“The Swimmer” is one of John Cheever's most famous short stories. John Cheever's main character is a middle-aged suburban man named Needy Merrill. While sitting at his neighbors' pool, the Westerhazys, Needy decides to take a trip to his neighborhood pools. When Needy begins his journey, he feels young and enthusiastic; he is then happily welcomed by his neighborhood friends. Apparently, Needy is a well-known and respected man. As his journey progresses, he begins to see red and orange leaves; he then realizes that it was autumn. In the middle of his journey, he begins to endure some troubles, but that doesn't stop him. At the end of her journey, Needy begins to meet people who constantly bring up her unhappiness and her difficulties with her family. Needy doesn't remember any of the turmoil in her life and begins to wonder if her memory is failing her. Towards the end, many people he met treated him rudely. Needy then realizes that something must have gone wrong in her life. When Needy arrives home, he finds that his house is empty and his family is gone. At the beginning of the story, Needy Merrill cannot understand that he has moved and is having financial problems. However, by the end of the story, he appears to be in a state of self-sacrifice. (Champion) In the story, Cheever does not begin the story by informing the reader of Needy's misfortune. In fact, he describes Needy as successful and well-liked by the neighbors. Cheever never tells the reader what happened to Needy throughout her life; it creates a change in mood to help the reader infer what really happened. Critics pointed...... middle of paper ...... Loren C. "'The Swimmer': A Midsummer's Nightmare." Studies in Short Fiction 24.4 (1987): 433. Literary Reference Center. Internet. May 2, 2014. Blythe, Hal and Charlie Sweet. "A historical allusion in Cheever's The Swimmer." Studies in Short Fiction 26. (1989): 557-559. Full Text of Humanities (HW Wilson). Internet. May 2, 2014Blythe, Hal and Charlie Sweet. "Perverse Sacraments in John Cheever's 'The Swimmer'." Studies in Short Fiction 21.4 (1984): 393-394. MLA International Bibliography. Internet. May 2, 2014. Champion, Laurie. “Literary Contexts in Short Stories: “The Swimmer” by John Cheever. Literary contexts in short stories: “The Swimmer” by John Cheever (2006): 1. Literary reference center. Web. May 2, 2014. Cheever, John, "The Swimmer", Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama Ed XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia 12th ed., 2013.250-257