John Cheever is a remarkable American short story writer and novelist. He is recognized as one of the most significant short story authors of the previous century. His themes mainly involve the duality of human nature which is usually illustrated through the chasm between a character's comme il faut communal character and interior degradation. Most of his works also reflect nostalgia for a disappearing lifestyle, demonstrated by following cultural customes and a deep communal feeling, in contrast to the estranging nomadism of contemporary backstreets. Being Cheever's most popular story, The Swimmer (1964) represents these backstreet stories, which discover the glory and sufferings of people living within the chaos of a so-called peaceful American suburbia. Mostly considered as Cheever's best work, The Swimmer mixes legend and reality while narrating Neddy Merrill's relatively long trip along the pools of Westchester County. In this study, The Swimmer will be analysed in terms of major narrative theories in order to examine how authorial preferences support major themes and motifs within the short story. To do so, the study sets out to reveal narrative agents and their voices, analyse the representation of consciousness, and finally discuss post-modern reality in American fiction.
Booth, W. C. (1961). The Rhetoric of Fiction, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Bronté, C. (1847). Jane Eyre, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth.
Chatman, S. (1978). Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film, Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
Cheever, J. (1964). The Swimmer. In John Cheever: Collected Stories and Other Writings, New York: Library of America.
Cohn, D. (1978). Transparent Minds: Narrative Modes for Presenting Consciousness in Fiction, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Fielding, H. (1749). Tom Jones, ed. Bender, J-Stern, S., Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Friedman, N. (1955). “Point of View in Fiction: The Development of a Critical Concept”, PMLA, V. 70(5), p. 1160-1184.
Genette, G. (1972). Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method, trans. Lewin, J. E., New York: Cornell University Press.
Prince, G. (1980). “Introduction to the Study of the Narratee”, Reader-Response Criticism: From Formalism to Post-Structuralism, ed. Tompkins, J. P., Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.
John Cheever’in The Swimmer Adlı Eseri Üzerine Anlatımbilim Kuramları Bağlamında Eleştirel Bir İnceleme
Year 2023,
Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 29 - 37, 25.03.2023
John Cheever, Amerikalı önemli bir kısa öykü yazarı ve romancıdır. Geçen yüzyılın en önemli kısa öykü yazarlarından biri olarak kabul edilir. Eserlerindeki ana tema, bazen bir karakterin şaşalı sosyal kişiliği ile iç dünyasının çürüklüğü arasındaki ayrımda kendini belli eden, insan doğasının ikircikli yapısıdır. Ayrıca, eserlerinin çoğunda çağdaş varoşların yabancılaştıran göçebeliğine karşı kültürel geleneklere ve toplum inancına sıkı sıkıya bağlı kalınarak yitip giden insan ömrüne duyulan özlemi de görmek mümkündür. Cheever’in en çok bilinen eserleri olan The Swimmer (1964), sözde huzur dolu bir Amerikan banliyösünün keşmekeşinde yaşayan bireylerin görkemini ve acılarını anlatan varoş hikayelerini konu alır. Sıklıkla Cheever’in en iyi öyküsü olarak kabul edilen The Swimmer’da, Neddy Merrill'in Westchester bölgesindeki evlerin havuzlarında geçen nisbeten uzun yolculuğu, gerçeklik ve efsane harmanlanarak anlatılır. Bu çalışmada, The Swimmer, anlatımbilimin ana kuramları kapsamında ele alınarak, yazar tercihlerinin hikayedeki ana tema ve motifleri nasıl desteklediği incelenmeye çalışılacaktır. Bunun için çalışma, anlatı ajanlarını ve onların seslerini ortaya çıkarmayı, bilinç altının nasıl temsil edildiğini incelemeyi ve son olarak da Amerikan kurgu edebiyatında post-modern gerçekliğin nasıl yansıtıldığını tartışmayı hedeflemektedir.
Booth, W. C. (1961). The Rhetoric of Fiction, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Bronté, C. (1847). Jane Eyre, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth.
Chatman, S. (1978). Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film, Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
Cheever, J. (1964). The Swimmer. In John Cheever: Collected Stories and Other Writings, New York: Library of America.
Cohn, D. (1978). Transparent Minds: Narrative Modes for Presenting Consciousness in Fiction, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Fielding, H. (1749). Tom Jones, ed. Bender, J-Stern, S., Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Friedman, N. (1955). “Point of View in Fiction: The Development of a Critical Concept”, PMLA, V. 70(5), p. 1160-1184.
Genette, G. (1972). Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method, trans. Lewin, J. E., New York: Cornell University Press.
Prince, G. (1980). “Introduction to the Study of the Narratee”, Reader-Response Criticism: From Formalism to Post-Structuralism, ed. Tompkins, J. P., Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.
İşçi, V. (2023). A Critical Study on John Cheever’s The Swimmer within the Context of Narrative Theory. Edebi Eleştiri Dergisi, 7(1), 29-37. https://doi.org/10.31465/eeder.1125171
AMA
İşçi V. A Critical Study on John Cheever’s The Swimmer within the Context of Narrative Theory. EEDER. March 2023;7(1):29-37. doi:10.31465/eeder.1125171
Chicago
İşçi, Veysel. “A Critical Study on John Cheever’s The Swimmer Within the Context of Narrative Theory”. Edebi Eleştiri Dergisi 7, no. 1 (March 2023): 29-37. https://doi.org/10.31465/eeder.1125171.
EndNote
İşçi V (March 1, 2023) A Critical Study on John Cheever’s The Swimmer within the Context of Narrative Theory. Edebi Eleştiri Dergisi 7 1 29–37.
IEEE
V. İşçi, “A Critical Study on John Cheever’s The Swimmer within the Context of Narrative Theory”, EEDER, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 29–37, 2023, doi: 10.31465/eeder.1125171.
ISNAD
İşçi, Veysel. “A Critical Study on John Cheever’s The Swimmer Within the Context of Narrative Theory”. Edebi Eleştiri Dergisi 7/1 (March 2023), 29-37. https://doi.org/10.31465/eeder.1125171.
JAMA
İşçi V. A Critical Study on John Cheever’s The Swimmer within the Context of Narrative Theory. EEDER. 2023;7:29–37.
MLA
İşçi, Veysel. “A Critical Study on John Cheever’s The Swimmer Within the Context of Narrative Theory”. Edebi Eleştiri Dergisi, vol. 7, no. 1, 2023, pp. 29-37, doi:10.31465/eeder.1125171.
Vancouver
İşçi V. A Critical Study on John Cheever’s The Swimmer within the Context of Narrative Theory. EEDER. 2023;7(1):29-37.