The Swimmer

Water is one of many visual images that John Cheever utilizes throughout “The Swimmer” to show Neddy Merrill’s descent into disconnection and dissociation from reality. The changing color of the water mirrors his changing emotions and reflects his status in his journey. When the story begins, Neddy is sitting at the edge of the Westerhazys’ “pale […] green” pool. When he approaches the Bunkers’, the water has turned “sapphire-colored.” Once he reaches the Recreation Center pool, the water, tainted by the existence of other individuals, turns into “murk.” The Hallorans’ pool was “opaque gold,” a more natural color to match the Hallorans’ preference to swim in the nude. Later, Neddy describes this water as “dark” and “depressing.” Once he reaches the Biswangers’, the sun has set, and their pool has “a wintry gleam” (Paragraph 33). This continuous sequence is seemingly broken by Neddy’s description of Shirley Adams’s pool, which he sees as “lighted” and “cerulean” (Paragraph 38). The sun has now set and, presumably, Shirley’s pool has underwater lights to make the water glow in the darkness.

Cheever also uses the motif of water to comment on the relationship between Neddy and his neighbors throughout “The Swimmer,” particularly through auditory

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