In an allegory nothing is what is seems and even when the meaning of something is pinned down it is still a subjective decision. Therefore whichever aspect that is to be defined may have completely different meanings depending on the individual reader. In John Cheever's "The Swimmer" there is certainly no shortage of aspects, ranging from very small details to broad encompassing settings, that have a different meaning other than what they literally are. One such facet is that the protagonist of this story, Neddy Merril, is swimming a staggering eight miles to his house by way of neighborhood private and public pools. Throughout this journey Neddy becomes closer and closer to the realization of what is really happening to him and the reason for this is that the pools he is swimming in are actually representative of the alcohol he is consuming. This connection, between water and...