Images and Symbolic Meaning, Research Paper Example

The pool is a critical symbol to John Cheever’s “The Swimmer” because swimming pools are used to show Neddy’s gradual realization that his life has changed irrevocably.  As well, the various pools that Neddy swims in throughout his quest to “reach his home by water” (Cheever) symbolize the social disparities that exist between the public and the private.  The pool is also used to symbolically mark the passage between worlds both figuratively–as seen by the manner in which Cheever utilizes shifts in Neddy’s conception of time–and literally as Neddy traverses his neighborhood from pool to pool.  The highway acts as a symbol of the barrier that exists between the upper and lower classes.  It takes Neddy a long time to cross this highway, and once he does–to reach the public pool–he finds that it is not to his liking.  Neddy himself is a symbolic figure in the story, representing the manner in which suburbia can drain an individual of free will and independence.  This is demonstrated by Neddy’s continual search for the approval of his peers as he encounters them throughout his journey.  The social gathering that Neddy intrudes upon also serve to symbolize the divisions within this upper-class suburban neighborhood.  Neddy’s inability to recognize that his behavior is inappropriate illustrates both how detached he’s become from his neighbors as well as the basic artificiality of the events themselves.  Finally, Cheever uses the houses of Neddy’s suburban neighborhood to mirror his protagonist’s spiritual and emotional emptiness.  When Neddy is in his neighbor’s homes, he is unable to connect with any of the material items or inhabitants.  He reacts with confusion to the Welchers’ empty pool, not recognizing that it foreshadows his own house’s emptiness.  Through these symbols, Cheever subtly points the important aspects of his narrative and Neddy’s character.  The interpretation of symbols can take different forms depending on the reader, in part because the associations that individuals make with particular symbols can be subjective and based on cultural and social assumptions.

Works Cited

Cheever, J. (2003). The swimmer. Retrieved from http://shortstoryclassics.50megs.com/ cheeverswimmer.html