A Leap Into Deep Blue Adulthood

The first descriptions of the pool correlate strongly with certain aspects of male adolescence, such as semen production, creating a foundation for the link between growing up and the events that take place. When

The deep end of the pool, where the high dive is located and the older people gather is a clear dark blue. It is “entirely its own thing…blue as energy, small, deep, and perfectly square” (7). Being set on its own, the tank symbolizes the stage of adulthood for the boy. When he finally becomes an adult, the boy will be on his own and there will no longer be others by his side as there are no pools beside the diving tank. This stage of life is full of energy and yearning for the future. As a young adult, the boy will have new-found freedom and life will seem to be perfect, hence the perfect square shape of the pool. Being as deep as it is, this pool allows for exploration and discovery. However, the depth of the water will force the boy to stay afloat without a bottom to catch him. There are lifeguards to help him in situations of dire need, but he must take risks and make his own decisions. The characteristics of the deep diving tank parallel adult life very accurately. The grown ups are on their own and may make mistakes, but can also go deeper into life and search for it’s treasures.

At the top of the high dive, the wind picks up as well. Symbolically, the wind serves to sweep away childhood before being taken into adulthood. “It’s windier the higher you get. The wind is thin…it’s cold on your wet skin” (10). Exposed and alone, the cold sensation brings the important transition to reality. As a woman goes off the board in front of the boy, he watches carefully to judge what will see what will soon happen to him. As the woman jumps off the board, “there’s a time before you hear the hit below” (10). For the boy, this short time will be representative the stage in which he is neither a child or an adult, but somewhere in between. There is no longer the essence of a child, but he will not have the full privileges of an adult. At this time there is nothing to catch the boy in transition, and it is an exhilarating yet scary moment. This stage in life is on its own, with its own set of characteristics. It is paralleled perfectly by the frightening leap off of the board where one is falling but has not reached the next stage in life just yet.

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