Upon reading "Once More to the Lake" by E. White and "Goodbye to All That" by Joan Didion, one may conclude that the days of ignorance and innocence, often referred to as the days youth, have had a dramatic and everlasting impression upon these two writers. The way these days have had an effect on these people's lives is related to the way they approached their environments. White's recollection of his "holy spot," the lake, is the result of what he calls a mental process that involves the "[remembering] of one thing, [which] suddenly reminds you of another thing." This process is very effective in White's work, for he effectively recalls details of his days of camping at the lake using memories accumulated during his days of youth. This is a period where one's simple mind is attentive to simple things, and is later able to nurture a nostalgia and appreciation for such small things, as is evidenced by this work. .
Joan Didion's assertion that the "days before [she] knew the names of all the bridges were happier than the ones that came later" is the result of her overexposure to New York City. New York worked for her when "around every corner lay something curious and interesting" in her mid to early twenties. Her 8 -year stay in New York resulted in a situation where "everything that was said to [her, she] seemed to have heard before," and the adventure that was New York wore off. Her downfall in New York contrasts to White's success at the lake because one party knew how to appreciate the nature of the environment that characterized his youth and its subtle imperfections (the outboard motors, the fading of the third trail), while the other overindulged in her youthful instincts to see and do all, overexposing herself to New York to the point of exploitation. .
