“The Swimmer” is a short story that mixes realism and surrealism. The main theme focuses on the relationship between happiness and wealth/social status. It shows us that wealth and social status can result in temporary happiness and that when that is taken away, you can realize how little you actually have. The main character, Neddy Merrill, decides to swim home by going through all of his neighbor’s pools. We can see that he doesn’t have any real relationship with anybody and how he uses alcohol to mask this fact.

Ned acts as though he lives a full life but as his journey home continues, the reader can see that he gets the illusion of this through his wealth and social status. Ned and his wife, Lucinda, only socialize with people of the same social status as them as showed when he visits Biswangers house. They always get invitations from them but since they are of a lower class then them, they are always declining. The reader can also see this when he forgets that Eric, who he considers a friend, had an operation three years ago and doesn’t have any alcohol in his house because of it. Ned is also sure that his former mistress will welcome him with open arms and calls it a “light-hearted affair” (Cheever 736).

He starts at the Westerhazys’ house, who have the same social status as he does. He’s drinking and feeling good because of it. They are all talking about how they all drank too much that day, which further shows the reader that Ned uses alcohol to mask the fact that he doesn’t have any real relationships with anybody. 

Ned makes his way to the Grahams’ house where, even though he was just saying how he had drunk too much that day, he stopped for another drink. He didn’t want to socialize with many people because, just like the first house, he wasn’t really friends with them. He leaves the Grahams’ house and stops by more houses, getting drinks every house that is occupied at the time, and even one with nobody home.

When he gets to the Welchers’ house, he sees a ‘for sale’ sign in the yard. He states that they regretted an invitation from them last week, most likely because they weren’t of the same wealth as he was. This is just another person that he doesn’t talk too just because of how much money they have.

He finds himself at the Hallorans house and after talking for a minute, Mrs. Halloran apologizes to Ned after hearing that he had to sell their home. Of course Ned has no idea what she is talking about. This implies that he won’t have as much wealth or social status for much longer. After a few more houses, he ends up at Helen and Eric Sachs’ house. By this time, he hasn’t had a drink in an hour or two. It states that “He needed a drink. Whiskey would warm him, pick him up, carry him through the last of his journey” (Cheever 733-734). The reader can tell how much he relies on alcohol to feel good and how it gives him the illusion that he is living a happy and full life. He asks Helen for a drink and she tells him that they haven’t had alcohol in their house in over three years because of Eric’s operation. He considers them friends because of the enormous wealth of Helen’s parents, yet he doesn’t remember that his “friend” had a major surgery.

Leaving Helen and Eric’s house, Ned makes his way to the Biswangers’ house. They are of a lower social class than he is so he always declines the many invitations that they receive from them. Just like every other house, Ned asks for a drink. When he gets to the bar, the bartender is rude to him and Ned wonders if he had “suffered some loss of social-esteem” (Cheever 735). This also implies that he is losing his wealth and that he won’t have the same social class for much longer.

He heads down to his Shirley Adams’ house, his old mistress. He again, asks for a drink. Back in the first paragraph, they are talking about how they had too much to drink that day, and yet Ned has had at least six or seven more drinks since then. The alcohol is hiding the fact that it might not be a good idea to go ask his old mistress for a drink and then swim in her pool. She asks if he’s there for money and then states “I won’t give you another cent” (Cheever 736). This implies that he has asked her for money before, even though he is of a high social class with great wealth. The reader can infer that he may not have that same wealth in the near future.

When he gets to the last few houses, he starts to get really tired and has to use the ladder to climb out of the pool. In the beginning of the story, it states that “He had an inexplicable contempt for men who did not hurl themselves into pools” (Cheever 727), yet by the end of the story, he himself cannot dive into the pool, he has to climb in. This is relevant in the sense that he doesn’t really like people of less wealth than him, but we can see that he is losing his wealth and will be like them sooner than he realizes. 

By the time Ned gets home, he sees that the house is locked and nobody is home. He has lost his wealth and more importantly, his family. Cheever used of the swimming pool as a symbol of his life and the downward spiral that occurs. He started off well, drinking and getting through the swimming pools easy. It then starts to thunderstorm and he has to wait it out in the Levy’s pool. Then he gets to the empty swimming pool and the last pools where he is exhausted. The end is when he hits his low point, just like in his life when he gets to his house and it is locked and nobody is home. The reader can see that he doesn’t have a real relationship with anybody, including his wife and children because he puts so much emphasis on wealth and social status.