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“The Swimmer” by John Cheever is the epic story of Neddy Merrill, a lovable old man that sets out on an inconceivable journey. The journey he sets out on is not normal, nor is it something that most would consider heroic. Neddy is at a point where decline is prominent as his life is coming to a close. The story begins as Neddy is at a gathering with his wife, Lucinda. Neddy notices that there is a series of swimming pools that runs almost like a river the entire length to his house. He believes that by swimming this river, he will be viewed by Lucinda and his daughters as a hero. Because of this chance for heroism, he decides to swim home through what he has dubbed the “Lucinda” river. As he swims, the speed of time changes, and his life passes him by. When he finally arrives at his house, his life is over. His wife and daughters are gone, his house has been sold, and he has nothing. The conflicts of the story are mostly physical. Neddy has to resist the harshness environment to continue to swim. He struggles with a lifeguard at the public pool, as Ned does not have the proper pass to swim in the pool, Grace Biswanger, as she is unhappy with his presence at the party she is holding around her pool, and Shirley Adams, his estranged lover, when he tries to enter her pool. Ned’s final conflict is with himself has he attempts to decipher the events of the day. He does not understand many of his neighbors’ reactions, nor where his family is. The plot has seamless unity as time logically follows Ned through his adventure. The story makes very little use of chance as the narrator follows Ned from pool to pool in the order he visited them. Suspense is created in the story through Neddy’s interactions with his neighbors. The reader is made to ask, “What are they going to do to him?” and “Will he make it?” The mystery of the story is trying to figure out what is happening to Ned as he travels. Ned has several physical dilemmas along the way, though none are significant enough to cause him to stop. The ending of the story is indeterminate. Ned seems content with the outcome of his journey, though the reader is able to see that his state is truly saddening. The characters in the story are described in terms of their relationship with Neddy and their attitudes toward him. Because of this method of characterization, most of the minor roles of the story appear as flat characters, while Ned is quite round and very complex. The character of Neddy truly is the story. Neddy does not realize what he is doing until he sees his neglected home.
Approximate Word count = 1876
Approximate Pages = 7.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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