- Within The Swimmer, the name of the river, which is really just a chain of pools, is Lucinda, which Neddy names after his wife. Within Swimming the name of the lake in which Frank swims so routinely is named Juliet, a name which will later come up in the story as the name of Frank's mistress of interest.
- Routines are common within both of the stories. For Neddy it is the routine of drinking at every stop on his journey through the pools of his county. For Frank, there are many routines: his routine swim every morning, the breakfast routine with his wife, in which they barely look at each other, etc.
- The claim, "I just wanted to do it." is said by both Neddy and Frank. Neddy's claim is that he wasn't trying to escape or accomplish anything by swimming across the county, he just wanted to do it, he wanted to explore. Likewise, Frank explains to Juliet, his love intrest, that he didn't always love swimming and actually was very fearful of it. But one day he decided he would learn how to swim, nothing posessed him to go through with it, one day he woke up and just wanted to do it.
- Cheating as an action and thought is another commonality between the stories. In The Swimmer Neddy admits to cheating on his wife with an old mistress, Shirley Adams, however his memory and recollections of the affair are very scarce and fuzzy. Frank, on the other hand, thinks of cheating on his wife, but we don't know if he actually did or not, he kissed Juliet, well she kissed him, but it remains a mystery as to whether Juliet actually existed or not, so we shall say he definitely thought of cheating on his wife, and possibly performed the act.
- Nudity is present in both stories, moreso in Swimming than in The Swimmer. In Swimming Frank tries to go swimming in the nude as much as possible, it's a freeing, exhilirating experience for him. Neddy, from The Swimmer, though is only nude for one scene in the story, the pool at the Halloran household.
- The element of swimming as an escape...Neddy is trying to escape life, and go for a delightful, yet challenging swim through all of the pools in his county. None the less, it seems a great escape from the many changes in his life that occur while he is on his journey, or perhaps the changes occur due to the fact that his journey is so time consuming that while he was trying to escape life for a while, life as he knew it actually escaped him (financially - money, emotionally - family, mentally - his mind...is he crazy? delussional?). Frank uses swimming as an outlet to escape his wife, whom he doesn't think he loves anymore (emotionally) and his reality, the depression he feels with his lack of excitement and spontinuity in his life (mentally, physically).
- Abandoned houses: Neddy notices that the Welcher's home and pool seem desolate and dry, his first reaction is to assume that they went away on vacation or something, but then comes to realize that they have moved due to a "For Sale" sign posted on the front yard. Frank's Juliet Lake has many houses on it, but one of the most notorious ones is the Ice House, which has been empty for years, until one day (the day Juliet appears -- could be fabrication of Frank's mind)
Differences:
- Water: Although present in both stories, for Neddy in The Swimmer, the water is a painful exploration. Not only physically but mentally, he cries and is battling with alcoholism. Also with Neddy the fluidity of water is symbolic of tears, water in the pools, the fluidity of the stream, and the fluid which runs his system, alcohol. For Frank, however, water is a positive thing in his life, it's the only thing that keeps him sane, preoccupied, and out of his wife's way. The water helps him to get into the best shape, barely aging as far as physique goes, and heals him emotionally with the drama he deals with when associating with his wife.
- Weather: The Swimmer, Neddy, goes through all of the seasons during his expedition, starting with summer, when times are happy and gay, and ending with winter, the saddest time in his life where he has seemingly lost everything important in life, his family, his money, and his mind. The weather in Swimming is bright, sunny, beautiful, and hot the whole time. It is summer, and although Frank has many issues, none of them seem so enormous that they can not be dealt with or Frank will lose his mind. In fact, the temperature actually increases in the story, especially when Frank meets and swims with Juliet, significant of the increase in joy and happiness in Frank's life.
* Within the story Swimming, I noticed a repition of the color red: dot, sweater, bathing suit, blushing. Red within the story is only mentioned with Juliet. Other repitions within the story include that of electricity (caused by Juliet and her red swim suit), and black bubbles. Notice red and black are dark colors, maybe indicative of the danger Juliet (her presence makes Frank want to teach his wife how to swim in which instance she almost dies = black bubbles)
