"The Swimmer," by John Cheever, is a short story about a man of the name Neddy Merrill. In this piece by Cheever, we are introduced to a man who is spontaneous, impulsive, and young at heart. Being such a man, he decides to swim through a string of various swimming pools - many of which are owned by his friends - to reach his home. Tempted by the urge for excitement and escape, as well as the urge to be "...a pilgrim, an explorer, a man with a destiny...  Neddy begins his journey through the water (Cheever, 2). As Neddy makes his eccentric journey, he is initially welcomed by his friends and enjoys his swim during the warm summer. Neddy skillfully makes his way through parties as his friends gladly invite him for drinks, but makes his journey his most important priority. As he leaves the backyard parties and swims into the Levys' swimming pool, Neddy begins to see some strange things. He noticed that the Levys' house had "...no signs of life; not even a dog barked  (Cheever, 2). His friend's house had been littered with glasses and bottles, although Neddy does not seem to recall where they had gone for the summer. Here, Neddy first begins to feel tired. However, he shrugs off the strange circumstance and continues swimming. Suddenly, Neddy realizes that a storm is about to pass. The tone suddenly turns ominous. It becomes dark and Neddy sees a woman crying. Neddy stays in the Levys' gazebo until the rain stopped, and he becomes aware of how cool the rain made the day. However, not only had the storm cooled the air, but it brought the signs of autumn. As Neddy crosses the grass to reach pool after pool, he finds his friends' homes in strange conditions. Grass was overgrown, homes were unkept, pools were dry, and furniture was put away. Some of the houses even had FOR SALE signs up. Although disheartened by the sight of these strange states, he quickly turns his attention to a sound of a tennis game. Neddy obviously encounters