In “The Swimmer” by John Cheever, Neddy's view of reality is radically different from that of his neighbors. Neddy thinks the whole story takes place in the space of one afternoon, when in reality several months have passed. Even though Neddy is stuck in the past, his neighbors and the rest of society move on, which causes a bit of awkward sympathy at first, but later he finds himself completely alone, his family, his friends and his neighbors having left him behind. Neddy's situation illustrates that the passage of time is inevitable, and even if one chooses to ignore it, it will move on without it. At the start of the novella, Neddy seems to fit in mostly with his elite suburban neighborhood, but it's clear that he's struggling with alcoholism, an illness he mostly hides but which helps him deny the realities of his situation. Even in the midst of a failed marriage and strained relations with his neighbors, he remains carefree, deciding to "swim home" and seeing himself only as "the swimmer." "As he was getting out of the water, he heard Mrs. Halloran say, 'We were terribly sorry to hear of all your misfortunes, Neddy.' “My misfortunes?” » asked Ned. "I don't know what you mean." “Well, we heard you sold the house and your poor kids. . .” “I don’t remember selling the house,” Ned said, “and the girls are home.” “Yes,” Mrs. Halloran sighed. "Yes . . ." His voice filled the air with an unusual melancholy and Ned spoke briskly, "Thanks for the swim." even as his neighbors expressed sympathy for his dire situation with his family. He continued to swim, unaware of the realities of the situation, for several months, treating the whole time as an afternoon. Neddy...... middle of paper ...... and his society through his denial of the passage of time. Neddy's denial of reality has devastating consequences on his life, illustrating the theme that the passage of time is inevitable and one must move forward with the times or be left behind. In "The Swimmer" by John Cheever, Neddy denies time for several months, but time does not wait for him to catch up, leading to him being abandoned by his family and rejected by his community. Neddy's situation illustrates to readers that even if one chooses not to accept time, it will move on without them. This story shows that time waits for no one and that we must therefore move forward and not stay stuck in the past. Works Cited Cheever, John. “The swimmer”. Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. 12th ed. Flight. 1. Ed. XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2013. 249-57. Print.