E.B White Analysis

1. White's attitude in the opening paragraphs connotes a sense of wistful longing. He is trying to tell a  story in the form of a flashback. The simple imagery he uses also creates a childish feel.
2. White uses details in paragraphs 1-6 to show that everything has remained the same since the last time he visited the lake. The man feels as though time has not passed when he describes that "there had been no years between the ducking of this dragonfly and the other one--the one that was part of memory."
3.
A)"...the hills that the sun set behind"-personification; provided more vivid imagery for the reader.
B)"the years were a mirage and their were no years"-metaphor; shows the extent of the year's duplicity.
C)" I would be in the middle of some simple act, I would be picking up a bait box...or I would be saying something..."-parallelism; emphasizes the simplicity of his act
D) "This was the American family at play"-cultural allusion; compares the people in front of him to a typical American family.
4. "... the water felt thin and clear and unsubstantial"-appeals to the sense of touch; the precision with which he recalls this memory may support his claim that time had not really passed at all.
5. He uses polysyndeton to gradually build up excitement, then brings us back to present time by switching verb tenses.
6. The specificy of details give readers a glimpse into his outlook on the lake as an adult. It also foreshadows a dent in time because there are motorboats that didn't used to be there when he was a child( or were, gutless obviously)
7. Ending the sentence with "and" adds suspense that is open to interpretation.
8. The final image of the essay is bittersweet. Seeing his own son do the things he used to do as he struggles with health problems brings him back to reality by marking the end of a chapter.
9. The large amount of "and"s used in this story adds to the flashback effect, as if all his memories as quickly flashing by of him. It builds up suspense.