Allegory of Risk Society in John Cheever’s “The Swimmer”

Serhat Uyurkulak

Makale detayları

Allegory of Risk Society in John Cheever’s “The Swimmer”

Yazarlar:

Serhat Uyurkulak

Yayıncı:

Anadolu University

Ana Başlıklar:

Edebiyat Sosyolojisi

Dergi:

Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Vol.25 Issue 1, pp.359-370

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

3/2025

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001343118

pISSN:

2667-8683

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 This article suggests that Ulrich Becks concept of the risk society provides a novel framework for interpreting literary texts, especially those dealing with themes such as uncertainty, disaster, and risk. Becks theory delineates the transition from traditional to modern and postindustrial societies based on their perceptions of risk, hazard, and disaster, and this study focuses on John Cheevers seminal 1964 short story The Swimmer as it registers the historical shift from industrial to late-modern society. Becks work has been influential in sociology but underutilized in literary studies, except for a limited number of narratives on climate change, environmental degradation, and nuclear disaster. Cheevers narrative, through the surreal and disorienting journey of its protagonist Neddy Merrill, is positioned in this article as an allegory of the rise of the risk society in the United States of America of the 1960s. The Swimmer is analyzed as a critique of the American dream and the existential decadence of affluent suburban life, where the protagonists journey through suburban pools symbolizes a broader transition from the relatively predictable, orderly world of industrial modernity to the complex, unstable conditions of postindustrial society. The article argues that Cheever successfully captures the social consciousness of a period marked by growing awareness of insecurity, alienation, and risk. This interpretation contributes to the limited scholarly discourse on Cheevers story and offers a new perspective on the intersection of literature and sociological theories.

 This article suggests that Ulrich Becks concept of the risk society provides a novel framework for interpreting literary texts, especially those dealing with themes such as uncertainty, disaster, and risk. Becks theory delineates the transition from traditional to modern and postindustrial societies based on their perceptions of risk, hazard, and disaster, and this study focuses on John Cheevers seminal 1964 short story The Swimmer as it registers the historical shift from industrial to late-modern society. Becks work has been influential in sociology but underutilized in literary studies, except for a limited number of narratives on climate change, environmental degradation, and nuclear disaster. Cheevers narrative, through the surreal and disorienting journey of its protagonist Neddy Merrill, is positioned in this article as an allegory of the rise of the risk society in the United States of America of the 1960s. The Swimmer is analyzed as a critique of the American dream and the existential decadence of affluent suburban life, where the protagonists journey through suburban pools symbolizes a broader transition from the relatively predictable, orderly world of industrial modernity to the complex, unstable conditions of postindustrial society. The article argues that Cheever successfully captures the social consciousness of a period marked by growing awareness of insecurity, alienation, and risk. This interpretation contributes to the limited scholarly discourse on Cheevers story and offers a new perspective on the intersection of literature and sociological theories.

 This article suggests that Ulrich Becks concept of the risk society provides a novel framework for interpreting literary texts, especially those dealing with themes such as uncertainty, disaster, and risk. Becks theory delineates the transition from traditional to modern and postindustrial societies based on their perceptions of risk, hazard, and disaster, and this study focuses on John Cheevers seminal 1964 short story The Swimmer as it registers the historical shift from industrial to late-modern society. Becks work has been influential in sociology but underutilized in literary studies, except for a limited number of narratives on climate change, environmental degradation, and nuclear disaster. Cheevers narrative, through the surreal and disorienting journey of its protagonist Neddy Merrill, is positioned in this article as an allegory of the rise of the risk society in the United States of America of the 1960s. The Swimmer is analyzed as a critique of the American dream and the existential decadence of affluent suburban life, where the protagonists journey through suburban pools symbolizes a broader transition from the relatively predictable, orderly world of industrial modernity to the complex, unstable conditions of postindustrial society. The article argues that Cheever successfully captures the social consciousness of a period marked by growing awareness of insecurity, alienation, and risk. This interpretation contributes to the limited scholarly discourse on Cheevers story and offers a new perspective on the intersection of literature and sociological theories.

 Bu makale, Ulrich Beckin risk toplumu kavramının, özellikle belirsizlik, felaket ve risk gibi temaları ele alan edebi metinleri yorumlamak için yeni bir çerçeve sunduğunu öne sürmektedir. Beckin teorisi, geleneksel toplumlardan modern ve sanayi sonrası toplumlara geçişi, risk, tehlike ve felaket algıları temelinde ele alır. Bu çalışma, endüstriyel toplumdan geç modern topluma geçişin izlerini kaydeden bir eser olarak John Cheeverın 1964 tarihli çığır açıcı kısa öyküsü The Swimmerı incelemektedir. Beckin çalışmaları sosyolojide önemli etkiler bırakmış ancak sınırlı sayıdaki iklim değişikliği, çevresel yıkım ve nükleer felaket anlatısı dışında edebiyat incelemelerinde yeterince kullanılmamıştır. Cheeverın anlatısı, bu makalede, ana karakteri Neddy Merrillin gerçeküstü ve okurda yön kaybı deneyimi oluşturan yolculuğu üzerinden 1960larda Amerika Birleşik Devletlerinde risk toplumunun yükselişini gösteren bir alegori olarak değerlendirilmektedir. The Swimmer Amerikan rüyasının ve müreffeh banliyö yaşamının varoluşsal çöküntüsünün bir eleştirisi olarak analiz edilmekte, ana karakterin banliyö havuzlarında yaptığı sıra dışı yolculuk ise endüstriyel modernitenin nispeten öngörülebilir, düzenli dünyasından sanayi sonrası toplumun karmaşık ve istikrarsız koşullarına geçişin bir simgesi olarak okunmaktadır. Bu makale, bahsi geçen kısa öyküsünde Cheeverın bir dönemin güvensizliğe, yabancılaşmaya ve riske dair artan toplumsal bilincini başarıyla yansıttığını iddia etmektedir. Bu yönüyle mevcut çalışma, Cheeverın öyküsü üzerine yapılan sınırlı akademik tartışmalara bir katkıda bulunmakta, edebiyat ile sosyolojik teori arasındaki kesişime dair yeni bir bakış açısı sunmaktadır.

Makale detayları

Allegory of Risk Society in John Cheever’s “The Swimmer”

Yazarlar:

Serhat Uyurkulak

Yayıncı:

Anadolu University

Ana Başlıklar:

Edebiyat Sosyolojisi

Dergi:

Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Vol.25 Issue 1, pp.359-370

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

3/2025

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001343118

pISSN:

2667-8683

John Cheever

Ulrich Beck

The Swimmer

American literature

risk society

allegoryJohn Cheever

Ulrich Beck

The Swimmer

Amerikan edebiyatı

risk toplumu

alegori

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Serhat Uyurkulak

Yayıncı: Anadolu University

Ana Başlıklar: Edebiyat Sosyolojisi

Dergi: Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Vol.25 Issue 1, pp.359-370

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 3/2025

Belge Dili: İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.): 2001343118

pISSN: 2667-8683

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Serhat Uyurkulak

Yayıncı:

Anadolu University

Ana Başlıklar:

Edebiyat Sosyolojisi

Dergi:

Anadolu Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Vol.25 Issue 1, pp.359-370

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

3/2025

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001343118

pISSN:

2667-8683