30 pages • 1 hour read
The Swimmer
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Literary Context: The Myth of Narcissus and The Odyssey
John Cheever revealed that he conceived “The Swimmer” as “a simple [story] about Narcissus” (Patrick Meanor, John Cheever Revisited, 114). In this Greek myth, Narcissus’s youth and beauty attract the wood nymph Echo, but he callously rejects her affections. As punishment, Narcissus is cursed by the gods to feel unconditional love with no hope of return. One day, Narcissus views his face in a clear fountain and falls in love with his own image. However, when he reaches out to touch himself, the reflection ripples and dissipates. Transfixed, he sits by the fountain admiring his reflection until he dies. Afterward, his dead body turns into a beautiful purple and white flower known today as the Narcissus (Thomas Bulfinch, The Age of Fable, pp. 123-125). The myth is the origin of the word “narcissism,” meaning a personality inclined to extreme self-centeredness to the exclusion of other people’s feelings and needs.
Cheever presents Neddy Merrill as a Narcissus-like figure whose egocentricity and disregard for the feelings of others ultimately lead to a lonely fate. However, Neddy has a completely different vision of himself: as a hero embarking on a long journey. This idea of a valiant quest evokes ancient Greece and the epic poem The Odyssey, ascribed to Homer. Cheever draws parallels between his protagonist and the hero Odysseus to satirize Neddy’s character. Both characters are on a quest home, but the scale of their trials and achievements vastly differ.
The aim of Odysseus’s journey is to return to his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, after fighting in the Trojan War. During his 10-year voyage, Odysseus survives many trials that delay him, including encountering the sea monster Scylla and a shipwreck. He also resists the temptation of being diverted from his quest by earthly pleasures. For example, he does not succumb to the lifestyle of the lotus-eaters, who live only for pleasure. He is eventually rewarded for his perseverance in his long-awaited reunion with his wife and his son.
By contrast, Neddy’s quest is trivial and self-imposed. His notion of swimming home across neighbors’ pools is depicted as a drunken whim and appears inconsequential when compared to Odysseus’s voyage across dangerous seas. Significantly, Neddy swims away from his wife, whom he leaves at the Westerhazys’, rather than toward her, signaling a flight from familial responsibilities. Unlike Odysseus, he also seeks pleasure on the way, drinking more and more and anticipating a reunion with his former mistress, Shirley. Through these implicit comparisons, Cheever satirizes Neddy’s concept of himself as “a legendary figure” (Paragraph 3), underlining the futility of his quest and the emptiness of his values.
Sociopolitical Context: White Flight and Suburbia
The postwar economic boom of the 1950s brought many changes to everyday American life, including the invention of the American suburb, which was made possible via the greater accessibility of the automobile. Suburbia began as a manufactured escape from cities, which were increasingly viewed negatively by white Americans. Increased immigration and the end of segregation in the 1960s prompted a moderate increase in the economic mobility of Black Americans, and some white people began to discuss the perceived danger of racial intermingling in urban areas. From the 1950s onward, thousands of white middle- and upper-middle-class families fled to constructed suburban towns, which were billed as safe, secluded, and peaceful communities (James Howard Kunstler, The Geography of Nowhere, 104).
A problem with the constructed community of the American suburb, besides its homogeneity, was its lack of authentic community brought on by its car-centric design (Kunstler 113). These suburbs frequently had few or no sidewalks, and engagement with the outside world (shopping, green space, religious institutions, etc.) could only be established through the solitary means of the car (Kunstler 115). Thus, suburbs became a paradoxical antithesis of what they were originally designed to promote, devolving into areas where residents had little connection to nature or the individuals around them.
Cheever establishes the homogenous nature of Neddy’s neighborhood as he navigates a series of backyards and swimming pools, differentiated only by small details. “The Swimmer” also underlines the lack of meaningful connection Neddy and Lucinda have with their neighbors. Neddy cannot recall the last time he saw many of them. It also becomes clear that the relationships he and Lucinda have built in their “set” are based on shared social status rather than common interests, and families like the Biswangers are excluded. The story also emphasizes the pleasure-seeking nature of modern suburban culture, as the story opens with all the residents, including the church congregation and the priest, complaining of hangovers. As Neddy’s “heroic” quest progresses, his goal of acquiring another drink overrides his determination to reach home. Cheever implies that the comforts of suburbia have led to a hedonistic lifestyle devoid of purpose. Neddy’s repeated discovery of shut-up or abandoned properties toward the end of his journey, including finally his own, suggests the decay of suburban values.
Unlock all 30 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By John Cheever
