Structure

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Beginning

The short story begins in medias res, or in the middle of things. The exposition opens with the narrator directly addressing the reader. The narrator states that the reader is submerged in water alongside the narrator and other people. This statement holds a fatalistic undertone and foreshadows the narrator’s concern with death.

The narrator describes the routine of the group she is in and refers to the pool as a “metaphor”: it is circular, wet, and holds all life. The narrator portrays different guests who have different attitudes about how to move through the pool, and implicitly through life.

The narrator presents further explanations about the characters and the setting of the story. It is revealed that the Lazy River is a pool at an all-inclusive hotel in Almeria, Spain. All the guests in the hotel are British and therefore they are unashamed because there are no other people of different nationalities to judge them for the way they behave.

The narrator states that the guests do not leav…