I kept our essential question in mind particularly when reading “The Swimmer” by John Cheever. (I don’t remember our exact wording, but) Our question was about how the archetypes in literature reflect and challenge cultural values. It is very interesting to think about the archetypes and culture of “The Swimmer.” “The Swimmer” was published in 1964 and is obviously a story placed in America, east coast specifically. Some of the archetypes are archetypes that signify high social status and class. Just to list a few, there is the golf links, tennis court, roses, gin and tonic, Connecticut reference, caterers, parties, gatecrashers, etc. These are all archetypes created by culture (as all archetypes really are) and those that we picture when we think of upper class.
It is interesting to think about how these archetypes used in the swimmer may “challenge” cultural values as the main character Ned begins to lose his stability and accountability as the narrator or main character. With Ned’s confusion and delusion, Cheever may be challenging the values of the upper class.
I also thought this story was a great example of the archetypal narrative. This would be a great story to teach because it constantly refers to the journey, “the pilgrim, the explorer, the man with a destiny.” This man is on a journey to get back to home, but eventually the reader realizes that his journey is actually not what he thinks it is. It turns out that his journey has actually transformed into a downward spiraling, out of his control. It would be a great discussion to look at Ned’s journey through the archetypal lens and decide which type of journey or archetypal narrative it actually falls under.
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