The Destruction of the American Dream in John Cheever’s The Swimmer

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In John Cheever's story The Swimmer, Neddy Merrill is a successful man. His success is measured by the prestigious neighborhood he lives in with tennis, golf and swimming pools. Neddy has made it socially and financially. He is never without an invitation to social events, which always include drinking. He is at the top of his game. While attending the party at the Westerhazy's house with his wife, he has the desire to swim home. He sees the line of swimming pools that stretch eight miles to his home, he calls them the “Lucinda River” (297) . He is a confident man and thought "of himself as a legendary figure" (250-251). He dives in and when he gets out on the other side, he informs his wife he is swimming home. Cheever uses each pool that Neddy visits to show the passage of time in Neddy's life, and reveals how his alcoholism, infidelity and continual denial of his actions led to the destruction of his American dream. Undoubtedly, Neddy Merrill is a social drinker in the beginning of his swim home. Cheever reveals how everyone at the Westerhazy's pool agrees they drink a lot. Even Neddy's wife Lucinda agrees when she says "we all drank too much" (250). This represents a social acceptance of alcohol. After all, this is a way of life in Neddy's social circle, and his success is also measured in alcohol. Everyone is aware they drank a lot the night before, but that does not stop them from drinking again. Neddy is drinking gin before he starts his swim from the Westerhazy's pool. "Here, let me get you a drink" is how Mrs. Graham greets Neddy at her pool. Cheever revealing the early stages in Neddy's life when he had control of his drinking. The ease of the pool visits show how Neddy was accepted socially. Neddy is... ... middle of paper ... ...or granted. Neddy's desire to swim home does not end the way he would like it to. He is at the end of his journey, and is now faced with reality. He is all alone, and has lost everything he thought made him successful. He started out as a social drinker just like everyone else. He started to need alcohol, and became an embarrassment to his family and friends. He drank more to avoid his problems. His alcoholism led to his affair, and the end of his marriage to Lucinda. His denial led to his desperate pleas for money and alcohol from his friends. He ruined his social and financial standing. In the end, Neddy Merrill destroyed his American dream. Works Cited Cheever, John. "The Swimmer." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 12th ed. Vol. 1. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2013. 249-57. Print.

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