An Analysis of the Swimmer by John Cheever

The culminating events of Ned Kelly’s life led to the gruesome murder at Stringybark Creek; when Ned knowingly murdered three innocent policemen. This incident occurred in October, 1880 when a group of policemen were searching for Ned and his brother Dan near the Wombat Ranges. This small contingency of officers included Sergeant Kennedy and Constables McIntyre, Lonigan and Scalon. While searching for Dan and Ned, the officers split into two groups in order to find the fugitives. Even though the officers were disguised as prospectors, Dan and Ned recognised them immediately and began shooting at them. During the battle, three of the officers died; only McIntyre managed to escape and return back to testify against Ned. Although some historians believe that the murder of these officers at Stringybark Creek was an accident, evidence shows that Ned deliberately shot at these innocent men. Just before leaving the crime scene, Ned stole Sergeant Kennedy’s gold watch and later stated, “What's the use of a watch to a dead man?" These evil, soulless words were truly spoken by a cruel and deplorable villain.

By the time the alcohol touches the tongue, the storm has already begun. John Cheever’s relationship with alcohol presents itself throughout the short story “The Swimmer”, and uses the character, Ned Merrill, to represent the struggles he was experiencing. Addiction and the need for alcohol drove this character into a storm he couldn't retreat from. In “The Swimmer” Cheever uses a physical storm and the changes in the weather to show the path of drinking and becoming an alcoholic. The short story begins with joy and excitement, then turns into something casual and frequent, but eventually leads to misfortune and a misery. Nobody desires to be led to an unpleasant storm, that comes with drinking alcohol. Cheever uses nature and the storms to represent the life of an alcoholic.

Looking at “The Swimmer” through the Marxist lens suggests that the story is really about how easily social statuses can change under different circumstances and how blinding hubris can be. Neddy Merrill is clearly a man of means in the story. For one thing, it is clear he can afford to spend time during midday to enjoy the afternoon by the poolside. Living in an upper-middle class suburban neighborhood has given Neddy many benefits. But his extravagant lifestyle takes a turn for the worse once he starts his journey home. As Neddy swims home, cold and half-naked, he begins to “crash”

“The Swimmer” is an allegory that is narrated in third person point of view as someone who is observing Neddy’s journey. This

Cuban Swimmer is a one-act play which uses the concept of magical reality style. The drama portrays the struggles of a Cuban family in America. Margarita Suarez, the main character is competing in the Women's swim to Catalina. The rest of the family Eduardo Suarez the father of margarita, her mother Aida, Simon her brother and Abuela her grandmother have come to give her moral support. The writer seems to have written this play out of the experience because she was an immigrant at some point in her life. Milcha Sanchez has depicted themes of religion, relationships, ethnicity, identity crisis and persistence in her play.

In the short story “ The Swimmer,” John Cheever expresses the idea that Neddy Merrill can lose everything if he denies reality. Cheever achieves this by employing various symbols during Merrill's cross county journey. The main symbols are the weather and seasons. Cheever uses the changing of seasons to distort the character’s sense of time and show the progression of Merrill’s life. In the beginning of the story the setting is described as a midsummer day and by the end of the story, Merrill is able to see the constellations of late autumn, meaning winter is near. The illusion of time allows the reader to understand the extent of Merrill’s state of denial, as his beliefs begin to contradict the reality around him. While Cheever uses the weather to describe how Merrill feels. When it is warm Merrill feels happy and youthful. However, when it becomes colder Merrill begins to feel weak and sad. To emphasize Merrill’s state of denial, Cheever employs the motif of alcohol in “The Swimmer;” the reader notices that when Merrill is presented with a reality that he deems unpleasant, he uses alcohol to enhance his state of denial. Through the critical lens of New Historicism, the reader can infer the author’s purpose for writing “The Swimmer” is to criticize the lifestyles of affluent people in the 1950s and early 1960s. Cheever focuses on the party lifestyle of affluent communities and how the use of alcohol allows them to deny the reality around their current misfortunes.

The Cuban Swimmer is a play written by Micha Sanchez-Scott. The play follows the journey of Margarita a 19-year-old a Cuban swimmer who is in a swimming race from Long Beach to Catalina Island. Margarita’s family is with her throughout the race following her in a small boat. Her family tries to support her and encourage her, but they seem to be stressing her instead. Margarita tries to bring honor to her Race and family by breaking through stereotypes by winning the race. The literary elements in the play The Cuban Swimmer are components that give the play a unique perspective. The Cuban Swimmer is a one-act play composed of seven scenes. These seven scenes are complete with family drama that leads to a thrilling series of events. The Cuban Swimmer by Micha Sanchez-Scott is

He had maids cleaning up after him in a grand house that leaves Gene awestricken, prompting him to observe how “The house itself was high, white, and oddly proper… It presented a face of definite elegance (67).” When Finny returns to Devon and instantly notices the lack of maids, Gene responds with “‘No maids. Afterall, there’s a war on. It’s not much of a sacrifice when you think of people starving and being bombed and all the other things’... I felt a certain disapproval of him for grumbling about a lost luxury, with a war on (105).”

In “After the Plague”, we hear the story from Jed’s point of view. He is a professor, has an on and off girlfriend and just spent a couple weeks in solitude when we first meet him. This could tell us that he could have issues with women or being with others, it could also tell us that if he were to meet any more women that he might not fight for them right away. In “Termination Dust”, the story is told from Ned’s point of view. He lives in Alaska, owns a shop and doesn’t really talk about his past with love.

Unfortunately, Ned was caught speaking Navajo and the teacher caught him so they put soap in his mouth, give him a beating, and if that wasn’t enough the they would put him in a cold stone basement chained in a corner with nothing but stale bread and water. When Jesse Chee said, "My relative, you will return to

Gene refuses to recognize his own feelings of insecurity and jealousy as his real enemy. This subconscious denial leads to the downfall of his friendship with Finny. Gene

Dani moves back to Florida after a devastating accident ends her theatre career and breaking up with her ex. She's also got severe anxiety. Her friends take her to the munch, where she meets Ned. Ned just broke up with his girlfriend...but he is also the master to a gay male slave (Hunter), who has a gay male boyfriend (Todd). And Hunter also has severe anxiety, but is also in the closet to his parents. And he's stuck working for them if he wants to get his inheritance. Ned and Dani end up involved with each other, too, even as Ned starts deepening his relationship from just play to more with Hunter, and Todd. Then Dani helps pretend she's Hunter's girlfriend to help him get his inheritance. But then she's hit with a health crisis that only

We was raised to think the blacks was the lowest of the low […]"(Page 14). Ned's mother would beat the children if they did wrong as a disciplinary action: "I cautioned him. You say that one more time I'll whip you"(Page 80). This is reflective of learned behavior from his mother. The beginning of Carey's novel also talks about the rich landlord that will not provide proper fences and solid housing for them to live in. This causes a lot of resentment against the bourgeoisie, thus conditioning and forcing Ned to revolt against the upper class. All events in his childhood help mould him into the person he later becomes. For instance, when Ned saves Dick Shelton from drowning, he gets a taste of the rich lifestyle. Mr. and Mrs. Shelton treat Ned to anything and everything he wants, but the Sheltons go so far as to releasing his father back into society, proving to be a poor choice. Ned's father returns home for a night, takes all the money they have, and leaves. He does this in retribution for Ned's acts: Ned had stolen and killed a cow and allowed his father take the imprisonment as punishment. Ned Kelly's life is one being shaped by external events, and the beliefs and actions of his parents.

In spite of forty-one years and forty-three days, Henrik presents himself in front of Konrad as if he was expecting Konrad’s return. Henrik could not have faced Konrad with such confidence, without trusting Konrad wholeheartedly. Assurance of Konrad’s return is what motivated and inspired Henrik to wait for forty-one years and forth-three days in his lonely castle. As well as Konrad’s return, solid trust between Henrik and Konrad can be identified during the moment of truth. Even though Henrik knows everything regarding Konrad’s attempt of murdering him and being unfaithful with Krisztina, he desperately holds onto the faith which he has on Konrad. His calm and organized emotions and words can be described in the following passage:

In the book there are a lot significant characters, but none in my opinion are more important that Nedmanoon Angkulprasert, who we refer to as Ned. He is at the centre of Maekung's rebellious fight to prevent giving up a full half of their crop annually.