The stories, The Orphaned Swimming Pool and That Brute Simmons, both explore the theme of family relation. Even though they differ greatly in style and mood they both give us a picture of the different problems a family may experience and their p
FAMILY RELATIONS
(based on the stories “The Orphaned Swimming Pool” and “That Brute Simmons”)
The stories, The Orphaned Swimming Pool” and “That Brute Simmons”, both explore the theme of family relation. Even though they differ greatly in style and mood they both give us a picture of the different problems a family may experience and their possible outcome.
“The Orphaned Swimming Pool,” is the Story about the break-up of a marriage. The protagonists Ted and Linda Turner are a young and happily married couple. They live in their own house with their own backyard pool. They host block parties, go for midnight swims together and invite everyone they know over for lemonade and cookies. There, under the scrutiny of neighbours' eyes, they seemed to live happily. After a sudden break-up the pool was deserted. She went to her mother's; he stayed in the city. The neighbors slowly began using the pool although the house beside it was now empty. It became a community pool of sorts. Unlike the pool with its rekindled use and enjoyment, the Turners marriage is hopelessly broken and they get divorced. The wife returned to stay but while gazing at the deserted pool's plastic liner saw that the pool in truth had no bottom, it held bottomless loss, it was one huge blue tear. Thank God no one had drowned in it, except her. When they split their belongings, everything gets claimed except for the unmovable pool which remains at the house growing old and dirty. The house was sold to a family with toddling infants. They sealed the pool and put warning signs around as around a chained dog so it can never be used again. The covering of the pool is symbolic of society and its nature to “cover” anything that is out of the ordinary or taboo, such as the Turner’s divorce.
