two.

Inevitable death (and discovery of mortality)

Loss of youth Trip to the lake

Subject


7/22

The narrator is curious about how time would have

marred the lake he and his son are visiting. Hedoesnt want time to change his precious memory ofthe lake.

As they get closer to the lake he notices the paved

road and wonders in what other ways it would bedesolated.

How different is the lake?


8/22

When the narrator first arrives at the lake he says I could tell

that it was going to be pretty much the same as it had beenbefore.

During their first fishing activity the narrator saw thedragonfly land on his fishing rod and this convinces himbeyond any doubt that everything was as it has alwaysbeen. The use of the in front of dragonfly lets the readerknow that he is familiar with the dragonflies at the lake.

Also, later on in the story our narrator sees the cultist that hasalways been there and reinforces that There had been noyears.

Things are the same


9/22

When the narrator and his son go for a swim in the lake thenarrator remarks on how nothing has changed, except themerest suggestion of a breeze. This foreshadows the biggerchanges yet to be realized.

At first the narrator doesnt believe that the change hashappened. He says that there has been no passage of time,only the illusion of it as in a dropped curtain.

The narrator also speaks of how the same waitresses were therebut the only change is that their hair had been washed and hegoes on to say that they only washed their hair because theyhad been to the movies and seen the pretty girls with the cleanhair. This suggests that the changes to the lake are not naturaland due to outside influences.

But truthfully, the lake has changed


10/22

The most noticeable change to the lake was the sound of

the place. The sound of the motors now make apetulant, irritable sound and whined about ones earslike mosquitoes. The sound of the motors used to be asedative, an ingredient of summer sleep. This change iscaused by the outside causes of the world, much like thewaitresses washing their hair.

Another noticeable change is the road to the farmhouse.Now there are only two tracks to walk on where therehad always been three. This change is the result of lesspeople traveling on that path so the road naturally shrunkto two lanes.

Definite changes of the lake


11/22

The narrator notices all the physical changes to the lake but hehas also changed mentally.

The arriving at the camp is a completely different experience forhim. It used to be full of excitement and so big a business initself but now the arrival is less exciting because it only takesfive minutes and it was all over with no fuss. This showshow the narrator has grownup and matured over his years awayfrom the lake.

He also says that those memories seemed as if they wereinfinitely precious and worth saving. His hesitancy remindsthe readers that memories are not completely reliable becausethe brain naturally forgets bad times the further in the past amemory is.

Mental changes for the narrator


12/22

- pg.179 - The narrator, now a grown man, is reminiscing on the time when he went tothe "rented camp on the lake in Maine" with his dad. The fact that he thinks back

to that time in his life asserts that he not only misses his childhood but also theposition of being the child and having a father around. - pg.180 - The fact that the narrator knew that the trip was "going to be pretty much

the same" shows that not only do things look the same but they also feel the same.The narrator also "began to sustain an illusion" that he was his father and that his sonwas actually himself when he was a child. This proves that the narrator still wishes thathis father was still around and wants to have a close relationship with him again. Byhaving this illusion that he was his father, makes him feel closer to his father, just likewhen he was still a child.

- pg.181 - The narrator states that "my hands held his rod". "His" being thenarrator's son. But at the same time the narrator held his own rod. This showsthat the narrator is stuck between reality and imagination where in reality he isthe father but this illusion causes him to believe, almost even wish, that he wasthe son just so he could feel that relationship with his father again.

Parent-child Relationship: Diction


13/22

- pg.179 - the vividly detailed images that the narrator creates inside his mind such as, "the fearful

cold of the sea water" and "the incessant wind that blows across the afternoon", help persuadehim to visit the lake once again, but this time with his own son.

- pg.184 - the narrator goes into description of the past. He starts to reminisce and remembers the"small steamboat" which had a "long rounded stern like the lip of a Ubangi". He also remembersback to when he would eat "donuts dipped in sugar" while "older boys played their mandolins" and"girls sang". The fact that the narrator is reminiscing, in detailed images, about many things thathappened in his previous visits to the lake, portrays that he does miss being the child in this father-son relationship.

- pg.185 - at the end of that paragraph, the narrator watches his son go swimming. He describes hisson's body as "hard" and "little". He also says that his son is "skinny" and "bare". It is as if he iswatching a mirror image of himself when he was still a child. Instead of describing his son, he givesa description of himself, when he was still a child.

Images and Detail


14/22

- pg.179 - the fact that the narrator only talks about the "lake in Maine" thathe had always visited with his father, makes him seem to be extremely

anxious to visit it again. The only difference this time is that he will bring hisown son. Where as last time, he was with his father so it is a switch in rolesfor the narrator.

- pg.181 - at the end of the first paragraph, the narrator included manycommas which slow down the way the sentence is read. This creates adramatic type of effect.

- pg.183 - the narrator goes into detail about the motorboat that he hadrented for his son and himself. The sentences are longer and do not havemany commas which speed them up a bit. The sped up sentence structurecould relate to the motorboats because in general, when thinking ofmotorboats, speeding across widespread water is involved.

Syntax


15/22

- The narrator's tone seems to vary throughout the passage. It starts off assome ecstatic because he is finally going back to the lake in Maine that he

would always go to with his dad. But as he arrives to the lake with his ownson, the tone seems to change the more the narrator starts to intervene thepast with the present. As the narrator continues to get caught up in his pastrelationship with his father, the tone tends to get somewhat gloomy. Thenarrator pays no attention to his own son but instead feels like he is hisfather and his son is him in the past. The more the narrator gets stuck in thepast, the gloomier the tone becomes.

- The audience that could relate to the parent-child relationship is any adultwho has a child of their own. They could easily relate to this short storybecause of similar situations that parents encounter with their children.Situations like these could be comparible to past events that the parentshave gone through as a child.

Tone and Audience


16/22

- Ethos - the narrator comes of as the type of person that lives in the past, at leastwhen it comes to situations where his dad was involved. The entire time at the lake,

everything he saw or did brought up the past. He repeatedly compared the past andthe present. It can be interpreted that he misses being the son in the relationship andwants to be close to his father again.

- Pathos - the narrator's emotion comes off to be saddening. This can be inferredbecause he is more focused on reminiscing about the past instead of actually enjoyingthe present with his own son.

- Logos - since the narrator is constantly stuck in his past, it can be inferred thatsomething in his present is missing that he had with the past. Most likely, it is the closeconnection that he had with his dad. The fact that he feels like he is both the fatherand the son at the lake, shows his strong connection that he had with his dad.

Ethos, Pathos, Logos


17/22

Visual


18/22

Description

The image shows a father and sonfishing off opposite sides of a boat as

the sun sets. Only the dark silhouettes of the father

and his son are shown. There appears to be deliberate

parallelism between the father and hisson. One of the only noticeable differences

between the two halves of the picture isthe grass growing on the right.


19/22

Parallelism

The father and son are nearly standing inthe same position.

Both are wearing hats and similarclothing.

The oars of the boat are in almostidentical positions.

Both hold their poles in a similar way. The father and son are both shaded to

make only their silhouettes visible. The landscape behind them is almost

identical.


20/22

Tones Overall, the photograph seems to have a peaceful and reminiscent tone. The sunset suggests that the day of fishing has ended for the man and his son, but

the vibrant colors suggest that they are not upset. The lake is smooth behind them, creating a sense of calm. The photograph was taken in what seems to be undisturbed nature and the

subjects are undisturbed. This creates serenity. The comparison between the man and his son brings back memories from the past. In this case, the memories appear to be positive.


21/22

Purpose

The purpose of this photograph is to show thesimilarities between generations.

The boys, though separated by a generation, are almostidentical in this picture.

The difference in height between them shows thepassage of time and wisdom.

The ambiguity of the boys faces suggests that theimage could be of anyone; it is not anyone specific. It iseven possible that the child in the photograph isfemale.

Another purpose is illustrate the bond between a fatherand his child.

The father and son in the photograph are spending timefishing together.

This memory will last the child a lifetime.


22/22

Comparison The sunset in the picture can be tied to the theme of mortality in the essay. The sun is setting on the fathers time on Earth, but the sons time is just

beginning. If the photograph was divided between the father and the son, both halves

could be a picture of the same person at different stages of life. This relates to the section of the essay where the speaker pictures himself as

his son and his father has himself. The grasses growing on the right corner of the image suggests a difference

between the fathers side and the sons side. This represents the changes that have occurred to the lake since the speaker

visited with his father; everything appears to be the same, but in reality,things have changed.

The photograph has a more calm and less morbid view than the essay does,however.

Both seem to have at least one of the same audiences: people with childrenand, more specifically, fathers.

once more to the lake presentation

Documents