Wallace later continues on to say, "and the pool's smell, like the other smell, connects with the chemical haze inside you, an interior dimness that bends light to its own ends, softens the difference between what leaves off and what begins- (5). The dreams that set-off the release of semen during the night are confusing to the boy. In these dreams, it is as if he is in his own world, as neither a child nor an adult. His mind is filled with the chemical haze that leaves a vague line of where childhood ends and adulthood begins. By comparing the pool to the boy's maturation in this manner, the author is introducing the parallel he will draw between the pool and growing up. .
Further description of the pool serves as confirmation of this parallel. The pool is categorized into four general sections or stages of life: one where children play, one where the young adults and grown ups occupy themselves, one where the parents lounge and keep a watchful eye on their children, and one in which the elderly people wade in the water. The area in which the children play is a small, shallow section of the pool. By emphasizing the point that the pool is shallow, Wallace makes it clear that this is a child's area where there is no room to go deeper into life. The children have sturdy bottoms that are not far below them. It is safe and easy to walk, but there is no room to expand and explore. .
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.