How would you characterize the social world that Neddy Merrill lives in? He lives a perfect life. A perfect family, high social standing and an expensive house. He dosent have many problems and his friends are perfect as well.
What is Neddy’s mood at the beginning of the story? He seems content. It was a hot sunny day and he was drinking a glass of gin.
What possible reasons can you think of for the journey that Neddy proposes to undertake? Are there any suggestions that this journey does not take place in reality?
Consider some of the many signs of trouble that Neddy encounters during the course of his journey. List them. During his journey Neddy goes through many stages in his life. I think the pool is a symbolism of alcohol. In the beginning he was fine and everyone was nice to him. Eventually he comes to a dry pool and has no idea what to do. People start being rude to him and he realizes that his wife and kids are gone. Neddy doesn't live in reality.
What role does drinking alcohol play in the story? A major role. Neddy’s alcohol issues may have caused the affair with Shirley Adams causing his wife and daughters to leave him.
What do you think is the overall meaning or message is in the story? I think the meaning of this story is that life is short and you should use your time wisely.Neddy wanted all the material objects in life and alcohol.
How many pools does Neddy swim through? List them in order. the grahams, hammers, lears, howlands, crosscups, bunkers, levys, welchers, public pool, hallorans, saches, biswangers, shirley adams, gilmartins, clydes
Notice the pattern of how people treat him as he goes from pool to pool. What is that pattern? Mrs. Graham was vey nice to him and offered a drink. the bukers had a party. the welchers pool was dry. Eventually people were questioning his behavior. They were ignorning him, being rude and telling him to grow up.
Neddy describes himself as heroic. Use quotes from the story to affirm or refute that idea. I am not too sure about this answer.
Notice the description of the seasons – how many are there? summer and autumn
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
‘‘The Lifeguard’’ by Mary Morris is a short story that focusses on change over time. A lifeguard accustomed to be the lord of all he surveys and with a big self-esteem, has a rude awakening when he proves deficient in the first aid needed to save a toddler, Becky, on the beach. The author demonstrates that we realise what we have only when a shattering event occurs. Trough characterization, foreshadowing and symbolism, Morris infers that once we realise what we have, it’s too late.…
- 777 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
2. From the internet, find a picture that shows the mammalian spinal cord in cross section. Include the url where you found it and a statement of why you feel this is a good example.…
- 613 Words
- 3 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Another example of Finny living a full life is that he makes up his own game just because he doesn't want to waste his time playing badminton. The strange thing is that this game turns out to be a popular game in the novel which is still played 15 years later as the author says. Finny invents this game just on a spur of the moment, making up the rules as he goes along, you can see that he surely doesn't want to waste any of his ability. Which points you to the last example.…
- 449 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Does the story reflect John Cheever’s life and experience of alcoholism and addiction? In the short stories that John Cheever wrote over his lifetime he reflected himself in the main characters personality. As an example the short story “The Swimmer”, the main character is portrayed as an alcoholic who loses everything from his friends to his wife. John Cheever was an American novelist and short story writer, he is now known as the most notable short story writer of the 20th century. Cheever growing up had a difficult life from financial problems because of the Great Depression to his father who fell into the stress became an alcoholic. Cheever started expressing his life struggles through the vision of his characters.…
- 370 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
As his journey progresses, time is illustrated by passing more quickly than what he realizes. Leaves and hedges are changing colors, the constellations in the sky are moving, and the air is also getting colder. His friends are not at home when he expects them to be, and he faces ridicule from the people he had once mocked himself. An example of this could be when his mistress wants nothing to do with him anymore and asks him, “Will you ever grow up?” He also learns that a friend he has known for awhile has also been very ill. All of these changes have happened without his knowledge, and that could possibly be from his denial of certain things, or that he just has not been around as much as he used to be. He then begins to question his memory, but wonders whether he has simply denied the actual reality that surrounds him. Looking towards the end of this story, when the Lucinda River drops him off, Neddy faces a lonely, unfamiliar place because of the consequences of his previous actions. He faced his empty house with sadness and finally realized that time has passed. All this time he has tried to ignore it, but its passing has proven to be…
- 464 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
John Cheever’s short story, “The Swimmer,” was first published in 1964, and because of its popularity, a film was produced that told the story on the silver screen. The author, John Cheever, was born on May 27 1912 in Quincy, Massachusetts and began writing at the age of seventeen after being expelled from Thayer Academy. His first story was appropriately titled Expelled. Cheever was eventually made a Guggenheim Fellow, a grant for writers, which gave him money and the free will to write whatever he wanted (“John Cheever Biography”). Cheever’s short story, “The Swimmer,” revolves around a man named Neddy Merrill who sets out on a journey to swim across the county. Neddy sets out on his journey as a young man with great vitality , but as the…
- 1828 Words
- 8 Pages
Best Essays -
Believing her father would not show up to her valedictorian award, she had to tell the principle, whom her parents were to sit next to at dinner, that he wasn’t attending. Finally when he did show up, he was intoxicated once again, and embarrassed her further. This is one example of what caused all the insecurities that Crozier had to endure while going through life.…
- 529 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Diana Nyad completed a 103-mile swim from Havana, Cuba, to Key West, Florida, without a shark cage. However, there are several controversies involving the swim. One of these controversies is the possibility that Nyad either got onto or held onto the boat. Holding onto the boat could have increased her speed. “Diana Nyad defends record Cuba-Florida swim as ‘squeaky clean,’” by Jennifer Kay, discusses the Gulf Stream currents which helped increase her speed. Another controversial statement is that Nyad did not eat or drink for almost seven hours at one time. Later, Nyad and her team admitted these statements as untrue. Nyad’s team said that she never went more than 45 minutes without water at a time since she began her journey. A third controversy concerning Nyad’s jellyfish suit could have given her an unfair advantage. The suit kept Diana Nyad from being stung by jellyfish. This suit was needed to keep Nyad from being severely injured by the deadly sea creatures; she had attempted the swim a few times before this successful one, but always she had to stop due to the jellyfish which gave her terrible stings and burns.…
- 505 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Cheever’s sister once said “The Swimmer is a story in which traditional realism is thoroughly transcended”. From my perspective, the story is broken into two sections. During the first part there is the notion of the good life portrayed by the spoiled suburbanites that lounge eloquently poolside on a hot summer afternoon. The second part describes the invasion of a thunderstorm that quickly derails the optimism and excitement turning it into sorrow and abandonment. I believe “The Swimmer” is essentially a montage of Ned’s personal decline slowly capturing his fallout to loneliness.…
- 2398 Words
- 10 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The wanderer’s only way of getting by is to dream of the events of his past. “Even in slumber his sorrow assaileth, And, dreaming he claspeth his dear lord again, head on knee, hand on knee, loyally laying, pledging his knees as in days long past.”(35-38). His dreams are his only comfort while on the sea.…
- 1024 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Competitive swimming in Britain started around 1830, mostly using breaststroke. Swimming was part of the first modernOlympic games in 1896 in Athens. In 1908, the world swimming association, Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), was formed.…
- 3153 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays -
Michael Fred Phelps was born on June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland, to Fred and Debbie Phelps. The youngest of three children, Michael Phelps and his sisters grew up in the neighborhood of Rodgers Forge. His father, Fred, an all-around athlete, was a state trooper; mother Debbie was a middle-school principal. When Phelps's parents divorced in 1994, he and his siblings went to live with their mother, with whom Michael grew very close. Phelps began swimming when his two older sisters, Whitney (born in 1978) and Hilary (born in 1980), joined a local swim team. Whitney tried out for the U.S. Olympic team in 1996, at the age of 15, but injuries derailed her career. At age 7, Phelps was still "a little scared" to put his head under water, so his instructors allowed him to float around on his back. Not surprisingly, the first stroke he mastered was the backstroke.…
- 482 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In the swimming world there are many different kinds of strokes that can be learned in order to use the proper swimming techniques. A swimming stroke is a way that swimmers move their arms and legs to go against the water and move themselves forward. The strokes create the least water resistance and there should be a minimum of splashing so that moving forward is smooth and not jerky. There are several specific kinds of stroke methods, but there are eight common ones. There is the butterfly, breast stroke, crawl, side stroke, trudgen, freestyle, backstroke, and dog paddle. Many swimmers start out very basic but there are many tips that you can practice to improve your form and speed.…
- 1273 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
70% of the Earth is covered by water - which is: 97% saltwater and 2.78% freshwater Fresh water: 77.28% polar ice /glaciers, 22.22% groundwater, .50 % surface water…
- 839 Words
- 3 Pages
Better Essays -
continue on a journey and there is a sense of desperation as if the world is against his ideals. The…
- 383 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays