The Swimmer Narrative Structure
“The Swimmer” is a short story which follows a man named Ned Merrill as he swims home across the “River Lucinda”, a series of swimming pools that form a path to his home. It was adapted into a film titled The Swimmer, which remains quite faithful to the original work, but expands upon several aspects of the original short story. After being unable to swim through the Welchers’ pool due to their property being abandoned, Ned Merrill is forced to cross Route 424, a busy highway. “The Swimmer” follows an epic narrative structure, with Ned encountering several obstacles on his path home. The story is told in a third-person perspective and deconstructs many traditional epics by breaking down the genre into its base components and rebuilding …show more content…
While he waits, he is ridiculed by the various individuals passing by in their cars. It is stated that “he seemed pitiful”, which combined with the abuse he faces from the people on the highway starkly contrasts with Ned’s perception of himself as a legendary figure. The highway and the cars on it are used as a substitute for a raging river, which is an obstacle that heroes must overcome in many epic stories. The “river” of cars may also symbolize the passage of time. Ned has difficulty both in crossing the busy highway and moving on from his past. Ned remains stationary on the side of the road, and then in the grass divider in the middle of the highway. He is staying in one spot both in his mind and in reality while the world moves on around and ridicules him. This scene also further solidifies the overall conflict of the story as person versus self. As Ned waits for a chance to cross the highway, he begins to question the purpose of his odyssey. Although it started out as an arbitrary challenge, Ned feels compelled to continue on his journey despite the obvious danger of the highway in front of him. Both Ned and the reader begin to further question Ned’s sensibility, as any sane individual would turn around. This is an early indicator that this journey is more than a game for Ned. To this end, Ned is both the protagonist and primary antagonist of the
The Skies In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road
199 Words | 1 PagesThe skies are grey, it’s freezing, and everything is covered by ash, this is reality now. Cormac McCarthy, playwright, screenwriter and the author of The Road, gives us a glimpse of the struggle of living in a catastrophe world. The story of The Road, is about the hardship between a father and son living in an apocalyptic wasteland. Throughout the story we see how differently the father and son act in the situation they encounter.
The Summer I Turned Pretty Poem Analysis
915 Words | 4 PagesIn the poem, “The Road Not Taken,” the short story, “The Reunion, and the novel, The Summer I Turned Pretty authors show how characters come of age through their own actions by making decisions and psychology or emotional revelations. In the poem “the Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, the main character has to decipher two roads. The two roads have different outcomes, eventually chooses the harder path and resulted his/her best decision. The narrator sees a fork in the road.
The Swimmer Analysis
893 Words | 4 PagesThis is the point in the story when the tone starts to shift. After this, he has bad experiences at his “friends’” pools and feels unwelcome. By the end of his quest, Ned is exhausted and unable to finish swimming the length of a pool. Neddy’s physical decline aligns with the change in
Traveling Through The Dark Analysis
700 Words | 3 PagesThe analogy of life, along with the obstacles that one must overcome in order to advance and to succeed is portrayed through the narrator’s experience with a dead deer in “Traveling through the Dark” by William Stafford. An interpretation of the title “Traveling through the Dark” is one’s outlook of life. Ultimately, humans are incapable of being all-knowing; living day by day without the ability to predict tomorrow. The dead deer on the edge of the road symbolizes unexpectancies in life, the speaker 's ability to make a critical decision when no one is watching allows the speaker to progress in the journey of life.
Norman Maclean's Short Story 'A River Runs Through It'
613 Words | 3 Pages“A River Runs Through It” The short story “A River Runs Through It” is written by Norman Maclean. This book is the life story of Norman Maclean attempting to better understand his brother, Paul Maclean. During the time, Norman realizes that Paul is an artist in his own way. Norman, as the author, uses flashbacks, has a point of view, and foreshadowing.
The Sociological Approach In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road
1297 Words | 6 PagesThere are many lessons throughout the novel that could be taught and learned in our world, this society, today. They may be true; however, the reasons the lessons are taught in the first place is because of the society being presented in this literary work, The Road. This gives the sociological approach a more appropriate understanding approach to the road. The society and the characters can be analyzed thoroughly and effectively this way. “When your dreams are of some world that never was or of some world that will never be and you are happy again then you have given up.
Humanity In Cormac Mccarthy's The Road
646 Words | 3 PagesIn Cormac Mccarthy's novel, The Road, the overall outlook on humanity and life is negative. Death, fear, and sadness consumes humans lives. Mccarthy mainly writes about how darkness has taken over in this apocalyptic world in The Road. The apocalypse has unrooted many humans making them live in harsh ways, even turning them into cannibalistic animals. Some events make the father and son live in fear.
The Road Not Taken Rhetorical Analysis Essay
574 Words | 3 PagesThe two paths in “Road not Taken” by Robert Frost, represents the speaker’s exposure to choices in life through which they develop their identity. Frost employs the metaphor of two roads that diverge and lead in different directions. " Two paths diverged in a yellow wood." (Frost, Line 1).
Extended Metaphors In The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost
1032 Words | 5 PagesThroughout this poem, Robert Frost uses extended metaphors to convey that every human has a path that causes them to constantly make choices that will continue to shape their lives. In the first lines of the poem, Frost states, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood/ And sorry I could not travel both” (Lines 1-2). Immediately, the idea is established that the speaker has to make a decision.
Theme Of Isolation In The Road
631 Words | 3 PagesFirst of all, the road is full of cannibals and roving bands on the road which shows people’s brutality and selfishness appeared for their survivals. In the apocalypse, the isolation from good food sources made
Thesis Statement In Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken
778 Words | 4 PagesThe road is considered to be a symbol of his multiple life decisions. When you first read the poem your first instinct is to think that the “traveler” just needs to pick a path to take; but it has a greater meaning. The fact that Frost chose to use this symbol to portray the message makes us have a clear idea of what he is going through. Towards the end of the poem, Frost shows signs of regret because of the road he chose, it shows us how in life a decision can really impact your life and can shape who you are as a person and what type of person you become. The use of symbolism in this poem is basically what leads you into understanding what it’s really trying to say.
Metaphors In The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost
1036 Words | 5 PagesIn the poem, “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost uses beautifully crafted metaphors, imagery, and tone to convey a theme that all people are presented with choices in life, some of which are life-altering, so one should heavily way the options in order to make the best choices possible. Frost uses metaphors to develop the theme that life 's journey sometimes presents difficult choices, and the future is many times determined by these choices. Throughout the poem, Frost uses these metaphors to illustrate life 's path and the fork in the road to represent an opportunity to make a choice. One of the most salient metaphors in the poem is the fork in the road. Frost describes the split as, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both (“The Road Not Taken,” lines 1-2).
Symbolism In The Road Not Taken
1777 Words | 8 PagesIn “The Road Not Taken” a traveler goes to the woods to find himself and make a decision based on self-reliance. The setting of the poem relays this overall message. Providing the mood of the poem, the setting of nature brings a tense feeling to “The Road Not Taken”. With yellow woods in the midst of the forest, the setting “combines a sense of wonder at the beauty of the natural world with a sense of frustration as the individual tries to find a place for himself within nature’s complexity” (“The Road Not Taken”). The setting is further evidence signifying the tense and meditative mood of the poem as well as in making choices.
Essay On Hamlet As A Tragic Hero
943 Words | 4 PagesA tragic hero is a multifaceted, admirable character with a tragic flaw that turns his life from glory into suffering. Hamlet is an example. ‘Born’ personality, shifting mentality, and inevitable fate leads to its tragedy which eventually triggers audience’s pity. Unlike other tragedies where tragic heros discover the truths by their own actions at the end of the story, realizing that the reversal was brought by their own actions. Hamlet begins differently by knowing the truth from things happening to him.
Literary Devices In The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost
1010 Words | 5 PagesThe poem, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost states that in life we come upon many decisions, and there are points where we have to let fate take the lead. “The Road Not Taken” uses two paths as a symbol of a life decision. To understand this poem you have to have understanding of life’s meaning. The author helps us better understand the message by his use of tone and literary devices such as metaphors and symbolism. In this poem we come to realize that life is a combination of decisions and fate.
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