Ask The Puma Research Guides: The Swimmer

The Swimmer 

The short story “The Swimmer,” by John Cheever, seems to concern Ned Merrill’s swim through a number of his neighbors’ swimming pools.  On a deeper level, though, this story deals with Ned’s reluctance to face his life’s failures.

LINCCWeb Online Catalog – Search Term

• Cheever, John (Subject)

Call Numbers for Browsing the Shelves

• PS507 .N65
• PS3505 .H6428

Circulating Resources – A Selected List

• Baym, Nina (Ed.). Norton Anthology of American Literature (6^th Ed. –Vol. E). 2003b.

                             Call Number:  PS507 .N65 2003b  (See pages 2041-2051.)

• Coale, Samuel. John Cheever. 1977.

                            Call Number:  PS3505 .H6428 Z6

• Meanor, Patrick. John Cheever Revisited. 1995.

                            Call Number:  PS3505 .H6428 Z77 1995

• O’Hara,  James. John Cheever: A Study of the Short Fiction. 1989. 

                            Call Number:  PS3505 .H6428 Z8 1989

Reference Materials

• Contemporary Literary Criticism – Call Number:  REF PN771 .C59

o   Vol. 3, pg. 107

o   Vol. 7, pgs. 49-50

o   Vol. 11, pg. 120

o   Vol. 64, pgs. 46, 48, 53, 63, 66

• Critical Survey of Short Fiction – Call Number:  REF PN3321 .C7 2001

o   Vol. 2, pgs. 538-539

• Masterplots II – Short Story Series (Revised Edition) – Call Number:  REF PN3326 .M27 2004

o   Vol. 7, pgs. 4003-4005

• Short Story Criticism – Call Number:  REF PN3321 .S5

o   Vol. 1, pgs. 94, 100, 102, 106, 108                   

o   Vol. 38, pgs. 44-76

o   Vol. 57, pgs. 3-34

• Short Stories for Students – Call Number:  REF PN3330 .S386

o   Vol. 2, pgs. 278-294

Electronic Databases

To access Valencia’s research databases, open your Atlas account, select ‘Search the Library’, then select ‘Databases A-Z’.

• Academic OneFile
• Academic Search Complete
• JSTOR
• Literary Reference Center
• Literature Resources from Gale

This Research Guide is designed to help users find information on a particular topic within the Valencia College East Campus Library.  This is by no means a comprehensive list of resources and other resources may be available on this topic.  Please check LINCCWeb, Valencia East’s online catalog, to verify the availability of circulating books within the library.  Feel free to ask a librarian for help if you need further assistance.

Valencia College East Campus Library

Last Revised on November 21, 2021