Here's a link to John Cheever's extended metaphor (a new term) "The Swimmer," a story we will read together this week (click the image above to pre-read). As you know, a metaphor is a descriptive allusion without using the words like or as. In an extended metaphor, the work itself becomes a microcosm of some aspect of life. We'll discuss this in more detail, but understand that in "The Swimmer," Neddy Merrill's entire life is encapsulated within the few pages of the story, despite the action taking place in only one summer day.

The painting "A Bigger Splash" is by David Hockney, a California artist (note the palms). Cheever's story takes place in New York or Connecticut (some commuter town with access to NYC), but the suburban theme works just as well in the east or west, or in any affluent bedroom community.