American Society in The Swimmer by John Cheever

In The Swimmer by John Cheever, the main character Neddy Merrill is introduced at a social gathering at a friend's house with his wife while their children are at home. The story is set in suburbia which, during the time period, was a new emergence in American society and had become a symbol of status. Along with suburbia comes the idea of uniformity so naturally, everyone in the neighborhood had a pool, pools that Ned used as his way to reach home “by water” (American Literature, 2410). Throughout the story as Ned travels from pool to pool, more and more is revealed about him by his neighbors, things that Ned had seemingly forgotten or chosen to ignore. Upon first observation, it would appear that Ned's drinking had clouded his memory of certain things that had taken place recently like “When had he last heard from the Welchers” (American Literature, 2412). However, as the story progresses it is made clear that Ned has the tendency to conceal painful facts, keeping them repressed as a defense mechanism to deal with the real misery of his life. Because of that tendency of Ned's, one of the most prominent themes in The Swimmer is one must face reality eventually. This is exemplified within the story when Ned finds himself at his mistress' house and at the very end when he himself finally makes it home. This theme goes well with the usual John Cheever subject matter like “manners and morals of middle-class, suburban America, and the emotional emptiness of life” ( Liukkonen, 1) showing that Cheerer's work is rooted in Modernism. Neddy Merrill is clearly in denial about the actual events that have taken place in his life. As he is going from pool to pool the neighbors mention his misfortunes. For example when he arrives at the Holloran residence the wife shows sympathy for Ned having lost his house and the condition his children were in, all things that Ned seemed completely unaware about. When he goes to the Biswanger house, he overhears talk about his