Study&Questions&for&"Once&More&to&the&Lake"&by&E.B.&White&
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Use!these!study!questions!to!help!you!do!a!close!reading!of!the!essay.!!!
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1! What!is!the!central!idea!of!White's!essay—the!key!feeling!he!evokes,!the!key!concern!he!
expresses?!Cite!a!passage!that!you!think!evokes!the!main!feeling!or!idea!most!directly.!
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2! How!would!you!describe!the!mood!of!the!piece,!the!tone!of!voice?!Cite!one!or!two!
passages!where!you!hear!this!tone!most!clearly.!
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3! Find!two!images!that!White!uses!to!show!how!the!lake!has!changed!since!he!was!there!
as!a!boy!and!comment!on!them.!
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4! Find!two!images!that!suggest!that!the!lake!has!not!changed!and!comment!on!them?!
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5! Find!one!or!two!images!that!seem!to!convey!both!change!and!sameness!and!comment!
on!them.!
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6! What!contrast!does!White!make!between!the!sea!and!a!lake,!and!why!does!he!make!this!
contrast!in!his!opening!paragraph?!
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7! What!happens!in!the!closing!paragraph?!How!does!it!reinforce!or!give!some!closure!to!
the!central!concerns!of!the!essay?!How!does!it!make!you!feel?!
