Different Life Stages as Portrayed through the Use of Setting and the Main Character in John Cheever’s “The Swimmer” In “The Swimmer,” John Cheever uses the setting and the character of the protagonist, Neddy Merrill, as the main devices to highlight the theme of the different four stages of human life. “The Swimmer” is a short story by John Cheever. It was published on July 18, 1964. The story reflects the author’s analysis of the main character, Neddy Merrill. The protagonist decides to swim across the neighbors’ pools along the way to get home. In the early of the story, the protagonist is enthusiastic to swim and full of energy. He also meets many friends who serve him drinks. Nevertheless, at the later part, he feels too tired to swim
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The elderly period indicates as a period of decline. This age is a downturn of physical, mental, and social part. For physical part, most of seniors’ body and bone progressively become weaker unlike the youth. At the end of the story, Neddy has no energy to swim. The only thing that he can do is “stopping again and again” (240) and then climb out of the pool. The protagonist is represented as an old person through his expression of exhaustion and fatigue. Additionally, the memory loss is basically found in this stage. Neddy finds out that he loses his memory about his family after Mrs. Holloran mentions that he has “sold the house” and his “poor children” (238). Most elderly people lose social status and become depressed. Therefore, it is common that old age has a desire to escape the society and live in isolation. Neddy becomes the unwelcomed guest at the Biswangers’ and the pool of Shirley Adams who is “his old mistress” (239). At the Biswangers’ pool, Grace Biswanger walks toward Neddy and mocks at him that he is “a gate crasher” (239). The bartender also serves Neddy rudely that is different from the Bunkers’ at the first part of the story. Not only the Biswangers’ but also his old mistress, Shirley Adams, pays no attention to him and takes an interest in only money. After leaving the two pools, the protagonist begins to cry and feels very “miserable, cold, tired, and …show more content…
Moreover, the techniques of the main character and the setting in “The Swimmer” are used to signify the theme of the four stages in human life, which are childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. The story presents the theme of the different life stages in a person’s life. In one’s life, one must go through at least four main stages. In addition, humans are like swimmers. Not to drown, they have to keep swimming. At first, swimming seems to be exciting. A swimmer cannot wait to dive into the water. Later on, the energy is faded out little by little. To turn back is impossible. The only choice is to keep swimming. Eventually, when there is no energy left, the swimmer stops swimming and drowns into the water like a dead
The elderly period indicates as a period of decline. This age is a downturn of physical, mental, and social part. For physical part, most of seniors’ body and bone progressively become weaker unlike the youth. At the end of the story, Neddy has no energy to swim. The only thing that he can do is “stopping again and again” (240) and then climb out of the pool. The protagonist is represented as an old person through his expression of exhaustion and fatigue. Additionally, the memory loss is basically found in this stage. Neddy finds out that he loses his memory about his family after Mrs. Holloran mentions that he has “sold the house” and his “poor children” (238). Most elderly people lose social status and become depressed. Therefore, it is common that old age has a desire to escape the society and live in isolation. Neddy becomes the unwelcomed guest at the Biswangers’ and the pool of Shirley Adams who is “his old mistress” (239). At the Biswangers’ pool, Grace Biswanger walks toward Neddy and mocks at him that he is “a gate crasher” (239). The bartender also serves Neddy rudely that is different from the Bunkers’ at the first part of the story. Not only the Biswangers’ but also his old mistress, Shirley Adams, pays no attention to him and takes an interest in only money. After leaving the two pools, the protagonist begins to cry and feels very “miserable, cold, tired, and …show more content…
Moreover, the techniques of the main character and the setting in “The Swimmer” are used to signify the theme of the four stages in human life, which are childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. The story presents the theme of the different life stages in a person’s life. In one’s life, one must go through at least four main stages. In addition, humans are like swimmers. Not to drown, they have to keep swimming. At first, swimming seems to be exciting. A swimmer cannot wait to dive into the water. Later on, the energy is faded out little by little. To turn back is impossible. The only choice is to keep swimming. Eventually, when there is no energy left, the swimmer stops swimming and drowns into the water like a dead