Setting

The setting of the short story “Dip in the Pool” by Roald Dahl is a British cruise ship in the Atlantic. The events take place over a couple of days in January: “the pale, almost heatless January sun”. 

The main locations in the story are the dining hall, the smoking-room where the auction takes place, and the ship’s deck. The dining hall is “filled with people eating and drinking”. In the dining hall, Mr Botibol sits at the same table as the ship’s purser. Botibol’s location in the dining hall is most likely strategic as he plans to interrogate the purser about the captain’s estimation for the auction: 

Mr Botibol, who had been unusually grave and thoughtful since the rolling started, suddenly stood up and carried his cup of coffee around to Mrs Renshaw's vacant place, next to the purser. He seated himself in the chair, then immedia...