The Swimmer | Literary Criticism & Book Review

The Swimmer Critical Overview

"The Swimmer" is recognized as one of Cheever's best short stories and explores themes that are considered typical of his fiction as a whole. In this story, which is set in an affluent community, Cheever chronicles the morals, rituals, and hypocrisy of the upper class through his focus on Neddy Merrill, who is, at the beginning of the tale, a vibrant man with a home, a wife, and four beautiful daughters. The story opens with the protagonist Neddy, his wife, and some friends sitting around a pool complaining that they had too much to drink the previous night. Furthermore, when the protagonist tries to do something new—something heroic and legendary—all he can come up with is to swim home through a chain of 16 pools. The hypocrisy of Neddy's situation becomes more evident as the tale unfolds. It is revealed that Neddy and his wife are something of snobs; they...
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