Themes In The Swimmer
Fear can be a lot of things. It is defined differently from one person to another. The fear of falling, the fear of being alone. Fear is a wide concept that contains so many meanings that you cannot count them. Fear has the ability to keep us from doing something we want- but at the same time, it can also give us the ability to cross our boundaries. The story “The Swimmer” follows significant themes such as fear, personal development, and unknown territory.
The story “The Swimmer” by S. J Butler follows an unnamed woman, who has a deep fear of the river. The woman sits at her desk in her office and looks outside at the river. At the beginning of the story, it is a hot day and the woman knows that if she goes to the river at this time, she will
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The narrator describes the plot in chronically order, and there are, therefore no jumps between time-frames. There are two important events in this story. The first important event is when the unnamed woman goes into the river, which is where she overcomes her fear. Another important event, which may not be as visible, is when the unnamed woman releases the swan at the end of the story- it is a symbolic ending, because even though it might seem like she has overcome her fear by attending the water it may not be the case. I believe that the woman still fears the water even though she is in it. The way that the woman describes the swan gives us an image of the concealed fear that she may still has; “Her nan used to tell her a swan could break a man’s arm with its wing – what could it do to her, down here, in the water?” – we may get the image that she simply just fears the swan, but I do not believe that. I believe that she fears the swan because she fears the water. – You are able to argue for both parts, but I believe that the swan is a symbol of the hidden fear that the woman has. I, therefore, believe that the ending is closed because the short story ends with the unnamed woman releasing the swan, which from my perspective means that she is also releasing her
Analysis Of The Man Who Jumped Into The Water By Laurie Colwin
906 Words | 4 PagesLaurie Colwin (1944-1992) was born in Manhattan, New York. She was a prolific writer and her very first works were published in the New Yorker. Her first short story collection was published in 1974. Her stories were written about love, relationships, and being happy in general, however, this story “The Man Who Jumped into the Water” is quite a bit different from the others. Hiding behind a persona to get away from reality can lead someone to a breaking point because a person 's troubles catch up to them.
Symbolism In The Swimmer By John Cheever
378 Words | 2 PagesJohn Cheever’s use of the journey motif conveys meaning in “The Swimmer.” Neddy Merrill thinks of himself as an “explorer” who is traveling through unknown territory. He drinks very often and tries to forget the reality of his loneliness. At first, Neddy’s only focus is swimming “the Lucinda River,” but he faces temptation at the Bunkers’ party where everyone is drinking. Neddy gets out of the pool, interacts with the party, and has a “gin and tonic.”
The Swimmer Analysis
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Compare And Contrast The Bass The River And Sheila Mant
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Theme Analysis: We Live In Water By Jess Walter
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The Swimmer Sparknotes
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Anne Fadiman Under Water Summary
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The Bass The River, And Sheila Mant
472 Words | 2 PagesWetherell’s story “The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant”. The 14-year old narrator is facing a huge predicament. The boy is on a date with the girl of his dreams. The boy and girl are canoeing up a river in Vermont. The young girl, Sheila, has informed the narrator of her disgust of fishing.
Symbolism In The Isabel Fish
1980 Words | 8 PagesWhile Maddy is in the YMCA regretting and panicking about getting back into water the thought of her fish help calm her nerves, “It calms me to imagine them swimming in their pH balance environment, the clown loaches looking around near the bottom of the freshwater tank, the Pearl flirting in a stand of bamboo plant. Tonight, for the first time, I'll begin to know what my fish have known all their lives; how to breathe underwater” (3). The reference to water here in order to show the reader how significant water is to the story. Water can be seen as a symbol of flowing, calm, cool, but others can see it as a fear. And since Maddy has seen it as fear the fish help calm those thoughts.
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Sheila Mant Analysis
434 Words | 2 PagesImagery of the bass, the river, and Sheila Mant One of the main themes of this story is that sacrifice. The narrator of this story is not given a name but he is fourteen year old. The narrator has a major crush on a women- seventeen year old, Sheila Mant. The narrator finally, and I say finally, asks Sheila on a date via the narrator’s boat.
Theme Of The Bass The River And Sheila Mant
321 Words | 2 PagesThe Struggles of a Young Boy “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant,” by W.D. Wetherell, explains that some choices in life aren’t worth losing something you admire. The Narrator and one of the main characters is a romantic and thrilled fisherman who is caught between choosing the Bass or the Girl. Sheila Mant, the other main character, is a self centered teenager who wants the Narrator to take her to the dance. The story’s resounding theme is that the Boy’s crush isn’t worth losing the opportunity to catch the fish of a lifetime. Because the story is told by the Boy, we know what his struggle is between choosing the fish or to keep his date going with Sheila Mant.
The Swimmer Symbolism
204 Words | 1 PagesIn “The Swimmer”, by John Cheever, Neddy Merrill’s journey is elapsed through time as he ventures home through a number of neighborhood pools. As more time seems to pass, the seasons around Neddy appear to change. The change in the setting of each pool are symbolic of the season of life which Neddy is experiencing. Initially, Cheever describes Needy as the type of man who “slid down the banister” (Cheever 250) which landed him near a bronze goddess of sexual love, but as he swims though more pools and the seasons changed around him, Neddy has to “paddle to the ladder” (Cheever 256) in order to get out, for his strength and power he once had left his body. These two instances fall under Cheevers symbolic seasons.
Neddy Merrill's Life Exposed In The Swimmer
878 Words | 4 PagesIn “The Swimmer” Neddy Merrill does not realize that as he attempts to swim across the county, his life is slipping away. A trip home through neighborhood pools ends up being a journey through many years of Neddy Merrill’s life. He learns that the passing of time is unavoidable, whether or not it is ignored. At the beginning of the story, the storyteller lets us know that Neddy is “far from young,’ yet he does his best to act youthful by sliding down a banister and plunging into a pool. (726)
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