Yellow Bikini

The yellow bikini is a symbol of anticipation, entrapment, and independence. Diana’s sisters give her a yellow bikini for Christmas the summer before she works in Cape Cod. Diana anticipates she might meet a boy during that summer and have her first kiss. In Hal’s mind, the yellow bikini is a symbol of entrapment. When his father gives him a box of condoms and warns him that many women in Cape Cod will try to trap him into marriage, he wonders if Diana’s family gave her the bikini with the instructions that there were many rich boys on Cape Cod she should try to trap. Near the end of the novel, Beatrice is pictured wearing a yellow bikini as she rides a paddle board. Even though a boy invites her to spend time with him, she chooses instead to continue paddle boarding...