The Swimmer (A Short Story Analysis)

The first thing I want to say about this short story is I enjoyed it very much- but I didn’t get the underlying meaning behind it. To tell you the truth, I didn’t like the underlying story as much as I liked the story itself, and it kind of annoyed me how something good turned into something that was, in my opinion, really crappy. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the story AND it’s underlying story.

I at first though the story was a time warp or something, because everywhere he went he seemed to be forgetting things and people treated him horribly when he thought he was close to them. I didn’t even THINK of the nervous breakdown until Dad told me, but I did pick up on the alcohol in every part of his swim. I think Dad was somewhat correct about how the swim was a metaphor for his life, but I also think he may have gotten the nervous breakdown theory wrong. After seeing both his and my own renditions of what happened, this is what I came up with:

I think that the “swim” is really just showing the stages of alcoholism. It starts out easy, almost party-like- and as it progresses, it destroys you. It makes you lose your family, your friends, your house- and even your life (because if you remember, at the end of the story, he is almost dying). But even though he is “dying”, what does he ask for? Alcohol. It truly shows how addicting and harmful it is, and how you can be oblivious to how it slowly kills you. It would also explain his memory loss as the swim progresses.

However- I think I may have also been on the right track with the time warp statement- because it shows him aging! The season he started in was mid-summer- but as he swims on, the season seemingly changes into autumn. So maybe he swims in the warp, but at the same time his life is still passing and his illness is progressing. At the very end of the book, it seems his life is at it’s end and his house is gone- and there is no sign of his family anywhere. If the warp is true, then maybe his wife passed away in the process as well.

All in all, I think the story represents the type of crisis that Mom went through- the fun, innocent days of happiness, the downfall and the strive to keep plugging on, and finally, her death because of what was so “fun” in the beginning. In fact, Neddy kind of represents Mom in my opinion- she lost friends, dignity, AND memory because of her illness. She also lost her family and her home- it all ties in; the story is clearly showing a story of an alcoholic and perhaps even the deteriorating marriage.

Perhaps you were right too- maybe it was a nervous breakdown BECAUSE of the deteriorating marriage which was CAUSED by the alcohol! BAM! Wow, deciphering this stuff is actually really fun once you figure it out (and get help from Dad). Dad and I should do this some time for fun- is there an after school club for this? Anyways, I really enjoyed the story and I enjoy my own version of what happened even better than yours.

Maddie