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Essay on the myths of addiction
Essay on the myths of addiction
Themes in the swimmer by john cheever
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The Swimmer by John Cheever begins at Helen and Donald Westerhazy’s pool when Neddy Merrill makes the decision to journey eight miles home by swimming through a series of pools, he calls the “Lucinda River” (297) and walking when unable to swim. While he making his way back home, he stops at fourteen old friends’ houses and drinks before continuing on if possible. By the end of Neddy’s journey, he is exhausted and comes to the realization that he has lost not only his house but also his wife and daughters, and also his so-called friends and even a mistress. Cheever suggests that alcoholism is a destruction of life through the use of symbolism, imagery, and characterization. Throughout the story Cheever’s character, Neddy, describes the various colors of each pool. Starting at the Westerhazy’s, their pool is “a pale shade of green” His first stop, after deciding about his adventure, is at “sapphire-colored waters” at the Bunkers’ (298). Some pools later he comes across the Welchers’ where “he found their pool was dry” (300). The next waters described are “murk” and “opaque gold” (301). The last one Neddy comes across has “a wintry gleam” (303). The narrator describes Neddy as “a slender man—he seemed to have the especial slenderness of youth…far from young…” (297). He has already started drinking at the Westerhazy’s and the youthful description portrays the beginning effects of alcohol—as though he can accomplish anything he wishes. The sapphire water gives the impression that the Bunkers’ are well off and Neddy can help himself to their bar. When he arrives at the Welchers’, he finds they have packed up and drained their pool. This hints at a look at reality where alcohol doesn’t cure anything and foreshadows tha... ... middle of paper ... ...membering made him wonder how much time has truly gone by. His drinking problem has been to the point where he doesn’t remember important things that are hard to be forgotten, such as losing his money, his house, and his wife and children. Neddy’s life took a downward spiral due to his drinking problem. The alcohol took over his life and became his main focus. John Cheever foreshadowed Neddy’s misfortune through the use of symbolism, imagery, and characterization. Unfortunately again for Neddy Merrill, he doesn’t realize his dilemma until after he has already lost everything he has. Works Cited Cheever, John. “The Swimmer”. Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth Mahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, 2003. 297-304. Scott-Kemmis, Judy. "The Color Gold." Empowered By Color. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2014.
John Cheever uniquely crafted the story “The Swimmer” by using a mix of surrealism and realism throughout the story. Most people when they read “The Swimmer” they have to reevaluate it to comprehend what is happening. The reason for that is because Cheever shifts between surrealism and realism so much that the reader does not even notice. The story starts out with Neddy being so strong and youthful, but as the story goes on he weakens and ages. When he was youthful Neddy decided to swim every pool in his neighborhood. As he ages and weakens, the pools get harder to swim and the seasons pass without him even noticing.
“The Road Not Taken.” Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan et al. 8th ed.
Meyer, Michael, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999.
John Cheever does not merely state the theme of his story, he expresses his theme, as a good writer should, in a variety of metaphors and analogies coupled with powerful imagery. In The Swimmer, Cheever writes and underscores his primary theme of alcoholism in many ways, such as his use of autumnal imagery and the color green. However, there is also some very prominent symbolism and allusions that serve to highlight the theme while also augmenting the artistic and poetic nature of the story. One very important use of symbolism is in the “perverted sacraments” as originally pointed out by Hal Blythe in 1984. Along side these symbols, Hal Blythe, along with Charlie Sweet, later discovered a clear allusion to Ponce de Leòn in 1989.
Foremost, both stories are about men who once were very prosperous, but created their own demise. In “The Swimmer”, Neddy, the main character, initially seems to have a perfect life. “His life was not confining and the delight he took in this observation could not be explained...” (Cheever 216) He had a perfect family, high social status and very few problems in his life, or so he thought. His life is so wonderful that anything objectionable is repressed. Not until he takes the “journey” into realization, where he learns through others that his life has fallen apart. Neddy’s character is very similar to Charlie from “Babylon Revisited”. Charlie was very splendid in fortune until, he lost both his wife and his daughter due to his uncontrollable alcoholism. However, after “controlling” his drinking problem, he decides that he wants nothing to d...
Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the great unrecognized literary works of the first half of the twentieth century. It has been through three editions after its first printing in 1939 and at least fifty-three printings in over ninety countries (xxii). The wide popularity and circulation of the book certainly affirms this claim. An examination of the contents of the book will show that it also deserves this title. It is a rich work because it conveys a basic human condition, though ugly, until that time not often spoken of in public. If it simply did this and nothing more it would merely be a good book. But it does more than speak to an ugly condition; it gives a blueprint for change.
The pools that Neddy swims through, as well as the people and situations that Neddy encounters represent the different stages of his drinking. In the beginning of the story, Ned is at a small gathering that includes his wife at the Westerhazy’s pool. The author states that Neddy is ordinary because even a priest can drink too much. (Cheever 1) At this pool, in this early stage, Neddy feels relaxed and accepted. He is in the early or adaptive stage of alcoholism. The early stage is difficult to detect by anyone, including his neighbors. Neddy doesn’t see any problem with his drinking and would laugh at anyone who insinuated that he had a drinking problem. A huge cloud in the west serves as a warning. Even though Neddy’s home is south he chooses to go southwest to avoid oncoming danger. Neddy chooses to move forward with his drinking and decides it makes him feel good so he does it more and wants to avoid the warnings. When Neddy leaves the comfort of routine drinking, he feels strong, like “a man with a destiny” (Cheever 2). He crosses the soft grass feeling great enjoyment and pleasure while drinking which means he is moving into the next stage of drinking which is the middle stage of alcoholism. He still feels in control.
In the short story The Swimmer by John Cheever, one of the dominant themes is the passage of time. In this short story time seems to pass as reality does with us unaware of its passing. The main character is the protagonist hero, Neddy Merrill who embarks on a traditional theme of a homeward journey. The scene opens on a warm mid-summer day at an ongoing pool party with Neddy and his wife Lucinda. The pool is “fed by an artesian well with a high iron content, was a pale shade of green.
Head, Bessie. “Life.” Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahn, et al. 6th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002. 349-355.
At the beginning of the story, “he never used the ladder,” (Cheever 174) because he was youthful and physically fit. Neddy eventually grows so weak that he can’t even lift himself out of the pool anymore. When his pants are too loose, he wonders if, “During the space of an afternoon, he could have lost some weight” (Cheever 178). Even as his body ages and weakens Neddy cannot comprehend the amount of time that is passing, therefore, leaving the reader with confusion regarding the
Meyer, Michael, ed. Thinking and Writing About Literature. Second Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001.
...his story the main message that life is short and he succeeded by using point of view, setting and symbolism. “The Swimmer” can teach many readers not to waste valuable time like Neddy did when drinking, caring about insincere relationships among social status, and taking his family for granted. Cheever’s usage of literary elements not only displays the theme of “The Swimmer”, but also organizes passages of events for the reader to experience throughout the story. John Cheever once said, “The need to write comes from the need to make sense of one's life and discover one's usefulness” (Good Reads). He perfectly illustrates this objective in “The Swimmer.”
Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth Mahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, 2002. 977-986
John Cheever’s The Swimmer is a piece that is very unique, and unlike many works, it is running on two different time scales. One time scale is running on the readers time scale, as he is journeying from pool to pool. The second time scale can be interpreted as over the course of many years, as his life passes him by and he realizes by the end that he has lost his house and his family, yet due to his suburban upper class living, he has not even noticed that this has occurred. This alone makes it unlike many other works; however, the Swimmer is argued to have alluded to other classic works. This includes allusions to classic works by Homer and F. Scott Fitzgerald most notably. In William Rodney Allen’s critique he asserts that The Swimmer alludes primarily to The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Terence Bowers believes there is allusion primarily to The Odyssey, which he believes is written in the same structure and with similar protagonist characters. In both critiques, there is a large emphasis placed on the similarities between the protagonist characters of each work. Allen asserts that Ned Merrell is very similar to Jay Gatsby, and Terence Bowers sees Ned as more of an Odysseus. Each source provides examples for their argument; however there is room to make argument against this as well. In the Swimmer, there are definite allusions to these classic great works, however, Cheever sets his work apart in many ways, and adds his own uniqueness to this piece.
In Dubliners, James Joyce tells short stories of individuals struggling with life, in the city of Dublin. “It is a long road that has no turning” (Irish Proverb). Many individuals fight the battle and continue on the road. However, some give up and get left behind. Those who continue to fight the battle, often deal with constant struggle and suffering. A reoccurring theme, in which Joyce places strong emphasis on, is the constant struggle of fulfilling responsibilities. These responsibilities include; work, family and social expectations. Joyce writes about these themes because characters often feel trapped and yearn to escape from these responsibilities. In “The Little Cloud”, “Counterparts”, and “The Dead” characters are often trapped in unhappy living situations, often leading to a desire of escape from reality and daily responsibilities.