Water, Water Everywhere nor Any Drop to Drink

Water is an essential part of human existence, yet it’s a rarity in this society. Lauren’s father wants an expensive baptismal even though he can’t afford it (11). The astronaut’s trip to Mars is considered a waste of time when the people on Earth are lacking such an important resource (15). Water has become more expensive than gasoline. Being dirty is fashionable because “If you’re clean… people think you’re showing off” (16). The neighborhood won’t bother calling the fire department when Amy Dunn starts a fire because no one can afford the expense (28). No one believes the radio report of an incoming storm (41).

The lack of water represents a lack of genuine, fulfilling life in Lauren’s society. Everyone is poor and miserable without this necessity. Lauren’s desires to leave reflect the desperation for water, or, symbolically, life. She reads survival books as she plans to leave home in the hope of finding, or creating, new life because her society is dying. “Nothing is going to save us,” she says. “If we don’t save ourselves, we’re dead” (51). Indeed, the authority figures aren’t doing much to provide life/water to society.