The aquatic adventure of Neddy Merrill embarked upon John Cheever’s short story “The Swimmer” seemed at first to be the light-hearted and innocent idea of a middle-aged man in a very affluent community, but quickly changed. In 1964, John Cheever’s “The Swimmer” was published in the The New Yorker. In a world full of wealth and luxury, Cheever was successful at adding deception within the text to create the main character, Neddy Merrill, whose perfect life was diminished in only a short period of time. The story has dream-like and nightmarish aspects with a blend of realism and surrealism, as well as having thematic exploration of suburban America and the cycle of life. The story depicted the luxurious life of Neddy Merrill and how his extreme
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Rather than being situated precisely in time, the story began by people lamenting on how they drank too much the night before, a gesture of endless repetition unfixed in time. The location of the confessions, the edge of the Westerhazy’s pool, was revealed as the main character, Neddy Merrill, was introduced. The author indicated that Ned Merrill was far from young, but was energetic enough to “slide down the banister and jog toward the smell of coffee in his dining room” (726). He enthusiastically decided to take a journey through the pools of his neighborhood to his home eight miles away. Neddy began his journey through the pools with much stamina and energy. During the first few stops at his neighbor’s pools, he was greeted with enthusiasm by friends and welcomed with drinks. At the Graham’s pool, Mrs. Graham states, “Why, Neddy, what a marvelous surprise. I’ve been trying to get you on the phone all morning. Here, let me get you a drink” (728). It is apparent at this point that Neddy Merrill was highly regarded and held a high social status among the community. He was very well liked and had several invitations to parties hosted by his neighbors. But as the story progressed forward, the self-deception of Neddy slowly unfolded in front of not only the reader’s eyes, but in Ned’s eyes as
Rather than being situated precisely in time, the story began by people lamenting on how they drank too much the night before, a gesture of endless repetition unfixed in time. The location of the confessions, the edge of the Westerhazy’s pool, was revealed as the main character, Neddy Merrill, was introduced. The author indicated that Ned Merrill was far from young, but was energetic enough to “slide down the banister and jog toward the smell of coffee in his dining room” (726). He enthusiastically decided to take a journey through the pools of his neighborhood to his home eight miles away. Neddy began his journey through the pools with much stamina and energy. During the first few stops at his neighbor’s pools, he was greeted with enthusiasm by friends and welcomed with drinks. At the Graham’s pool, Mrs. Graham states, “Why, Neddy, what a marvelous surprise. I’ve been trying to get you on the phone all morning. Here, let me get you a drink” (728). It is apparent at this point that Neddy Merrill was highly regarded and held a high social status among the community. He was very well liked and had several invitations to parties hosted by his neighbors. But as the story progressed forward, the self-deception of Neddy slowly unfolded in front of not only the reader’s eyes, but in Ned’s eyes as