The Swimmer By John Cheever

John Cheever is an American writer best known for his powerful criticism of American middle class. His stories are characterized by his attention to detail parts of his life inside his careful writing. Cheever lives drives the reader to his short fiction, “The Swimmer,” where he details the exploratory journey of Neddy Merrill. A main character who has name himself as a pilgrim. Neddy decides make an exploratory journey to swim his way home across his neighbors’ pools which represents the surface of his life. A life filled with swimming pools, parties and alcohol. Cheever focused in portraying a man with a perfect life on the surface with a content family, a high social status and many friends, which suddenly disintegrates through the story by an alcohol abuse. Therefore, this story stand as a metaphor for life, delivering the reader this message: life is short and valuable, and every actions performed brings its own reactions.

In the beginning of “The Swimmer,” Cheever describes Neddy Merrill with a family in the middle class of the suburbs of Westchester County, New York, some friends, and his drinking activities.

During the story, Cheever focus in developing the pride, determination, and motivation that Neddy has built in his life. This let him to see himself as young and strong as anyone while he is aging day through day, As Cheever describes “he was not a practical joker nor was he a fool, but he was determinedly original and had a vague and modest idea of himself as a legendary figure” (727). Representing the arrogant view that Neddy has of himself to consider as

unbreakable.
Additionally, Neddy sees himself and friends as blessed since they have everything that anyone could ever wanted. However, Neddy does not relates so well with his friends after alcohol retained his life. Neddy started to decide whether to accept or reject invitation from his friends which his foolish decisions left him broken and alone. For example, when Neddy stops by Helens house and Neddy request a drink, Helen told him that there has not been any since Eric’s operation, an operation that Neddy did not well seemed to remember. Helen recalls “was he losing his memory, had his gift for concealing painful facts let him to forget that he had sold his house, that his children were in trouble, and that his friend had been ill?” (734). In other words, Neddy was living in pain where alcohol was his only escape to mask his broken reality. He created hallucinations, he had blurred memories to the point that he got to forget his owns friends.
As the story is coming to its end, Neddy does not seem to realize that his is life broken and all that he has is himself since his actions brought consequences that he does not admit until he is left alone. As Cheever says “Why, believing as he did, that all human obduracy was susceptible to common sense, was he unable to turn back? (731).” All his rejected invitations have kept his friends at a distance, not to mention, he ruined his marriage, he lost his children and he lost his home. However, all this struggles did not stop his willingness to keep his journey back home across “The Lucinda River” (727). Meanwhile, as his journey is almost accomplish he turns to realize that he is unable to look back and undue his mistakes. He has no one but himself stock in a highway in the middle of a storm.
Additionally, the changes in weather and season echo Neddy’s changing life circumstances as he comes in and out of each pool. From summer to fall, from a fall to a cold winter and from winter to a colored spring. Neddy exploration through different swimming pools represents the different journeys in his life. He progresses from optimism, when he feels young and strong, to depression as the seasons go by, from each swim he is getting tired and loses his strength to keep going. Each time Neddy is in or out of the pool represent his emotions, For example, when he went barefoot through the wet grass to the Welchers’, he found their pool dry, empty, and he felt disappointed, and mystified (730). This led him to realize the emptiness of suburbia. Neddy’s discovery aggravated him, but alcohol controlled his agony. Alcohol has deteriorated a part of himself.
In the final analysis, Neddy’s Journey provided him discoveries to the reality of his life. He saw himself young and strong, but everything changed when he opened his eyes to see what he had left of all he had. As his journey continued, he comprehended that alcohol consumption blurred the situations of his friends, family, and neighbors. His friend became ill, himself lost his home, and deteriorated his family. He is conscious of what his life has become, he feels old and weak. In other words, Neddy recognizes that alcohol brought the suffering to the end of his life, as the story ends itself. He is no longer young nor wealthy nor happy, he is alone. Which brings the reader to the theme of the story: life is beyond yourself, be aware of your actions because the consequences comes along the way.