What is the summary of the short story The Swimmer?
“The Swimmer” is the story of a man who begins at the dawn of a new day to swim in the backyard pool of some friends. The water is cool and fresh, and the day is beautiful. As he has a drink with his friends, it occurs to him that a string of other backyard pools reaches all the way across the valley to his own home.
What is the message of The Swimmer by John Cheever?
Neddy Merrill’s journey is an excellent representation of the typical mid-life crisis that many middle and upper class suburbanite parents experience. It illustrates how ignorance, apathy, and an inability to recognize and accept reality can so quickly destroy lives and entire families in the blink of an eye.
What is the conflict in The Swimmer by John Cheever?
The main conflict is Neddy’s view of himself and the reality of his life. He sees himself as young and strong. As his journey continues, he realizes that he was not aware of the situations of his friends and neighbors. Some neighbors moved, some became ill, and he himself lost his home.
What happened at the end of The Swimmer?
Ned Merrill drowns in the deep end of his own shallow self-image of masculinity. And he does it, finally, at the steps of his own front door: When he finally reaches his home beneath a torrential winter storm, he finds that it is for sale, abandoned long ago.
Who is the main character in The Swimmer?
Ned MerrillBurt LancasterMrs. HalloranNancy CushmanDonald WesterhazyTony BickleyJulie Ann HooperJanet LandgardShirley AbbottJanice RuleGrace BiswangerLouise Troy
The Swimmer/Characters
Neddy Merrill The protagonist, who decides to go home from his friends’ house by swimming through all the pools in his neighborhood. Neddy and his wife, Lucinda, enjoy a high social standing in their affluent neighborhood.
What is the purpose of The Swimmer?
John has created the story purposely to show how well and constructive people use their free time; some use it for the right reasons while some misuse it for their own self-interest reasons. Additionally, the author has also created the story to show how people can be carried away with emotional depression.
What is the setting of The Swimmer by John Cheever?
The action takes place in suburban New York City—probably in Westchester County, where author John Cheever once lived. Westchester, one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, is north of New York City and west of Connecticut.
What happens at the end of The Swimmer?
It’s only once Ned arrives at his mansion at the end of the swim does he come face-to-face with the death of his upper class life. The seasons have changed by the time the swim is over.
What is the point of view of The Swimmer?
The point of view of “The Swimmer” is one of the most intriguing aspects of story. Because it is told completely in the third person (“I” constructions are not used), the reader is never able to get inside Neddy Merrill’s mind.
What is wrong with Neddy in The Swimmer?
Rather than being eternally youthful, Neddy is actually aging and moving toward death. Everything he once considered his right—his family, mistress’s affection, youth, and social standing—have disappeared, and at the end of the story he is left entirely alone.
What is the setting of The Swimmer?
How is Neddy Merrill described?
Neddy Merrill, with his perfect family, high social standing, and pricey suburban home, has few problems in his life and seems to see himself and all his friends as blessed. Neddy has mastered all the rules of the world he inhabits.
What is the central idea of The Swimmer?
“The Swimmer” has as its primary theme the power of the mind to deny unpleasant truths, or, to put it more positively, the determination of the ego to preserve itself in the face of events that might erode or obliterate one’s self-confidence.
What type of character is Neddy in the swimmer?
What happens at the end of the swimmer?
Who is the main character in the story the swimmer?
Neddy Merrill