The “good life” is what the majority of humanity desired. Even though it seemingly rules as the main goal today, people have established a more modern point of view. More and more people have started to counter pregnancy in general and that is definitely new. “It all changes with a kid.”(l.168) Children bring a huge commitment into the lives of us all and that’s why there are so many that avoid the so called “good” life. This is the main theme of the short story Pool. The story centers on the comparison of Darla’s life and the typical life of marriage.
Darla is a woman that’s assumingly in her mid-twenties/start-thirties. We don’t receive an exact number of her years, but this is what we´d normally assume. This is the age, where most people decide to settle down with a spouse and have children. Darla is however not like most people. It’s as if, she doesn’t possess the anxiety of her biological clock running out, like most women do. This is a very important element to Darla’s character. Throughout the text she constantly hints that, she does not want a child. “I’d be horrible at it. I’d probably start drinking. I know I would.”(l.80) This is one of many times that she speaks her mind freely about the subject. Darla has paired herself up with Jon, and the story states that the two have been together just under a year. The interesting part is however, what Darla favors about their relationship: “What she liked best about him, Darla had just realized earlier in the car, was that it wasn’t going to last, so she really didn’t have to care that much really.”(l.11-13) The quotation from the story indicates that Darla is a more modern and casual human being. The reader is told early on that a conflict in their relationship has stirred up. Darla and Jon had sexual intercourse the night prior to the pool party, and their condom had split. It’s important for Darla not to become a mother, and it seems like it’s her highest priority to avoid