
In The Swimmer, written by John Cheever, an adventurous man named Neddy Merrill decides to spend his summer on an aquatic journey constantly swimming in his neighbors’ swimming pools for numerous years. The author refers to this stream of water he is traveling as the Lucinda stream, which he named after his wife. In the beginning of this short story, Neddy is an outgoing, energetic father and husband, but as the story develops, we learn he has some major issues in his life. Cheever successfully allows the reader to discover the theme of alcoholism by using symbols and figurative language to relate to the protagonist. The passage begins with Neddy, his wife, and some friends, the Westerhazys, sitting around by the pool on a midsummer Sunday, expressing how they all drank too much the previous night. His journey starts off fluently, with Neddy having much respect from his neighbors, but as the story carries on he does not have time to socialize with friends or family, his main objective is to swim across his neighborhood from pool to pool and return home. In the beginning of this short story, Neddy is an outgoing, energetic father and husband, but as the story develops, we learn he has some major issues in his life. He becomes weaker and weaker and cannot perform the way he could when he first started. For example, towards the end he has trouble getting out of a pool, when normally, he jolts right out, so he has to use a ladder in the pool. As his journey progresses, time starts to fly by, the wintery air arrives and he the constellations in the sky start changing. He does not communicate with others unless he is swimming in their swimming pool, he also does not speak to his family. Imagine having a father or a husband who is gone for many years and not there for you when times get hard and you start to struggle in life. When he finally arrives home, his house looks rough and his family has left him. There are many different themes and symbols expressed throughout this read, but what stood out to me the most was the theme of alcoholism.

The constant routine of Neddy consuming alcohol molds his character into a whole different person, he loses track of time and he becomes unhappy. Neddy can often be seen with a glass full of gin or whiskey. Throughout the story, he is constantly drinking alcohol and it transforms him into a weak individual. He has to have a drink at every house he goes to before moving onto the next pool. Neddy goes through a midlife crisis during this time period, all of the swimming and alcohol he consumes starts to alter his body and also his memory. As the story continues, Neddy’s craving of alcohol increases. 

As his downfall continues, he reaches one of the final pools that he visits, that belongs to his old mistress, Shirley Adams and she is quite shocked to see him and not very pleased with his company. When she first spots him she immediately asks him, “What do you want?” Right before he leaps into her pool, he asks for a drink, but she declines his request. This is when Neddy started to realize he was not the same person he was when he started swimming. After he dove in he quickly swam towards the ladder because his arms and shoulders had given up and he did not have the strength he once had. For the first time since childhood, Neddy began to cry because he was so “miserable” and “bewildered”. At the last house, the Clydes he is extremely exhausted and could not glide through the water like he was used to. He climbed up the ladder and questioned if he could even make it home. 

Neddy’s alcohol issues have affected his appearance, health, and mental thoughts. One of the stops Neddy makes, is at the Hallorans, who perhaps have the oldest pool in the country. As he approaches their swimming pool, he has a brief conversation with Mrs. Halloran, discussing his home and his daughters. This stood out to me because this is when you realize how big of an issue alcohol has become in his life. He is in complete denial when this news is first brought up to him, he is confused and has no recollection of this incident. His memory is simply inaccurate at this point. Cheever writes “We’ve been terribly sorry to hear about all your misfortunes, Neddy.” “My misfortunes?” Ned asked. “I don’t know what you mean.”  “Why, we heard that you’d sold the house and that your poor children . . .”  “I don’t recall having sold the house,” Ned said, “and the girls are at home.” (Cheever 733). Neddy appears to be completely unaware of this situation that Mrs. Halloran has brought upon him, so he just doesn’t think twice about it and continues on with his life.

As Neddy climbs out the final pool of his long disastrous journey, he finally reaches his destination, his home. His return home is debatably the most climactic point in this read. As he arrives home, he realizes that the house is completely empty and his family has left without him. His house is not only empty, but it is damaged from the weather. A rain gutter was hanging in front of his front door like an “umbrella rib” and his door handles were rusted. The story comes to a conclusion with Neddy looking in the windows of his home and realizing it is completely empty. Alcohol was led Neddy to become a whole different person, he is homeless, weak, and does not have a family anymore.       

 