But the beach is standing still today. Everyone on it is tranquilized, numb, or asleep…They pose” (4).
This passage shows that the main character can sense the hollow feeling of the people on the beach. They almost identify with going through the motions just to get through the moment. The teenage girls put on suntan lotion and the protagonist can see that they want to leave the discomforts of their day behind and forget about what worries they might have to spend a day under the sun without a care. The protagonist approves of their carefree nature and realizes this is what they are feeling in the moment. They want to be like the sunkissed girls.