John Cheever’s story "The Swimmer" depicts a protagonist ‚ and the society that has nurtured him‚ as lacking in seriousness and responsibility. Neddy‚ the bewildered protagonist‚ represents a society satirized for centering its values on social status and materialism. During the course of Neddy’s journey‚ the illusions he has constructed about his life are stripped away‚ and in the process the truth behind his society is realized. In unveiling the tragedy of Neddy’s existence‚ Cheever reveals the
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story reflect John Cheever’s life and experience of alcoholism and addiction? In the short stories that John Cheever wrote over his lifetime he reflected himself in the main characters personality. As an example the short story “The Swimmer”‚ the main character is portrayed as an alcoholic who loses everything from his friends to his wife. John Cheever was an American novelist and short story writer‚ he is now known as the most notable short story writer of the 20th century. Cheever growing up had
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Hierarchy in Cheever’s “The Swimmer” John Cheever’s short story‚ “The Swimmer‚” describes the epic journey of Neddy Merrill as he attempts to swim his way back home. Throughout the story‚ readers continually question reality and fantasy while wondering whether Merrill is really experiencing what Cheever portrays or if he is simply stuck in the past. Merrill goes from house to house as he freestyles across each swimming pool along the way. As the story draws to the end‚ Cheever points out that Merrill’s
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and horrendous surprises. Mistakes are natural in human nature; humans can better themselves by facing and accepting their mistakes. In the short story "The Swimmer" by John Cheever‚ Ned Merrill swims through his neighbors’ pools to get home. This short story has a variety of symbolism that connects to the themes of life; furthermore‚ Cheever wants to address his readers to accept their mistakes instead of ignoring it and then having to face it with bigger consequences. Ned Merrill does not follow
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Mina Hanna ENGL 2130-010 Ms. Kilgore The Swimmer by John Cheever Oct 06‚ 2011 The Swimmer by John Cheever Neddy’s journey home through the pools of his neighborhood turns into a journey through many years of his life‚ showing that passage of time is inevitable‚ no matter how much one might ignore it. Neddy has mastered the art of denial. At the beginning of the story‚ the narrator tells us that Neddy is far from young‚ but he does his best to act young by sliding
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The Cycle of life One of John Cheever’s most critical short fiction of the 20th century‚ “The Swimmer‚” details the adventurous journey of Neddy Merrill as he swims his way across multiple pools in the county where he lives in order to back get home. The pools that make up what Neddy has named "the river Lucinda" create a very strict order for Neddy as he progresses in his journey home‚ this symbolizes a crucial point in time of Neddy’s life. He appears to have a perfect life on the surface with
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Mindless Aging In the short story‚ The Swimmer‚ by John Cheever‚ the main character‚ Neddy‚ figures out he has let time slip through his hands and comprehends his true age. Neddy lives in a world of denial about what is really happening in his life. Over many years‚ Neddy successfully blocks out the “misfortunes” (48) of his life‚ causing him to forget these past memories. The removal of these memories causes Neddy’s concept of time to be surreal. Along his journey‚ Neddy figures out he has lost
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it being used strategically. This means that ambiguity can be used to create critical thinking among the readership. The reader is then encouraged to create and participate in figuring out the story’s meaning in depth. The short story by John Cheever “The Swimmer” creates ambiguity throughout the story. The main character‚ Neddy‚ is depicted as a male individual who enjoys swimming. Ned decided to return home by swimming across the various pools of their neighbors’ homes. Ned then embarks on a journey
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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
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"I drank too much last night." The short story‚ The Swimmer‚ written by John Cheever‚ is about a man who has a fascination of swimming and decides to swim "across the country." On his journey swimming from pool to pool‚ the man is ignorant from the physical effects taken by alcohol and the swimming that takes a toll on him in different settings. For this man‚ Neddy Merrill‚ finds struggle between the physical effects of swimming‚ fellow friends‚ family‚ and alcohol during different settings throughout
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