Perspectives

Literary perspective

The short story “Dip in the Pool” by Roald Dahl is an example of modernist literature. 

Modernist stories often use a simple style of language without similes and metaphors, focusing instead on the messages they try to express. “Dip in the Pool” does not use many figures of speech, but does rely on symbols, which is another characteristic of modernist works. Humor and irony is also often present in modernist stories. In this case, Dahl uses the ironical twist at the end to show that people cannot make accurate predictions all the time and that, no matter how hard someone might try to change their fate in their favor, things might still end badly.

Works with the same theme or by the same author

The short story “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence also explores the theme of luck...