Cheever The Swimmer
I thought that there were many elements of post-modernism in John Cheever’s “The Swimmer.” One of the elements of post-modernism is the temporal distortion within the story. Neddy Merrill, the main character, decides to swim home one summer afternoon after enjoying a cocktail party. However, as he swims, time begins to accelerate rapidly. By the end of the story, time seems to have warped into another season (fall), which reflects the vast changes that have taken place in Neddy’s life (he began as a wealthy, healthy man with a family, and he ends up as a poor man in deteriorating health with nothing). This time acceleration is an example of post-modernism.
Another post-modern aspect of this story is the non-traditional plot structure. Although the plot does move forward, it is unclear at times exactly what is going to happen. At times you are left guessing if there even is a plot, and it will often change and go into a different direction. For example, Neddy goes from pool to pool, and you discover more about his life and his relationship with others. However, at the end of the story, Neddy finally arrives at his house—only to find it empty. This abrupt ending and the way the plot moved along was different than most traditional plot structures, and it seemed to reflect post-modernism.
John Cheever wrote a few novels, but was best known for his short stories that he wrote. Of these short stories “The Swimmer” was one of them. This short story was one of his best ones and most widely known. This short story followed along most of his other structure of characters- wealthy, white, and preppy. A short summary of John Cheever's The Swimmer This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of The Swimmer.
Another post-modern feature was sentence fragmentation. Throughout the story, Cheever will often write short, choppy sentences that are very fragmented and jump from idea to idea. Here is an example of what I’m talking about:
- The Swimmer Quotes Showing 1-6 of 6 “His life was not confined and the delight he took in this observation could not be explained by its suggestion of escape.” ― John Cheever, The Swimmer.
- Essays for The Swimmer. The Swimmer essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Swimmer by John Cheever. Parallels in John Cheever's 'The Swimmer' The Inevitable Passage of Time in 'The Swimmer' Intersection of Truth and Lies in 'The Swimmer'.
“It was a fine day. In the west there was a massive stand of cumulus cloud so like a city seen from a distance—from the bow of an approaching ship—that it might have had a name. Lisbon. Hackensack. The son was hot. Neddy Merril sat by the green water, one hand in it, one around a glass of gin” (158).
The way he jumped from thought to thought was very fragmented, and it lacked smooth transition at times.
Aside from those aspects, I thought there was another features of post-modernism in this story. There is a sense of irony and darkness, as Cheever seems to mock the wealthy suburban life by contrasting the outward presentation (wealth and comfort, frequent socializing, pool parties, etc.) with that of the dark, snobbish, inner aspects of this lifestyle (spouses cheating, superficial relationships based on status, alcoholism, etc.).
Overall, this was a bizarre story to read.
Neddy Merrill
Ned is the protagonist of the story. He embarks on a great adventure: to swim eight miles across the county to his house, a route through his neighbors' pools.
Lucinda Merrill
Neddy Merrill's wife. She is in the first scene and does not appear after that except as the namesake of the 'river' through which Neddy swims.
Donald and Helen Westerhazy
The Westerhazys are friends of the protagonist. The story begins at a pool party at their house.
Mrs. Graham
Cheever The Swimmer Analysis
A neighbor through whose pool Neddy swims on his way home. She is quite friendly to him and wants him to stay and talk.
Enid Bunker
Mrs. Bunker is a neighbor who is very excited to see Neddy as he swims by. She had been very upset that he had declined her invitation to her pool party. Neddy accepts her offer of a drink but manages to slip away at the first opportunity.
Cheever The Swimmer
The Levys
Although Neddy never interacts with the Levys, another neighboring family, as they are not home, he takes shelter in their gazebo to wait out the storm.
The Lindleys
The Welchers are another neighboring family that keeps horses for leisure riding. Neddy is surprised to see an absence of horses when he swims through their pool. He recalls hearing something about what happened to them, but cannot remember.
The Welchers
To Neddy's utter disappointment and surprise, the Welchers have drained their pool. Neddy also notices that they have put their house up for sale, and he is shocked by this as well.
Mr. and Mrs. Halloran
The Hallorans are an elderly, married couple who are friendly to Ned. They have the habit of being naked in their pool. Mrs. Halloran is the first one who points out that something has gone terribly wrong in the protagonist's life; she expresses her sympathy for the situation. Ned, however, disregards her statement because he doesn't know what she is talking about—he has suppressed the memory.
Helen and Eric Sachs
Helen is the daughter of the Hallorans, and Eric is her husband. Ned asks them for a drink, but it turns out that they have had none in the house since Eric's operation three years ago. Ned notices Eric's scars and is surprised that he has forgotten about such an event.
Grace Biswagner
Grace is holding a pool party as Neddy reaches her door. He expects a drink from her, imagining that she will receive him gracefully because she invites him and Lucinda to dinner all the time. To his surprise, Grace is very rude to Neddy, calling him a 'gate crasher.' He orders a drink at her bar, but the barkeeper is rude, too. Neddy cannot imagine why he is being treated this way, and he puts it behind him.
Shirley Adams
Shirley is Ned's former mistress. She was heartbroken when he ended their relationship, but she receives him with great displeasure this time around. She even declines to give him a drink, telling him that she has company. Neddy sees a young man with her as he swims away.
Neddy's daughters
Cheever The Swimmer Full Text
Neddy's daughters go unnamed throughout the text. Neddy also never interacts with them directly. Yet they loom large in the story. Neddy imagines them playing in tennis at the start of the story, and in the end, he wonders if they joined Lucinda for dinner. Throughout the middle, they figure as a symbol of Neddy's fall from grace.