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Baptism In The Swimmer

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Neddy Merrill, protagonist of The Swimmer by John Cheever, disconnected his mental state from reality through alcohol to numb the pain of his life. However, departure from alcohol driven illusion occurs with his cleansing through each pool he encounters. In Foster’s chapter, If She Comes Up It’s Baptism, water is a universal force that may cleanse, such as baptism, or eradicate, such as drowning. Furthermore, he describes that rebirth or death through water has painful consequences. Neddy must suffer through that very same pain as each pool reflects as a mirror does, his inner turmoil, until he emerges from the pool that manifests himself. The illusion begins with, Neddy at the peak of his life. He is in such perfect form he dares to smack,
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