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Freud described our conscious mind as what we are aware of in any present situation including our thoughts, ideas and perceptions. Freud also introduced us to the idea of the preconscious mind, which is closely related to the conscious in that it holds thoughts and ideas that are easily available to be brought to the conscious. The most important aspect of the mind, as Freud would tell us, is that of the unconscious realm that holds information not readily available to us. It is proposed that much of the information in the unconscious is stored there because we cannot bear to think about it. Closely related to the conscious, preconscious and unconscious minds are structures Freud believes determine our behavior: the id, ego, and superego. When reading a piece of literature the main focus is almost always on the characters. We try to understand their thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and drives. In The Swimmer, John Cheever forces us to ask ourselves what it is that compels Neddy to push himself beyond his limits and forget such critical aspects of his life. By analyzing Neddy’s id, ego, and superego, we begin to see a clearer picture of what drives his strange behavior. The id, located in the unconscious, is thought to be the primitive part of our psyche and the source of our motivations that drive us to fulfill our needs immediately. Freud believed that the id consisted of two parts: one driven by the life instinct, or pleasure principle, and the other driven by the death instinct. The life instinct promotes life of the individual and species by motivating him to eat and procreate. The death instinct refers to our desires to be still, at peace, and have no more needs. This instinct manifests itself by alcohol and drug abuse, getting lost in a book, craving sleep, or sometimes as seriously as suicide. Throughout the whole story of The Swimmer, we are constantly asking the question “why?” We first wonder why Neddy is pushing himself to the point of exhaustion while undertaking this journey, then we begin to wonder what it is that happened to Neddy and his family, and we finally wonder why Neddy himself cannot remember the crucial event or the times leading up to it. If we take a look at the Freud’s theories of the id we begin to answer some of these questions. The life instinct, or pleasure principle, offers an explanation as to why Neddy is drinking heavily throughout the story. He is attempting to maximize his pleasure and avoid pain and discomfort. The death instinct also offers a possible answer to why he is drinking so heavily while undertaking such a difficult journey. His id may be pushing him to be still, at peace, and with no more needs. The superego is another structure in the unconscious mind that is just as illogical as the id. The superego’s quest is not one of pleasure though. The superego’s goal is to be ultimately right and just in the eyes of society above all things. The superego functions within cultural norms and societal standards. As we start to progress through The Swimmer we begin to form an understanding of the cultural norms and societal standards that Neddy has had to adopt and function within. In Neddy’s prestigious neighborhood, there is a certain expectation to conduct yourself in a respectable way. We start to realize that Neddy must be the picture of class since he is so respected and well liked by his peers. Neddy himself gave us an explanation of what is considered unacceptable behavior when he tells us about the Biswangers’ before he enters their party. The Biswanger’s discuss prices of things at parties and tell inappropriate stories with mixed company. He tells us that four times a year the Biswanger’s invite him and his wife to dinner and every time are turned down. Neddy tells us that he is very frustrated with their unwillingness to comprehend “the rigid and undemocratic realities of their society.” (150) We begin to realize that there is something seriously wrong with Neddy when we here about the incident that took place one Sunday morning. Neddy hears Grace Biswanger telling guests about him showing up at their house drunk one morning and asking to borrow five thousand dollars. Apparently Neddy and his family went broke overnight and now had nothing but income. (150) This deviation from Neddy’s usually respectable and appropriate behavior shows that something must be seriously wrong to have overridden his strong superego. The last aspect of the psyche that Freud introduced us to is the ego that connects us to the outer world by our consciousness. The ego connects us to reality and its goal is to keep a balance between the conflicting goals of the id and superego. It keeps the id’s desires under control until it finds a way, in accordance with the superego, to fulfill them. When the demands of the superego and id are conflicting or too demanding then this creates what we know as anxiety. In an effort to reduce overwhelming anxiety, the ego may unconsciously block, repress, or distort disturbing thoughts by means of defense mechanisms. The major explanations for Neddy’s strange behavior and state of mind are a result of his use of defense mechanisms. The reason he undertakes the journey across the country to a home that is no longer his may be attributed to the defense mechanism known as undoing. Undoing involves “magical” gestures, rituals or some type of act performed with the goal of canceling an unpleasant prior experience. Maybe Neddy thinks that somehow by taking this new and difficult route home he will find something different at the end. When Neddy tells us of the Biswangers we initially accept his disapproval of them. When we later find that he himself acted so inappropriately we wonder if he is really using the defense mechanism of projection. This involves seeing your own unwanted desires and feelings in other people. Could Neddy’s inability to cope with his very inappropriate behavior led to the use of this defense mechanism? Two more defenses that come into play are those of denial and repression. Denial involves the conscious refusal to perceive certain facts. This is more than likely where Neddy’s major problem began. The thought of such a lifestyle change, and the humiliation of letting down his family were probably too much for him to think about. This more than likely led to the unconscious repression of the event, person, or situation. The repression of these things into his unconscious is why he cannot recall anything relating to the situation. After first reading The Swimmer, I was confused as to why Neddy was behaving as he did. After applying Freud’s theories of different levels of consciousness and the id, ego and superego, we start to see a clearer picture of this disturbed individual. Neddy’s problems run far deeper than houses, money, or work related problems. His inability to cope with reality and its stressors is more troubling than any material possessions that he may be lacking. Neddy’s out of control id combined with his overwhelmed ego and resulting abuse of defense mechanisms seem to be at the route of his problem. Neddy’s ego has done a wonderful job of totally distorting his reality in an attempt to reduce stress. I think at at least one time in our lives we have all wanted to forget about some horrible, embarrassing, or troublesome event. The story of The Swimmer allows us ponder if this “easy way out” is really so easy after all. Bibliography: Word Count: 1374
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