The Swimmer John Cheever Analysis

Neddy Merrill is embarking on a journey swimming pools cross-country from his distance neighbor’s house to his house. He and his suburban cohorts often use alcohol as a mean to assuage their fears and tribulations. As Neddy makes his way to his house, his life slowly changes, yet he is never fully aware of this fact because he is too absorbed in his material possessions and quasi relationships. The author, John Cheever, had strong sentiments against the American Middle class, and this ideology comes into play in “The Swimmer” in many different ways. In “The Swimmer,” John Cheever symbolizes the defaults of the American Middle Class caused by overindulgence as the futility, fragility, and ridiculousness of Neddy Merrill’s swimming journey. …show more content…
From the beginning, his journey is doomed. For example, even though Neddy’s journey is made to seem grand, he neglects to think about one major flaw: he does not want to be seen in public in his bathing suit, yet he must cross multiple roads on his way traveling the “Lucinda River” to reach his house (Cheever 729). Also, before he even takes off, he is hungover, if not drunk, meaning Merrill is not capable of partaking in such a journey at the moment, making the whole ordeal futile. Another reason or sign that this journey is futile is that Neddy cannot think of any other reason to go on this journey, except for that he simply wants to. “What Cheever emphasizes, however, is that Neddy continually fails to ask the proper questions and to find suitable answers” (Blythe and Sweet 3 of 4). Neddy cannot ask the proper questions for his purpose or his journey’s purpose, much less answer these specific and pertinent questions. When Merrill does ask questions, they are irrelevant and repetitive (Blythe and Sweet 3 out of 4). He would ask questions about why the seasons are changing, why his relationships deteriorating so suddenly, why he is becoming weaker. When his questions would prove to contain the slightest amounts of depth, Cheever would cut them short, not allowing his main character to ponder them. Cheever being an opponent of modern suburbia could be showing how many in the Middle Class suburban lifestyle are shallow and often run from their worries. With these questions running through his head, the futility of Neddy’s journey persists throughout the middle of the short story. This journey should occur within a day, not even an afternoon long. Leaves begin to change, and so does the weather. In the middle of summer, Merrill dives into a frigid swimming pool (Cheever 724). This ought to be alarming for Neddy, yet he continues on his futile journey, questionless and