SOURCE: Graves, Nora Calhoun. “The Symptomatic Colors in John Cheever's ‘The Swimmer.’” In Critical Essays on John Cheever, edited by R. G. Collins, pp. 191-93. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1983.

In the following essay, originally published in 1974, Graves offers a close reading of the use of color in “The Swimmer.”

A close reading of John Cheever's “The Swimmer,”¹ reveals many angles for study, but an emphasis which proves intriguing is the use of color. Since “The Swimmer” deals primarily and figuratively with water, the chief color is one esthetically and normally associated with water—green with some variants.

The story begins at the Westerhazys' pool. Here the water exhibits “a pale shade of green,” fed as it is “by an artesian well with a high iron content” (603). A few lines later Neddy Merrill, the main character, sits “by the green water” (603) as he attempts to strengthen his body...