The collection of essays that composed the fifth section in the “Common Reader” – Family Life, and Gender Roles, were exceptionally interesting and incorporated valuable morals that can be applied on a universal level such as childhood, homosexuality, and the importance of family in human development and behavior. Two clear examples that uphold this moral-universalism are ‘Street Scenes’ written by Ann Hood and ‘Once More to the Lake’ by E. B. White – both essays are personal narratives that reflect upon the authors’ childhood experiences, and their quest for self-liberation through a series of similar rhetorical strategies. Nevertheless, each author seems to have their own motives for writing, and they do so in a different way, which fairly echoes each author’s social status, gender, and their unique values pertaining to family. Unquestionably, both White and Hood elaborated a well-structured essay reminiscing about their childhood,
…show more content…
B. White’s iconic essay “Once More to the Lake” is a personal reflection about his childhood memories when his father would take him to the lake. Even though, the essay takes place when he is in his early forties, the essay’s focus is directed towards his childhood experiences, especially during a summer when he revisits the lake with his son to found out that sometimes do not vary and others things one cannot stop from changing. He finds himself prisoner of a dual-existentialism as the father now and the child decades before. On the other hand, written in 2011 “Street Scenes” under the authority of Ann Hood, is a personal narrative about Hood’s childhood memories, and the place where she grew up, which seems to have influenced her identity from the perspective of family and gender roles. In essence, Hood finds herself in a road – both physical and ideological – that links her past, present, and future. After those brief synopses of both essays, I will now examine how each essay contrasts and compares to one another,
B. White’s iconic essay “Once More to the Lake” is a personal reflection about his childhood memories when his father would take him to the lake. Even though, the essay takes place when he is in his early forties, the essay’s focus is directed towards his childhood experiences, especially during a summer when he revisits the lake with his son to found out that sometimes do not vary and others things one cannot stop from changing. He finds himself prisoner of a dual-existentialism as the father now and the child decades before. On the other hand, written in 2011 “Street Scenes” under the authority of Ann Hood, is a personal narrative about Hood’s childhood memories, and the place where she grew up, which seems to have influenced her identity from the perspective of family and gender roles. In essence, Hood finds herself in a road – both physical and ideological – that links her past, present, and future. After those brief synopses of both essays, I will now examine how each essay contrasts and compares to one another,