The Tired Swimmer Case Essay

For this essay, I am going to be discussing the short story “Swimming” found on the New Yorker, and written by T. Cooper. I have chosen this story for many reasons, and among those reasons is the personal sadness I felt when I first read the story, almost as if the universe was placing a certain theme in my life, that only the main character could possibly understand. I am talking about running, the god given instinct felt by all men, inherent in the nature of fear, and brought out in all who feel sadness in its full intensity. Though in my short life I can not compare the sadness I have felt with that of losing a child at my own hand, but if I had been placed in that situation, if fate had tempted my soul with such a sequence of events, I would like to think I could find the strength to endure and the courage to not abandon all I had previously known. Yet I am able to reconcile the themes of grief, the mode of recovery, and the longing to escape such a terrible tale. I think in this piece, as I will discuss in later parts, the author was able to put into words a transformation we rarely get to observe in closeness, the kind of transformation that turns a kind man into a “just man” the kind of death that turns this world from a beautiful and happy place into a world that is closing in on our main character, that is forcing him to surface temporarily and gasp for air, much like he does when he finds peace in the water, wading breath after air, after sea. I firmly believe that

If acetylcholine is not liberated than it would also not cause an action potential which would not cause a muscle contraction.

In the short story, “The Swimmer,” John Cheever uses precise literary devices to emphasize the true meaning behind what the average reader might first gather. Throughout this short story, Neddy’s journey is recorded through what he does and how the time changes. His actions of “jumping from pool to pool” show Neddy’s incapabilities of growing up and the falsehood that he lives in. John Cheever wants the readers to understand that Neddy’s life is only a downfall as the years go by, and that his outlook on life doesn’t change until he realizes all his actions have left him alone. To set the tone of the story, the author uses metaphors of different objects to show Neddy’s changes in life, change of diction to set a tone from excellence to weakness, and Neddy’s life paralleled through the imagery described in this short story.

Overtraining occurs because of an imbalance between a Physical load placed on an athlete and their coping capacity. One of the reasons why athletes may over train is because of their parents/coaches that can push them to sports and wanting them to be good. They want their child to earn a college scholarship and push them to their limits. Working harder and never taking a break, because "someone else is working around the clock to be the best", is the most warped and tired mentality that coaches and parents feed young people…The problem is a lack of education and knowledge of our own bodies. The reality is that only a select number of athletes earn scholarships every year. It is a mentality now that these athlete need to playing all year and

and it was in this book that I stumbled into this piece of criticism which gives more

Choosing a vocation can be a daunting task. With the world ever-evolving, one may come across a new attractive career every year. In order to ensure optimal job satisfaction, it is vital to educate oneself about every alluring prospect prior to committing. Simple factors like the time commitment and salary can mean the difference between a content existence and a miserable one.

In Frank Perry’s 1986 film adaptation of “The Swimmer”, Cheever, Neddy, an upper middle class man who decides to swim across his neighbors’ pools home only to discover that his house no longer belongs to him and he is no longer a part of his family, is characterized as a very suave and robust man. The first scene of The Swimmer emphasizes Neddy’s vitality by the ways in which the camera encompasses Neddy’s body and that of his friends, the addition of two characters as well as additional interactions between Neddy and the women in this text. This contrasts the characterization of Neddy in the short story in the sense that Cheever’s Neddy is not presented as this sexual and aggressively masculine figure.

Why do people drink alcohol, is it to feel the effects, or “cause it is cool”? These are just some reasons, but these reason have lead to major problem. The problem is alcoholism or simple misusing alcohol. This issue is present in the short story, The Swimmer by John Cheever. The protagonist, Neddy Merrill starts drinking at a party one day and he makes a goal to swim through all the pools on his way home. While he swims the happy view of his life starts to turn dark and he realizes that his happy views of his life is just an illusion. When he realizes this, it is already too late and he starts to see that he has lost everything due to his drinking. The misuse of alcohol is present in the quote “He had been swimming and now he was breathing

Generally, an anti-hero is “a main character in a story who does not have the qualities that a hero usually has, such as being morally good” (Macmillan Dictionary). For a person who overcomes difficulties and fulfills his dream, there is still a possibility that the person is not considered a hero if he or she is against heroic values. In John Cheever’s “The Swimmer”, Neddy is not a traditional hero who is concerned and caring. Instead, he is classified as an antihero--a relatable figure in default of crucial heroic qualities. Neddy’s decision of swimming home is merely due to his self-interest and not a moral motivation. As an antihero, Neddy does not have the interest to serve people. By contrast, his journey is one of self-gratification and entertainment. Arthur Ashe, the great American tennis player once said, “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost”. In “The Swimmer”, Neddy devises a very dramatic plan to swim home, which represents The Hero’s Journey. However, he does not demonstrate Ashe’s dictum because he fails to display some essential heroic qualities such as empathy, determination, and tolerance. Ultimately, he is not a hero, though he does complete a hero’s journey of sorts.

In his poem “To an Athlete Dying Young”, A.E. Housman makes a quite different approach on death. People have different perspectives on death, but more often than not, it is viewed as an undesirable event that people wish to avoid. The speaker in the poem, however, praises a young and famous athlete for dying before he became old and forgotten. This can be interpreted two very different ways. One can assume Housman believes that the only way for athletes to capture the glory is to die when at the peak of their careers. One might criticize him for having such a pessimistic view of life, but we must realize that we are among many people who give those athletes the feeling of disgrace as they are no

The purpose of this essay is to analyze the short story “The Swimmer” by Jon Cheever and it’s film adaptation. Overall, the film and the short story use different dialogue, different characterization, and different visual effects and imagery to provide the reader and the viewer with the allegory of Ned Merrill’s life. While both works focus on the fanciful nature of moving across an entire neighborhood using swimming pools, there are more differences between the film and short story than similarities. Firstly, I will begin by describing the usage of visual effects in the film and imagery in the short story. Secondly, I will describe the differences in dialogue. Finally, I will conclude by describing the ways in which both pieces leverage their characters.

     "The Swimmer" by John Cheever describes Neddy Merril's "swim" home. Neddy is a husband and a father, he is also a drunk. The story encompasses about twenty years of his life of alcohol which ruined not only him but also his relationship with his family. One day after waking up with a hangover he drinks a little and decides to swim home. It is obvious he is a drunk because he is constantly searching for a drink on his swim home.

In earlier days sports psychology was mostly concerned with developing assessment methods that would identify those people with the potential to become serious superior athletes. Today the focus is on psychological training, exercises that strengthen the mental skills that will help athletic performances on the path to excellence. These skills include mental imagery and focus training. If an athlete is serious about becoming the best he or she can possibly be, the most essential ingredient is commitment to practice the right things. It takes incredible commitment to reach the top: a commitment to rest and train the body so it can perform under the most demanding conditions and a commitment to train the mind to

Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, once declared “Lost time is never found again.” This quote ties to the meaning of how people frequently let time seep through their hands. John Cheever’s "The Swimmer" portrays this through the eyes of suburban man Neddy. Neddy is the average ‘Joe’ of most suburban households. Life in suburbia is repetitive in most scenarios, and humans can easily get lost in the monotonous adventure known aslife. Time leaks away from his figure, and he is not sure of he is the one changing too fast, or the world around him. "His main themes include the duality of human nature: sometimes dramatized as the disparity between a character's decorous social persona and inner corruption" (Kozikowski) supports this cause.

Watching the screen, many children and adults are glued to the swimmers that race each other in the Olympics. The swimmers are young and strong, but many do not know who these swimmers are. Adding on to what they do not know contains the history of swimming in the glorified Olympics. The backstory of this sporting event shows the progression and improvement of swimming because swimming evolved through the Olympics. This includes the beginning, improvement, and modern Olympic swimming sport.