The Unusual Car Pool Summary

Almost everyone has experienced the dread and joy of having romantic feelings for another person; the butterflies that swirl around their stomach, their heightened heartbeat, and the all too familiar fight or flight instinct; even for those who feel platonic attraction to others still feel this way. However, these nerves shake off once one of the two people take the leap of faith towards the other, whether it be saying ‘hello’ or confessing how they really feel. Unfortunately for most people, they never risk talking to the person, and miss their opportunity of having a loving relationship. This idea is the main subject of Katherine Bell’s short story “The Casual Car Pool.” Through the relationships of the symbolic characters, the author argues

At the beginning of the story, the reader finds out that Julia has rejected her parents in fear of having to take risks. Julia favors going into the city and begging for money instead of being dependent on her parents because “their money came weighed down with rules and obligations that Julia… did not want or need” (296). This quotation shows how Julia is symbolic of modern relationships that are totally materialistic, and because of her need for money without the responsibilities, she ruins the chance of having a loving relationship with her parents. After her best friend, Serena, replaced Julia, she was hesitant to take the risk of being replaced again in order to be in a loving relationship. Because Julia had lost her best friend, her mother “threatened to send her away to camp. [But] Julia hated camp. She hated even the idea of camp” (296) which shows that Julia didn’t want to chance being hurt again like she did by Serena, so she doesn’t risk going to camp to meet new people. She ends up “so lonely [that] she wanted to die” (296) and with no loving, meaningful relationships. Another example of how Julia has no successful relationships because she doesn’t take risks is shown with her friendship with the homeless boy, Isaac. Although one may perceive her relationship with Isaac to be a good one, she cannot truly be in a deep relationship with him because she doesn’t risk learning anything about him; “[Julia] did not know exactly what happened to Isaac at night…but she knew it was bad.” The fact that Julia doesn’t want to ask what happened to Isaac at night shows how she doesn’t want to risk losing him like she did with Sabrina. Although she acknowledges Isaac’s hardship, she does not take the risk of actually inquiring about his situation, and thus their relationship is only surface-level deep.