The omnipresent Lake Huron plays a profound role in the story, for it is a symbol of the narrator’s idea of home. The girl has always lived near the lake; both the family’s previous home and their new home are close to it. As such, the lake has been a constant in her life. The lake therefore represents the narrator’s unquestioning belief in the stability of her home and family. The lake is also associated with Ben Jordan and with the idea of constancy. This connection becomes apparent in his whimsical opening invitation to walk to the lake and see if it is still there.

However, the initial image of the lake as an avatar of constancy is soon challenged when Ben explains how the lake was formed. As the protagonist struggles to envision the massive changes of the landscape amid the vastness of geological time, the author advances the theme of The Disillusionment of Fading Childhood, for the narrator struggles to comprehend the idea that the lake was created and has not always existed. Just as the story opens on the lake, it closes there as well. Now that the protagonist has experienced her shift in

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