The lake is first discussed in contrast to the tempestuous sea where White has vacationed during his adult life. In contrast to the sea, the lake is calm and everlasting. It is presented as the embodiment of White’s childhood memories themselves and, in returning to the lake, White feels that he is literally reliving his childhood memories. As such, when White describes the lake as a “constant and trustworthy body of water” (2), he is also speaking to qualities that he associates with childhood memories. For White, both the lake and his childhood memories seem magical because they manage to appear fixed even as the rest of the world changes.