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Analysis Of The Swimmer

Decent Essays

How Economic Class Effects Life In “The Swimmer” In The Swimmer a short story by John Cheever a man named Neddy Merrill decides to swim across every pool in the county naming his route the Lucinda River after his wife. As he goes on this journey some of his neighbors are nice, some show pity, and others show distaste for him. Throughout the story Cheever gives subtle hints that Neddy is disoriented as he doesn’t remember key details of things that have happened to his friends in the area. At the end of the story a disoriented Neddy reaches his home to find it empty, with his family gone. Cheever uses this short story to critique the way of life in the upper class suburbs of America that contributed to the social demise of Neddy Merrill …show more content…

The bar tender was rude to Neddy while serving him a drink and he began to realize he must have lost some social esteem. He left to go to the pool of Shirley Adams, his former mistress, where he expected to receive a drink and possibly even sex, but was also met with disdain for his unannounced arrival. He didn’t understand the barkeep or Shirley’s rudeness and began to cry. He made his way back to his home to find it empty. All of these events could be symbolic of what happens when a man focuses so hard on his class and his goals in life that he loses the important things that he didn’t give his attention to. Cheever shows what happens when a man loses his family and his social status through these scenarios. Neddy viewed himself as a bit of a socialite throughout the story. He felt the bartender was beneath him and could not dare to insult him and make him feel unwelcome. His weeping after this occurrence shows somewhat of a bruised ego, despite his confusion. Cheever critiques the upper class suburb in the story by showing the characters as being somewhat shallow. There wasn’t a large amount of depth to the interactions between each character. Neddy’s falling social class due to his affair could have contributed to the end of his marriage, forcing him to inebriate his mind to forget his pain and what he has lost. Mrs. Halloran felt sorry for Neddy and his misfortunes “We’ve been terribly sorry to hear about all

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