Early on as Ned journeys through the first couple of pools, he crosses them with ease, but as reality begins to set in on what is actually going on, the trips in those pools become more difficult to cross. Ned is happy, confident while grabbing drinks as he goes from pool to pool. He begins with the Westerhazy’s pool then heads off to the Grahams’ pool. After a couple pools he …show more content…
Once he crosses a highway after his physical ability to pull himself out of the pools has already begun to decline. The last few houses Ned’s issue with his short term memory becomes apparent as he forgets things such as when the Hallorans apologize to him for his “misfortunes” [pg 733: line 17] and when he cannot remember when his friend Eric had an operation three years ago [pg 734: line 16]. As Ned goes on to the next few houses he is treated rudely by a bartender and hears Grace make a remark about a person who lost all their money and going around asking for a loan; then he arrives at his old mistress house, Shirley, who is unhappy to see him, and makes remarks about loaning money as Grace did before. After swimming in Shirley’s pool he has a great difficulty getting out and has to use a ladder to pull himself