The Theme Of Fear In The Swimmer By S. J. Butler

For this essay, I am going to be discussing the short story “Swimming” found on the New Yorker, and written by T. Cooper. I have chosen this story for many reasons, and among those reasons is the personal sadness I felt when I first read the story, almost as if the universe was placing a certain theme in my life, that only the main character could possibly understand. I am talking about running, the god given instinct felt by all men, inherent in the nature of fear, and brought out in all who feel sadness in its full intensity. Though in my short life I can not compare the sadness I have felt with that of losing a child at my own hand, but if I had been placed in that situation, if fate had tempted my soul with such a sequence of events, I would like to think I could find the strength to endure and the courage to not abandon all I had previously known. Yet I am able to reconcile the themes of grief, the mode of recovery, and the longing to escape such a terrible tale. I think in this piece, as I will discuss in later parts, the author was able to put into words a transformation we rarely get to observe in closeness, the kind of transformation that turns a kind man into a “just man” the kind of death that turns this world from a beautiful and happy place into a world that is closing in on our main character, that is forcing him to surface temporarily and gasp for air, much like he does when he finds peace in the water, wading breath after air, after sea. I firmly believe that

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

fact that this essay has been referenced in so many other critiques on “The Swimmer”,

John Cheever’s story “The Swimmer” blends realism with myth. Following the 8-mile swim of a suburban man Neddy Merrill. His alcoholism drowns him into thinking his superior social status will mask who he really is. He only becomes aware as life has all too suddenly passed him by. The story starts off with a leisurely summer feel, and quickly reveals the surreal turmoil of Neddy. He is a man of former athleticism “he seemed to have the especial slenderness of youth” (Cheever). He attempts to regain that youth by a physical endeavor. However, about mid-way through his journey something is not quite right. Neddy begins to transform into a tired old man forcing him to acknowledge the truth. His life has been one big sham,

“The Swimmer” is one of John Cheever’s most notorious short stories. John Cheever’s main character is a middle-aged, suburban man, named Needy Merrill. While sitting at his neighbors, the Westerhazy’s, pool, Needy decides that he will take a journey through his neighborhood swimming pools. When Needy first starts off his journey he feels young and enthusiastic; he is then greeted in a joyous manner by his neighborhood friends. Apparently, Needy is a well-known and respected man. As his journey progresses, he starts seeing red and orange leaves; he then realizes that it was fall. In the middle of his journey he starts to endure some turmoil, but he does not let that stop his journey. As his journey ends, Needy starts to come encounter with

Having the freedom to go out and find oneself in a society of conformity is an amazing opportunity not young people have. Having the courage to try different things in the search for happiness is a uncommon thing in the real world. The best way to find one identity is to define it. Identity is an internal, ever mover construe of drives, history, aptitudes and belief system. (Marica,2014) Being able to move on and explore multiple paths to become a well-adjusted adult. (Belsky,

Although O’Hara did not specifically address the short story “The Swimmer” in this particular excerpt, this quotation is nonetheless viable and true in its claims.

In Frank Perry’s 1986 film adaptation of John Cheever’s “The Swimmer” Neddy, portrayed by Burt Lancaster, is an upper middle class man who decides to swim across his neighbors’ pools home only to discover that his house no longer belongs to him and he is no longer a part of his family, is characterized as a very suave and robust man. The first scene of The Swimmer emphasizes Neddy’s vitality by means of; how the camera features Neddy’s body in comparison to his friends, the addition of two characters, and the additional interactions between Neddy and the women in this text. This contrasts the characterization of Neddy in the short story in the sense that Cheever’s Neddy is not presented as this sexual and aggressively masculine figure.

The Swimmer was originally a short story written by John Cheever. The story on the surface is about a wealthy man named Ned Merrill who decides to swim home to his wife Lucinda and two daughters using a string of swimming pools. However, when he arrives home he comes to an empty house. Using an in depth analysis, it is revealed that his “journey” is actually his decline in status, and effects of alcoholism. Ultimately it could be argued that the story shows the dangers of wealth and alcoholism. Ned Merrill’s wealth has stripped him of a purpose and as a result he finds thrills in distractions, such as affairs, or he creates false purposes. The greatest false purpose he conjures is when he decides to swim home. Throughout the

Swimming was not my specialty for a long time. It all started when I was four years old, my family went to country springs. I headed to the Lily pads, but I was too small to reach the ropes up above them so I decided to leap across them. I got to the first pad clean, but when I leapt to the second pad I slipped off and fell right to the floor of the pool and almost drowned. luckly a lifeguard saw me and saved me from drowning. After that scarring event, I was scared of swimming for a long time.

The character and intelligence of a person is truly shown when he or she is forced to face reality. This is clearly established in “The Swimmer”, a story about a man thrown off his high horse. The story starts with Neddy Merrill and his group of wealthy socialites conversing at the Westerhazys’ house. Flashing back to his Olympic days, Neddy decides to swim through bodies of water to reach his house. He calls this trail the “Lucinda River” and with a lot of effort, as he isn’t as fast as he was in his prime years, he reaches his house, only to find it empty and devoid of his wife and daughters. John Cheever cleverly brings together a seemingly random series of events and combines them. His writing style is best explained by his own words when he says “Fiction is art and art is the triumph over chaos.” In his award-winning short story, “The Swimmer”, John Cheever uses symbolism, imagery, and characterization to establish a seemingly silly and childish tone that evolves into a somber and realistic mood.

The Swimmer is a metaphorical story; it is portraying life as the pool, and Merrill as everybody are taking risk to reach their goal and fulfil their dream. The story reminds of girl from my hometown name Sandy. Sandy was a very smart girl with a lot dreams unfortunately, with no way to fulfil them. Although, she did not have a lot,

The swan is one of the best metaphorical comparisons as beauty and danger intertwine As shown in these two portions of the poem, “the neck of the great white swan,” (Dario 14) and “I only find the word that runs away” (Dario 9), he bridges the gap between the beauty of a swan and the reality of his inability to capture this image with the perfect words. The reference to the swan indicates words about love and beauty that can be seen, but not touched because as we all know touching a swan is very dangerous. Every time I reread this poem, I find a different perspective to look at. Dario as the writer is looking for words like inexperienced hunters try for the most impressive buck. The hunter knows what his prey looks like, but sometimes

The swan becomes a symbol of her development, but at this time "She's quite unready for the swan" . The protagonist is, at this point, going through a development from an "ugly duckling", full of worry and anxiety, to embracing her inner swan and be more self-contained. After the meeting with the swan, there is a change in her mindset. Before the meeting she was worried about deadlines and scared of crossing her boundaries, but now she is filled with curiosity, which now is all she is thinking about "now the image of the swan makes it even harder to concentrate, so she promises herself another swim, at nightfall" . The swan becomes an obsession of the protagonist's, and slowly she begins to let go of her fears and worries "The days become fluid and she spends more time in the river. She is no longer afraid of anyone coming. Fishermen go upriver in the morning but she doesn't care Her skin and hair exude a smell of soil, weed and raw water. She barely works" . In the beginning of the short story she worried about being seen by others for an unknown reason, but now her thoughts have been consumed by pursuing the swan consequently, making her forget these worries. One night she finds the swan trapped by a web of fishing lines "She pauses. Watches. She swims close enough to reach out and touch the swan. And finally she sees that it is trapped, bound by a web of glistering nylon fishing lines. They have slung it up by the neck and caught its great wings half outstretched. Its only movement is caused by the eddy curling beneath it" . The swan being trapped in the web is a symbol of the protagonist being trapped in her own mind and anxiety - prevented from doing what she wants and barely being able to move, just like swan. By releasing the swan from the web, she also releases herself from the prison of her worries. And with the swan disappearing out of her sight, her fears and worries are disappearing from her mind as well "She

Fear is a very abstracted verb, yet everyone knows what it is. Why? Because everyone have experienced at least once in their life. We all have our insecurities and something that we are frighten of, it could be anything in-between heaven and hell, from stage fright to being afraid of the supernatural, but everyone have at least one thing that they are afraid of. The question is just whether or not you can conquer your fears and set yourself free. These thought ran through my mind after reading S. J. Butler’s short story “The Swimmer”, written in 2011, which tells a story about a woman whose fear, keeps her from doing what she wants.