John Cheever: Suburban Stories

John Cheever’s literary work won him a Pulitzer Prize as well as many other notable awards. It appears that the merit of his work was not fully recognized until late in his life because all of his major literary achievements were awarded within five years of his death. Was Cheever’s literary genius unfairly overlooked during his early years? Though the literary world seemed slow to acknowledge Cheever’s skill, there is no denying that his knack for character description and his depiction of the deeper desires that hide behind the drudgery of everyday middle-class life mark him as a great American author. Cheever had an uncanny ability to capture both the mundane outer appearance and the inner struggle that affects middle-class America, and his short stories “The Swimmer” and “Goodbye, My Brother” serves as a testament of Cheever’s great skill as a writer.

There were many events in John Cheever’s life that shaped his writing. Cheever grew up in the suburbs of Quincy, Massachusetts, and this childhood home is reflected in his writings. Many of Cheever’s stories have a suburban setting that undoubtedly stems from his childhood surroundings. Furthermore, Cheever witnessed the loss of his childhood home after his father’s business fell into financial ruin. Cheever appears to have been ashamed of this fact because a fall from affluence is the main component in many of his stories. Several of the characters in Cheever’s short stories are suburbanites who attempt to hide any appearance of financial instability. In fact, the protagonist in one of his most famous short stories, “The Swimmer”, must deal with both financial ruin and the loss of his home. The posthumous publication of John Cheever’s biography and a personal journal has provided deeper insight into his true nature. These publications provide many shocking revelations, such as the fact that Cheever had been an alcoholic and bisexual. These new facts about Cheever paint him as a man with a dual nature. According to book reviewer Edmund White, Cheever’s posthumous biography shows that “He was both a reckless hedonist and a starchy puritan, just as he was also a freelancer with pretensions to being a country squire, both unfortunate combinations” (para. 1). It is apparent that Cheever was a man trying to reconcile his straight-laced social persona with the tumultuous desires that plagued his personal life. Cheever’s dual nature is reflected in many of his stories. Several of his characters are plagued by problems that stem from creating a false social persona while leading a different life outside of the public eye. However, the fact remains that John Cheever is the quintessential writer of American suburban life. Two of the most famous of Cheever’s short stories that deal with American middle-class life are “The Swimmer” and “Goodbye, My Brother”.

Cheever’s short story “The Swimmer” follows the action of the protagonist “Neddy Merrill” as he attempts to “swim home” by going through a series of swimming pools that lead to his house. The prevailing themes of this story are the duality between man’s true nature and the appearance that he presents to society, and the perils of refusing to acknowledge reality. The protagonist Neddy Merrill is depicted as a moderately wealthy suburbanite who is somewhat childish and living in the past. Cheever makes this apparent by describing Merrill’s activity one morning; “while he was far from young he had slid down his banister that morning and given the bronze backside of Aphrodite on the hall table a smack, as he jogged toward the smell of coffee in his dining room” (“The Swimmer” 200). This childish action coupled with the lavish furnishings in Merrill’s home shows that he is both financially well-off and still thinks of himself as a young man.

Merrill’s journey takes him through the swimming pools of his neighbors and friends, as well as across a highway, through the woods, and through a public swimming pool. Merrill’s interactions with other people begin in a light-hearted and friendly manner. The first pool he goes through belongs to a family called the Westerhazys. They are polite to Merrill and offer him a drink. It is important to note that Merrill frequently consumes alcohol throughout this story, which through either a dose of irony or embellishment, may be a reflection on Cheever’s real-life battle with alcoholism. Similarly, the next few pools that Merrill swims through are surrounded by neighbors and friends who welcome him into their homes on this bright and sunny day. An example of this is Merrill’s interaction with the Bunker family, who are throwing a raucous party when he arrives to swim through their pool. Enid Bunker is surprised and pleased the Merrill has made this unannounced visit. “She made her way to him through the crowd, and when they had finished kissing she led him to the bar, a progress that was slowed by the fact that he stopped to kiss eight or ten other women and shake the hands of as many men” (Cheever, “The Swimmer” 203). This interaction shows that Merrill is respected and loved in the community. However, Merrill’s experiences steadily degenerate as he moves from pool to pool.

After a brief thunderstorm, the air becomes colder and Merrill feels tired. Furthermore, his previously happy interactions become odd because the people he interacts with begin to make strange comments reflecting their condolences. When Merrill swims through the pool of a wealthy family, “the Hallorans”, Ms. Halloran remarks, “We’ve been terribly sorry to hear about your misfortunes, Neddy” (Cheever, “The Swimmer” 205). This gives the reader the impression that something is amiss. Merrill’s social persona of an affluent and loved man with a perfect life begins to erode. This trend continues as Merrill swims through the pool of another neighbor who is throwing a party. Unlike his previous interaction at a party, the host tells him that he is uninvited and tells him that she won’t lend him any money. The unraveling of the true nature of Merrill’s life continues when he is run off after swimming through the pool of a former mistress. It is becoming clear that Ned Merrill has been living in a false reality. He is not a wealthy and loved man; he is just a drunk who cannot accept reality. This fact is cemented when Merrill finally arrives at his destination only to find that his home has been abandoned and his family is nowhere to be seen. Cheever has shown that Merrill has been presenting himself to society as something he is not. Merrill refuses to accept that his life is in shambles; however, his false reality is shattered once he sees his empty home. It is clear that Merrill has fallen on hard times and lost both his family and his wealth.

Cheever uses many symbols in “The Swimmer” to give the reader deeper insight into the theme as well as the true nature of Ned Merrill. One of the most prevalent symbols is Ned’s frequent immersion in water. Merrill’s dives into various pools can be seen as a symbol of baptism. Each time Merrill emerges from another pool, another shred of the falsehood in his life is stripped away. The water can be seen as a purifying element that helps the reader and Merrill attain clarity. As Merrill continuously plunges into and emerges from the water, he begins to realize that he is living a lie. In the same manner that baptism washes away someone’s sins, it can be said that water is washing away Merrill’s false life. Other recurring images are decay and autumn. These may be symbols of Merrill’s life degenerating even though he refuses to realize it. An example of this is a tree that seems strange to Merrill while he is swimming through a pool on what he believes to be a beautiful summer day. Merrill looks upon this tree and notes, “The force of the wind had stripped a maple of its red and yellow leaves and scattered them over the grass and the water. Since it was midsummer the tree must be blighted, and yet he felt a peculiar sadness at this sign of autumn” (Cheever, “The Swimmer” 204). The appearance of this dead tree on a bright summer day mirrors the fact that Merrill’s life is in tatters even though he refuses to recognize this fact. Furthermore, as the story progresses, Merrill feels the air turn chill and eventually the icy waters he swims through seem to be set in winter. This odd transition from summer to winter in the span of one day is a symbol of the degeneration of Merrill’s personal life and his coming to terms with reality. It can be argued that it was never actually summertime, and Merrill only felt happy and warm because he would not let himself, or his friends, see the true nature of his life. One final symbol that Cheever employs is the appearance of a great thunderstorm that halts Merrill’s progress through the pools for a while. The thunderstorm may represent the true nature of Merrill’s life and its appearance may symbolize the fact that he is just beginning to come to terms with the loss of his finances and family. This idea is bolstered by the fact that after the thunderstorm has passed, Merrill’s journey becomes colder and his friends begin to drop hints that they know something is wrong with his life.

“The Swimmer” can be seen as a man’s psychological refusal to accept his misfortune, and instead, put on the appearance that everything is fine. The degeneration of Merrill’s formerly happy journey shows that he is having a psychological breakdown and the fact that the weather changes from summer to winter in the span of a day shows that he is mentally unstable because of the strife in his personal life. However, there are other interesting interpretations of this story. Literary critic Nathan Cervo posited a unique perspective by claiming that Merrill’s recollection of this day is told from the afterlife. The rapidly changing seasons and Merrill’s seeming memory loss could be a result of the fact that he is dead. To bolster his claim, Cervo interprets the scene in which Merrill swims through the Halloran’s pool and claims that it is an allusion to “the pagan Underworld… where dead souls fritter about the edge of the river Styx” (49). Cervo expands on this idea by relating Mr. and Mrs. Halloran to Pluto and Persephone who were the mythical rulers of the underworld. Another interesting interpretation is that Merrill’s journey takes place over the course of a few years. Some critics have noted that “What Cheever has done is to dramatize the hackneyed metaphor of being caught up in the social swim. Though suburbanites like Neddy Merrill may establish repetitious cycles to retard time, eventually, as the natural cycles indicate, time brings change” (Blythe and Sweet 417). The fact that the story seems to take place during one day shows that the monotonous nature of daily routines can distort a person’s perception of time. Regardless of what interpretation one takes, it is clear that Ned Merrill is a man living in a fantasy world. He clings to his past prominence and happiness and attempts to put on a brave face for society even though his personal life is in shambles. Cheever’s short story “Goodbye, My Brother” shares many of the same characteristics that are shown in his work, “The Swimmer”.

The theme of “Goodbye, My Brother” also deals with a man’s refusal to accept reality. Instead, the protagonist chooses to present a false persona to society which conflicts with the true nature of his being. Like Ned Merrill, the protagonist of “Goodbye, My Brother” also prefers to live in the past and pretend that he is more affluent than he actually is. The protagonist of “Goodbye, My Brother” is never directly named. Cheever describes him solely as a member of the Pommeroy family, though he does provide the reader with the names of his brothers, “Chaddy” and “Lawrence”, as well as the name of his sister “Diana”. The protagonist describes his job by stating, “I teach in a secondary school, and I am past the age where I expect to be made headmaster—or principal, as we say—but I respect the work” (Cheever, “Goodbye, My Brother” 9). However, it is clear that, like Ned Merrill, the protagonist in this story is overly concerned with wealth and prosperity because he makes sure to mention the fact that his brother Chaddy is doing the best out of all the siblings. The protagonist bases this opinion on the fact the Chaddy makes more money and can afford to live in Manhattan. Throughout the story, the protagonist attempts to live in the past, back when his family was prominent and he was considered wealthy.

Though Ned Merrill can be interpreted as playing the role of both the protagonist and antagonist in “The Swimmer”, the antagonist in “Goodbye, My Brother” is the protagonist’s brother Lawrence. Cheever makes it clear that Lawrence is the black sheep of the family. One example of this is the rest of the family’s refusal to call him Lawrence. They choose instead to call him by his childhood nickname, “Tifty”. Lawrence frequently requests that they stop calling him this but the family ignores his pleas. This shows that they do not respect Lawrence and view him as an outsider. The protagonist notes that Lawrence was always different from the rest of his family and also notes that Lawrence cut off frequent contact with the family shortly after he went off to college. It is clear that Lawrence and the rest of the Pommeroy family do not get along, nor do they want to. The main reason for this rift is that Lawrence, unlike the rest of the family, is pessimistic and a stark realist. While the rest of the family clings to their former prosperity, Lawrence does not carry these same illusions and is therefore seen as gloomy and no fun to be around. Lawrence appears to be the opposite of the protagonist; however, it becomes clear that the protagonist’s illusions of happiness and affluence are a lie.

The Pommeroys are finally able to get together as a family in their old vacation home at Laud’s Head. The protagonist describes this family home by noting, “Laud’s Head is a summer place on the shore of one of the Massachusetts islands. We used to have a cottage there, and in the twenties, our father built the big house. It stands on a cliff above the sea and, excepting St. Tropez and some of the Apennine villages, it is my favorite place in the world” (Cheever, “Goodbye, My Brother” 9). It is clear that this home was built at a time when the Pommeroys were considered a prominent family. It can be argued that the protagonist loves it because it is the last vestige of the affluence he had previously enjoyed. Throughout the stay, the rest of the family clashes with Lawrence who never seems to be happy and sulks around the house refusing to participate or take joy in family activities. The protagonist chides Lawrence and tells him to stop being so dismal because he came there to enjoy himself. It is clear that the protagonist is using his stay at Laud’s Head as an escape from reality. The protagonist prefers to pretend that he is wealthy and happy while he is at Laud’s Head rather than accept the drudgery of his modest life as a teacher.

One interesting event in the story is a community party that the family attends, though Lawrence refuses to take part in it. It is a costume party where the attendees are to “come as you wish you were” (Cheever, “Goodbye, My Brother” 14). This results in the majority of the women dressing as brides and the majority of the men dressing as football players. This party represents the detrimental characteristic of living in the past. The party shows that the protagonist, as well as the other attendees, prefer to suspend reality and think of themselves as they used to be, rather than face the harsh reality of their present-day circumstances. The story ends with an attack by the protagonist against Lawrence. The protagonist finally has had enough with Lawrence’s realism and hits him in the head with a root. This act mirrors the tenacity with which the protagonist is fighting his bleak reality. Though the protagonist appears to be happy, this attack shows that he is filled with pent up anger in his real life. He lashes out at Lawrence because he cannot stand the truth of his words.

Lawrence can be seen as a symbol of the real world. The family ostracizes Lawrence because he is pessimistic and a realist. However, it can be argued that they are actually mad at Lawrence because he represents the drudgery and sadness that their real lives often bring. The home at Laud’s Head is a place to escape reality, but Lawrence brings the real world into the family’s life while they are there, and this causes them to hate him. “Goodbye, My Brother” also shares a similar use of symbolism with “The Swimmer”. Once again, Cheever uses a description of immersion in water to mimic the ideals of a baptism. The protagonist and his family frequently swim in the ocean to get away from Lawrence. They all find that the swim reduces their harsh feeling towards him. Literary critic Kristin Maier notes that “the sea not only has a healing effect on the characters in the story, it also seems to bridge the gulf between the past and the present” (233). Like the Ned Merrill in “The Swimmer”, the protagonist in “Goodbye, My Brother” is given clarity once he emerges from the water. His newfound sympathy towards his brother evinces the fact that he realizes that his brother is living truthfully in the real world and not presenting a false identity to society. The detrimental tendency to live in the past is exemplified by the family’s vacation home. Lawrence derides the fact that his family paid so much money for a home that is sitting on an island that will eventually erode. The protagonist notes that:

I had heard him say, years ago, that we and our friends and our part of the nation, finding ourselves unable to cope with the problems of the present, had, like a wretched adult, turned back to what we supposed was a happier and a simpler time, and that our taste for reconstruction and candlelight was a measure of this irremediable failure (Cheever, “Goodbye, My Brother” 12).

The family, excluding Lawrence, prefers to live in ignorance in their ritzy vacation home believing that they are affluent and happy. However, Lawrence sees through this sham and this is why the rest of the family treats him like an outcast.

At its core, “Goodbye, My Brother” is a tale about family division. The catalyst for this division is the conflict derived from the majority of the Pommeroy family’s dual nature. They vacation in an expensive house that reminds them of better times and present a happy face to society. Lawrence rebukes them for this falsehood and they respond by treating him as an outcast. Through this, Cheever has once again shown the detrimental effects of man’s dual nature. The Pommeroy family refuses to accept the harsh reality of their everyday lives and this causes a rift in their family. Though the story ends with the protagonist happily enjoying the fact that Lawrence has left, it is clear that this happiness is a falsehood that stems from the fact that, without his brother around, he can ignore reality without being chastised.

In conclusion, John Cheever was a talented and skillful American writer. Cheever frequently described the true nature of suburban life in his novels, which mimicked many characteristics of his own life. He frequently covered the theme that people present themselves differently from who they actually are. He also showed the detrimental nature of this falsehood. His work serves as an enlightening look at a specific section of American society, and his stories are delivered with eloquent characterization and a keen eye for detail that brings the stories to life and makes them resonate with the reader.

Works Cited

Blythe, Hal, and Charlie Sweet. "Man-Made Vs. Natural Cycles: What Really Happens in “The Swimmer’." Studies in Short Fiction 27.3 (1990): 415. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Cervo, Nathan. "Cheever's The Swimmer." Explicator 50.1 (1991): 49-50. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Cheever, John. “Goodbye, My Brother.” The Stories of John Cheever. New York, NY: Knopf, 1978. 9-17. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

---. “The Swimmer” An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 6th Compact ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 200-207. Print.

Maier, Kristin. "The Sea in Cheever's Goodbye, My Brother." Explicator 65.4 (2007): 232-234. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

White, Edmund. "The Strange Charms of John Cheever." Rev. of Cheever: A Life, Blake Bailey. The New York Review of Books. 8 Apr. 2010: n. pag. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.