 According to The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art, the most important element of Lichtenstein's procedure in the early 1960s was "the enlargement and unification of his source material". Although, according to some sources, the changes made to produce Drowning Girl are not regarded as significant, Lichtenstein made several notable changes from the original source: "In the original illustration, the drowning girl's boyfriend appears in the background, clinging to a capsized boat. Lichtenstein cropped the image dramatically, showing the girl alone and encircled by a threatening wave. He changed the caption from 'I don't care if I have a cramp! 'to' I don 't care!' and the boyfriend's name from Mal to Brad." With the former narrative change, Lichtenstein removed evidence that the drowning girl has a cramp in her leg. With the latter narrative change, Lichtenstein attempted to change the perception of the boyfriend. When discussing another work (I Know ... Brad), Lichtenstein stated that the name Brad sounded heroic to him and was used with the aim of clichéd oversimplification.
