Finding home boarded up; a sensation of coldness and unwelcoming takes over. Sudden misfortunes arise from what was once a perfect life, and the world appears upside-down. Attempts to remember what went wrong fail. Memories are unclear and time seems blurry. At one time, John Cheever found himself in this position, using alcohol to ignore his problems. John Cheever was born in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1912. In 1941, he moved to suburban Westchester and eventually became addicted to alcohol, which is a recurrent motif in many of his short stories. He died in 1982 from cancer. In his short story, "The Swimmer," an affluent man named Neddy Merrill decides to swim through all of the pools in his county to reach his own house. The neighbors welcome him at first, until a storm passes and everyone begins to regard him negatively. When he finally reaches home from his journey, he finds his house empty and boarded up. Just like the author, Ned suffered after he put aside his issues. John Cheever develops his theme that changes will inevitably come as time passes by in his short story "The Swimmer" through his use of symbolism, tone, and irony.
At first glance,"The Swimmer" is literally a story about a man who swims through pools only to come home to an empty house- the symbolism makes it much more than that. One of the main symbols in "The Swimmer" is the swimming pools, which represent time periods. Halfway through the story, Ned reaches the Welchers and realises that they "had definitely gone away. [Their] pool furniture was folded, stacked, and covered with a tarpaulin" (Cheever). Unknown to Neddy, large amount of time has passed between the time he started his voyage and where he is now. Ned does not remember the Welchers' s...
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Works Cited
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Cheever, John. The Swimmer. N.p.: Library of America, 2009. Print.
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water, curved and smooth and green.'; This seems to illustrate the peacefulness of the situation, almost creating a lazy, calm atmosphere. However, the imagery within “The Swimmer'; is quite opposite. “The Swimmer'; tends to portray a scene of force, as there is no evidence of the peaceful interaction between man and water as found in “Lone Bather.'; Evidence of such force ...
While some stories are more relevant in today 's society I think they are all equally important, despite the amount of attention each topic gets in American society’s media. In “The Swimmer” the clever metaphor using Neddy’s slowly digressing swim journey on the “Lucinda River” compares to how his real life and his relationship with his wife Lucinda and his children goes downhill. It is clear that Neddy is living a la...
Cheever, John. "The Five-Forty-Eight" An Introduction to Fiction (7th edition), eds. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia, Longman, 1999
The swim is presented to the reader as an enormous challenge that only the brave and desperate would face, such as a player in a challenging computer game. Diction such as ‘dangerous’ and ‘trouble’ used throughout the swim maintains the risk the swimmer must face. The line“whirled pearl smoke,'; signifies confusion which heightens the unsureness of the situation. Vulnerability becomes evident as the swimmer suffers “cunning furtive spasms.'; The challenge heightens and the swimmer is represented as an “angry isolate.'; Like a computer game special affects are added in to increase the danger such as the lightning and the darkness.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
The first, most noticeable theme, is alcohol. In “The Swimmer”, alcohol represents Neddy’s longing for a high-spirited life and an admirable social status. The drinking, serving, and craving for alcohol became a major influence for Neddy, as well as a way to maintain his social status. The story starts off talking about alcohol. They are all sitting around the Westerhazy’s pool complaining “I drank too much last night”, but as expected they are at the pool the next morning drinking again. Before Neddy decides to leave to swim from pool to pool, he drinks gin and continues to drink on his whole journey home. Almost every pool that Neddy stops at, he asks the pool owner for a drink. Neddy has already had plenty of drinks by the time he gets himself
Cheever, John. "The Swimmer." The Northon Anthology American Literature. 8th ed. Vol. E. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print.
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In John Cheever's story The Swimmer, Neddy Merrill is a successful man. His success is measured by the prestigious neighborhood he lives in with tennis, golf and swimming pools. Neddy has made it socially and financially. He is never without an invitation to social events, which always include drinking. He is at the top of his game. While attending the party at the Westerhazy's house with his wife, he has the desire to swim home. He sees the line of swimming pools that stretch eight miles to his home, he calls them the “Lucinda River” (297) . He is a confident man and thought "of himself as a legendary figure" (250-251). He dives in and when he gets out on the other side, he informs his wife he is swimming home. Cheever uses each pool that Neddy visits to show the passage of time in Neddy's life, and reveals how his alcoholism, infidelity and continual denial of his actions led to the destruction of his American dream.
The main ideas that are expressed in John Cheever's The Swimmer, is how Neddy lives through a variety of stages of alcoholism and how they each affect his everyday life. In The Swimmer, Neddy takes daily swims through multiple swimming pools. This represents the journeys in his life. He goes from being cheerful to complete sadness and depression. When Neddy is or is not swimming also represents the emotions he is going through. For example, when Neddy is not swimming, he will feel down or angry for no apparent reason. Because of his alcohol addiction, he is usually looking for alcohol during this period of time. Once he has had a few drinks, he is feeling much better and is ready to swim again. “He needed a drink. Whiskey would warm him, pick him up, carry him ...
Charters, A. (2011). The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction (8th ed.). Boston: Bedfor/St. Martin's.
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The story of a sea rescue is portrayed as “heroic” and “an outstanding contribution to search and rescue” (Margaret, Linley). While off duty, a local officer assisted a boy back to shore after having been caught in a rip tide. His actions were valiant, as were the boy’s father, who died while trying to save his son.