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Definition of Imagery
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After Apple-Picking" contain imagery that engages... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines... read full definition
Imagery
Explanation and Analysis—The Lucinda River:
Near the beginning of the story, as Neddy is reflecting on the beauty of the “Lucinda River” (the string of swimming pools he plans to swim home through), the narrator uses imagery and a simile, as seen in the following passage:
Oh, how bonny and lush were the banks of the Lucinda River! Prosperous men and women gathered by the sapphire-colored waters while caterer’s men in white coats passed them cold gin. Overhead a red de Haviland trainer was circling around and around and around in the sky with something like the glee of a child in a swing. Ned felt a passing affection for the scene, a tenderness for the gathering, as if it was something he might touch. In the distance he heard thunder.
Here, the narrator uses imagery when describing the “bonny and lush” nature of the Lucinda River’s banks, as well as the “sapphire-colored waters” of the river—two descriptions that help readers visualize the scene. The description of caterers passing out “cold gin” and the sound of thunder in the distance likewise help readers feel and hear the scene, respectively. These different descriptions combine to help readers experience Neddy’s delight in his vision for his journey through the swimming pools—these almost hyperbolically positive descriptions are clearly emerging from his excitement about his upcoming voyage through the pools.
The simile here—in which the narrator describes a plane circling in the sky “with something like the glee of a child in a swing”—again contributes to the joyful and excited energy in this scene. Neddy is, in many ways, like a child on a swing here, searching for a sense of play and escape from the monotony of his suburban life.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Public Pool:
On the second half of Neddy’s journey through his county’s swimming pools, he must swim through a public pool. The narrator uses imagery in this moment to capture Neddy’s lack of enthusiasm about the experience, as seen in the following passage:
He took a shower, washed his feet in a cloudy and bitter solution, and made his way to the edge of the water. It stank of chlorine and looked to him like a sink. A pair of life-guards in a pair of towers blew police whistles at what seemed to be regular intervals and abused the swimmers through a public address system.
The descriptions of the “cloudy and bitter” water with which Neddy washes his feet, the stench of chlorine in the pool, and the sound of the lifeguards’ whistles and PA announcements are all examples of imagery, as they engage readers’ senses and bring them closer into the scene. The imagery here is notably all negatively coded. While Neddy had a great time swimming through the private pools owned by his wealthy suburbanite friends, he does not enjoy the experience of being with the public.
That Neddy finds himself at a public pool in this moment in the story is Cheever’s way of hinting at the financial hardship that Neddy is experiencing behind the scenes but not sharing with readers (because he himself cannot face this truth himself).
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Sunday Afternoon:
Throughout “The Swimmer,” Cheever includes imagery to bring readers into the story and help them hear, see, and feel what Neddy is experiencing as he makes his way through the county, swimming pool by swimming pool. The following passage—which comes in the more lighthearted first half of Neddy’s journey—is an example of this:
At the far end of the pool [Neddy] bypassed the Tomlinsons with a broad smile and jogged up the garden path. The gravel cut his feet but this was the only unpleasantness. The party was confined to the pool, and as he went toward the house he heard the brilliant, watery sound of voices fade, heard the noise of a radio from the Bunkers’ kitchen, where someone was listening to a ball game. Sunday afternoon.
Cheever uses imagery to engage several different senses at once. His description of the “unpleasant” way that the gravel “cut [Neddy’s] feet” helps readers feel the scene, while the descriptions of the “brilliant, watery sound of voices” and “the noise of a radio” broadcasting a baseball game help them hear it. The note about Neddy displaying a “broad smile” as he jogged along “the garden path” also encourages readers to picture the scene visually.
All of these sensory descriptions combine to create a portrait of an easeful Sunday afternoon in the suburbs. Cheever intentionally establishes the joy and lightheartedness at the start of Neddy’s journey in order to make Neddy’s descent into drunkenness and delusion (and the shift in weather from sunny and warm to rainy and cold) more visceral.
Related Themes:
