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Pool by Corey Campbell

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Pool by Corey Campbell

Under which circumstances do you know you are ready. Probably none, you have to take a risk and just do it. This is what the main character Darla faces in the short story ‘Pool’ by Corey Campbell, as she struggles through the day with a critical view on her current life situation. Throughout the plot, Darla reflects on her thoughts regarding her life, and moreover the advantages and disadvantages of each decision she will make. All this is caused by her fear of settling down and becoming a mother.

Darla is the short story’s protagonist. She is the girlfriend of Jon and is a bit older than the couple Mandy and Trevor, who are hosting the pool party. Darla is fragile, insecure and has troubles coming out of her own little cage in various situations, such as not being willing to get into her swimsuit. She is capable of showing plenty of emotions and multidimensional feelings, which makes her a round character. Her not so confident way of dealing with life changes at the end of the story with a plot twist, giving her the feature of being a dynamic character. Her actions and way of seeing the presence give the impression of a contemporary life crisis.

The crisis also seems to have had collided into Darla and Jon’s relationship. The relationship pretty much gets summed up by this one quote: “What she liked best about him, Darla had realized earlier in the car, was that it wasn’t going to last, so she didn’t have to care that much really.”(page +line) It is easy to see that Darla in this instance does not see this relationship as long lasting, and that she has almost given up in advance. Another instance that gives a suitable insight view is when Jon and Darla eat at a restaurant way too expensive for him and her, whilst Darla is at the sink taking the ‘morning-after’ pill. Showing how some communication is missing in this arbitrary

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