On a literal level, “The Swimmer” is the story of one man’s initially fanciful, ultimately quite serious adventure swimming through every pool in the county on his way home. On a deeper level, though, the story alludes to some of Western literature’s most enduring themes. Neddy Merrill, Cheever’s hero, is Odysseus, Dante, the Fisher King,…
Tag: The Swimmer
The Swimmer by John Cheever: Setting
“The Swimmer” was published in 1964, at a time of great prosperity for middle- and upper-class Americans. Having survived World War II, which ended in 1945, and the Korean War, which took place in the 1950s, many Americans—at least white Americans—were enjoying the wealth and affluence of the postwar era. It was during this time…
The Swimmer by John Cheever: Literary Devices
Allegory “The Swimmer” is often considered an allegory about decline, the aging process, and the life cycle. An allegory is a symbolic representation through characters or events of truths or generalizations about human existence. In allegories, people, places, and events often have more than one meaning—that is, they can stand for more than one thing….
The Swimmer by John Cheever: Themes
John Cheever’s allegorical story of a man swimming across his town presents several themes common to twentieth-century fiction. Affluence Set in an affluent county in suburban New York, “The Swimmer” comments on the wealth associated with the upper classes of American society. The beginning of the tale opens with Neddy Merrill at a cocktail party…
The Swimmer by John Cheever: Characters
Shirley Adams Shirley Adams is Neddy’s former mistress. When Neddy arrives at her home, she is shocked by his presence and warns him that she will not lend him any money. She is with a younger man. Grace Biswanger Grace Biswanger is hosting a party when Neddy arrives and is angered by his presence, calling…
The Swimmer by John Cheever: Summary
“The Swimmer” opens on a humorous note: it “was one of those midsummer Sundays when everyone sits around saying, ‘I drank too much last night,’” the narrator says. It is a beautiful summer day, and a large white cloud “like a city seen from a distance” is on the horizon. Neddy Merrill, a slender and…