S. J. Butler The Swimmer Analysis

We all have that one thing that makes our hearts beat faster, our breathing become shallow, and our minds go blank. When faced with something we fear, most of the time we simply freeze like deer caught in the headlights. What we need is a little push that forces us to act, and overcome what we fear the most. This necessary encounter with fear is the central theme in the short story “The Swimmer” written by S. J. Butler in 2011, where a woman has to over-come her fear, and might come to realize that sometimes you have to change your perspective to wake up from the daze of everyday life.

A third person narrator tells the story, the point of view being the woman’s of whom we are not given a name. This means that the whole story is experienced through her eyes, which has a significant effect because the opinion of the reader gets a great look inside of her mind, which helps the reader understand her character, and also lets the reader experience the emotional journey the woman undergoes throughout the course of the story.

The story takes place where the woman works, somewhere outside of the city, in a small hot office which is situated next to a river. To set the mood, the story begins with a description of the woman’s

3, l. 108), but she is not quite brave enough to come real close. It is only when she has no choice but to come out of her comfort zone that she dares to overcome her fear. This happens when she finds the swan bound in the fishing lines , and she has no other choice than to come close enough to release the swan. And as she releases the swan, she sets herself free of all of her fears. And in the end she just lets herself flow with the river with-out a worry about the swan or anything else, “And at the next bend she can not tell it from the mist rising from the water.” (p. 5, l. 160), so at last the river has carried her last fear