7 April 2014 In John Cheever’s short story “The Swimmer‚” a swimming pool represents much more than a fun summer afternoon. When Cheever’s main character‚ Ned Merrill‚ decides to take the long way home by swimming through every pool on his way home‚ he journeys through much more than swimming pools. As the story progresses‚ it becomes clear that a large amount of time has lapsed since the swimmer began his journey back home‚ and that his swims are interconnected with his life as an alcoholic
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“The Swimmer” John Cheever’s short story “The Swimmer” was probably the most confusing story we have read in our class. When I read it the first time‚ the whole idea of “pool hopping” had stuck me as very odd. It also had a sort of sad mood throughout the whole story‚ and it was kind of a mystery because the neighbors were saying all these things about Neddy‚ but he had no idea what they were talking about. It was actually fun to read‚ and I liked the story‚ the theme and the whole concept of
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5 April 2006 John Cheever and the Suburban Life The average person from suburban America can be either valiant‚ pathetic‚ or both. This is the description of an American suburbanite according to John Cheever‚ an American novelist and short story writer during the fifties‚ sixties‚ and seventies. Cheever‚ an award winning writer‚ balances hope‚ uncertainty‚ and anxiety in his stories’ characters. In Cheever’s “The Swimmer”‚ the main character‚ Neddy Merrill‚ incorporates this description into his
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The Swimmer by S.J. Butler Fear is a feeling we all posses. You can be afraid of spiders‚ heights or maybe even something as common as water. Every human mind is different‚ and we all have our own fear and struggles. The short story “The Swimmer” (2011)‚ written by S.J. Butler‚ is a story about a girl´s fear of life and her effort to overcome it. The theme of fear in the story is expressed by the main character´s development. Even the smallest decision‚ can change you for the rest of your life
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The Swimmer The short story “The Swimmer” is about an unnamed woman‚ whose personal life we are not really told anything about. She sits at her desk in a tiny office in her house from where she can see the river that runs close to the house. It is a hot summer day and after a while the woman cannot stand the heat anymore. She decides to drop the work that she is in the middle of and go swimming in the river instead. Standing in front of the river she shortly let her fear for the river take over but
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In the short story “The Swimmer”‚ John Cheever wrote the story as a metaphor for life. Cheever basically stating that your time here on earth is short; don’t waste your time. Neddy spends his time chasing a social life‚ alcohol‚ and a mistress. As Neddy takes his journey across the county why does it take so long for him to realize that his life isn’t what he thought it was? Did he waste his time while on his journey? Through his journey Neddy took glass after glass of alcohol and that’s what made
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American Lit Mid 20th Century Albert Lafarge May 8‚ 2014 John Cheever and His Seemingly Average Americans Since 1935 middle class Americans have been able to sit in their suburban home or their urban apartment‚ open up a copy of the New Yorker‚ and read about themselves. Not literally‚ but rather a perfect reflection of themselves‚ or their next door neighbor‚ or their friend down the street. Of John Cheevers nearly two hundred short stories‚ one hundred and twenty one were published in the New
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Dante’s Inferno and The Swimmer Dante’s ever popular‚ poem‚ “ The Inferno‚” and John Cheever’s “ The Swimmer” is both set upon the theme‚ reflecting on ones life. Cheever highly accepts the profundity of Dante’s pious allegory (1). In the swimmer‚ the protagonist Neddy Merrils‚ swims throughout his well-heeled neighborhood‚ which is credited the intense journey of Dante. The Swimmer‚ a story about a man’s eight-mile journey home‚ is a book that explores how a man reflects upon life. Many of the
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The text under analysis is a sample of the emotive prose. John Cheever tells the story of the Towle family. The story centers around the family hearth as the war looms. The prevailing prose system used is dialogue intermingled with description in order to characterize every member of the family. General atmosphere of the text is ominous tension. The text is based on the effect of climax‚ but suspense and parallel constructions also play very important role in this text. We understand that the theme
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In the Story “The Swimmer”‚ a well-positioned man named Neddy goes on a long journey passing different periods of his time swimming from pool to pool. John Cheever symbolically expresses the stages of alcoholism‚ its effects‚ as well as how alcoholism destroyed Neddy’s life‚ family‚ friends‚ and social standing. The Narrator in “The Swimmer” displays Neddy’s life as moments of events of him swimming from pool to pool all over the country. Neddy started his journey being strong‚ and active feeling
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