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#10 The Swimmer (John Cheever, 1964)

 Rating: 8.6/10

    A surprisingly significant amount of people still find intoxication as a refugee from the painful reality. In fact, society is adding reasons for people to lose complete consciousness so they can’t perceive feelings of inferiority. In this short story, Neddy perhaps escaped into alcoholism from the painful facts, as Cheevers quoted, “Had his gift for concealing painful facts let him forget that … and that his friend had been ill?”

    In this short story, I found it intriguing to read through the author’s delicate usage of symbolism. As Neddy decides to swim southwest from the pool he was with Lucinda, directions of south and west provide specific tones for this story. Whilst ‘south’ provided connotations of warmth, hospitality, and strength, ‘west’ added images of darker intimations as it is the location of the dead in many mythologies. Eventually, the darkness is confirmed as Neddy reaches his destination, only to find it locked and empty. From this perspective, Neddy’s journey home through multiple pools in the county was a journey through phases of his life, showing that the passage of time is inevitable; however, alcoholism would never be the solution. 

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