Symbolism In The Swimmer By S. J Butler

Fear can be a lot of things. It is defined differently from one person to another. The fear of falling, the fear of being alone. Fear is a wide concept that contains so many meanings that you cannot count them. Fear has the ability to keep us from doing something we want- but at the same time, it can also give us the capacity to cross our boundaries. The story “The Swimmer” follows significant themes such as fear, personal development, and unknown territory.
The story “The Swimmer” by S. J Butler follows an unnamed woman, who has a deep fear of the river. The woman sits at her desk in her office and looks outside at the river. She looks at the river every day and she longs to swim in it. At the beginning of the story, it is a hot day and the woman knows that if she goes to the river at this time, she …show more content…
The story is very descriptive written, which means that we can always imagine everything that is going on. The language, therefore, contains a magnificent amount of figurative writing.
There are some symbols in the story. The most important symbol is the swan. From my perspective, the swan symbolizes the unnamed woman’s fear as described before. Another symbol could be the river. From my perspective, the river symbolizes freedom and life. The river’s symbolism is represented throughout the story, but mostly at the ending, when the woman lets the river wash oneself downriver.
My overall interpretation of this story is that it has numerous details, which figuratively speaking makes the story alive. I would say that this short story contains life in five pages. It is like, at some point, you are afraid of something, then you overcome your fear and you are a whole new person. This story is a coincidental text, but it manages to speak to everyone who has or used to have a fear of something. I believe that the story’s purpose is to project fear, which I believe that the setting plays a huge part