- Born: May 27,1912 in Quincy,Massachusetts.
- Attended Private and Public School - Poor Grades
- 1920's his family lost their money.
- 1929 He won a short story contest.
- He was expelled from school for smoking.
- He was a novelist and a short story writer.
- The Stories of John Cheever won
- the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- National Book Critics Circle Award
- 1981 National Book Award.
- April 27, 1982- awarded the National Medal for Literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
- Death: June 18, 1982 from cancer
Works Cited
Williamson, Chris. "Lit[CRIT]erature." Litcriterature. Ed. Chris Williamson. Chris Williamson, 13
Feb. 2013. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. <http://litcriterature.blogspot.com/2013/02/
chris-williamsons-new-critical-analysis.html>.
Historical Information
Bernardo, Karen. "An Analysis of The Swimmer by John Cheever." Story Bites. Ed. Karen Bernardo.
Karen Bernardo, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. <http://www.storybites.com/book-reviews/
the-swimmer-by-john-cheever.php>.
Personal. Paul Boger, 18 Feb. 2010. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. <http://www.personal.psu.edu/pab5120/images/
writing_portfolio/The%20Swimmer%20Analysis%20by%20Paul%20Boger.pdf>.
1950's
- World power after WWI, WWII.
- Automobile industry
- Radicals focused on realism, rather than idealism.
- Suburbs began to flourish
Summary
Lietrary Devices
- Neddy Merrill - main character
- He swims through all his neighbors swimming pools to get back to his house.
- His journey starts upbeat and optimistic. He encounters no problems, only friendly visits with neighbors.
- On the way one of his neighbors mentions his misfortunes that he does not recall.
- He returns home to find it abandoned and locked up.
Historical Info...
The Swimmer by John Cheever
Theme: * Blend of Surrealism and Realism
- Inevitable passage
Motif: (reoccurring theme) * The relationship between wealth and happiness
- alcohol
- exploration
Symbols: * Foreshadowing
-Swimming pools
- Changes in weather/ season
Setting: Upscale, middle/middle class suburb
John Cheever
1960's
- John F. Kennedy was president.
- The 1960's was the age of youth.
- Revolutionary ways of thinking
- Vietnam War
- Civil Rights
- The radical 60's
Literary Critique's
- Paul Boger: transforms realistic details, myths and Cheever's own personal fears of financial and emotional ruin into a masterwork of twentieth-century short fiction”.
- Chris Williamson: create a very strict order for Neddy as he progresses in his journey home, this symbolizes time and its singular direction forward; Further the notion is expanded upon with each pool symbolizing a crucial point in time of Neddy's life.
Discussion
- Is this really all happening in one day?
- What happened to his family?
- Why doesn't Neddy recall any of these unfortunate events.