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Symbolism in the swimmers by john cheever
The swimmer by john cheever literary essay
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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.
To begin with the symbolism, there are three holy sacraments that have been twisted by Merrill in the story, one of them is directly related to the primary theme of alcoholism, and the other two are connected to Merrill's addiction, but not as directly as the first. This first sacrament is the Eucharist, commonly known as communion, which involves the partaking of wine in a ceremonial fashion. This sacrament is defamed from the very beginning, when Cheever shows the characters sitting around on Sunday, the day of the Lord, when communion would normally take place, with hangovers. It is ridiculed even more strongly when Cheever includes even the priests themselves in the group of people who say, “I drank too much.” The second two sacraments that Merrill perverts are marriage and baptism. Both of these serve to highlight the theme of alcoholism and its negative effects because alcohol served as the instrument causing the perversion. It was Merrill's alcoholism that ruined his relationshi...
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...Leòn serves both as an artistic stroke and an underlining of the stories message. The tale of Ponce de Leòn's futile search for the fountain of youth is well known, and this allusion hammers down the nail of pain and loss that alcoholism has brought Merrill.
Works Cited
Blythe, Hal, and Charlie Sweet. “An Historical Allusion In Cheever's 'The Swimmer'.” Studies In Short Fiction 26.4 (1989). 557. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.
Blythe, Hal. "Perverted Sacraments In John Cheever's 'The Swimmer'." Studies In Short Fiction 21.4 (1984). 393. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.
Edward Reilly, “Autumnal Images in John Cheever's 'The Swimmer,'” Notes on Contemporary Literature, 10 (January 1980). 12. Print.
Nora Graves, “The Dominant Color in John Cheevers 'The Swimmer,'” Notes on Contemporary Literature, 5 (March 1974). 4-5. Print.
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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.
Can a society truly achieve nirvana? Or are we constantly sabotaging our imagination, convincing ourselves that we are living in a utopia, when in reality we are living in a disassembled utopia only to conceal our own imperfections? In John Cheever’s “The Swimmer”, a paradise, such as the one we formulate and assume to be reality in our own lives, is explored. The idealistic society conveys a sense of uniformity with its “string of swimming pools[...]that curve[...] across” the town and its ambience of “voices and laughter” powered by “midsummer” days and “wine”(70, 69). However, these aspects of perfection mask imperfections, emulating the qualities of our own society which we choose to ignore. Through “The Swimmer”, Cheever critiques suburbanites and the society they formulate, claiming they swim through life with narrowed eyes, attempt to escape their misfortunes, and live lives of
Through the use of color, symbolism and imagery you can see why Gary Soto really entitled the poem "Oranges," and why oranges play such an importa...
Cheever, John. “The Swimmer”. Short Fiction: Classic and Contemporary. 6th ed. Ed. Charles Bohner and Lyman Grant. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2006.
...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.”
Cheever, John. "The Swimmer." The Northon Anthology American Literature. 8th ed. Vol. E. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print.
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