Below is half of the first reading assignment of the semester, a short story called “The Swim Team,” written in 2007 by American author Miranda July (who is also known for her acting and music work).
Keep in mind, the reason that I am asking you to do outside readings at all this semester is solely to give you ideas for your own creative projects. For this particular reading, I want you to think about what, if anything, you might have learned from or been inspired by this story.
I think, for example, that July does a really great job of developing interesting, three-dimensional characters in a story that is, in fact, very short.
What do you think? What does this story do that you would like to do with your story? What might you do differently?
You can download and read the story (in .pdf format) from the link below. Remember to post your reply in the space at the bottom of this page.
ENG 102 @ LaGuardia CC 
First of all this story is very interesting. The creation of three characters and description of their attitude while they were learning how to swan make me easy to understand what the reading was about and make me imagine how Elizabeth, Kelda and Jack Jack were learning how to swim. Another point that I like about this reading is the explanation in details of some points.
Reading this story something that I want to use from here is the explanation in detail of the most exciting points of my story. As the author did here she explained in detail some points so I want to do the same think. It help the reader create one image about the reading. Also I want to create character like the author create in this reading. Something that I don’t like is that at the end she said that all her main characters died at this point. In my story I don’t want that my characters die.
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I am a little bit confused because at the beginning she said “Was I a kept woman” and then “Was Belvedere like Nevada, were prostitution is legal?. It makes me think or may be it is implied that she was a prostitute. Then, I do not how she managed to live in a place like this where she could not find anything. Anyway, I am pretty sure that this story gives to me a clear way to develop characters in my own one. However, mine will be different because I’ll probably mention just one person.
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I really enjoyed reading this story. This story made me remember my town where I lived my childhood. My town was isolated. And now I learned that anybody could make their life joyful it doesn’t matter how a town is. I also learned that there are not limits to write. In my writings I can use my imagination. For example Miranda July is a coach of tree person that are in their eighties. I think at that age is a little more difficult to make the moves and the bones hurts lay on the floor.
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I found this story to be quite interesting. I liked how the all the characters interacted with one another. Each character was specific in their own way despite their ages. It was nice to read how the young character gave the older three characters a way to feel like their are swimming despite being in a small town with no pool. It was also nice to read that the young character found companionship within the older three characters.
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I needed to read this story twice time. It was confusing at the first time that what is this story about. I couldn’t figure out very clearly, but once I read again I knew that it is a kind of letter to ex-boyfriend who just bumped into with author three hours ago. I was impressed about the author leads this story into such an unexpected conclusion. The author have challenged me with the interesting developing skill of the story as an author.
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In this story, I found that July used a lot of different adjectives to describe people’s action, mood, etc. That makes characters seem real and make them more lively. I think it gave me some ideas that i will use in my story because i hope the characters in my story can live as real. But also i will write down more dialogues between the characters, it will express more about their thoughts.
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The first time while I read this story, I did not understand the story. I did not know the person “you” whom the author tells the story to. I had no idea about the place “Belvedere” where the author seems to experience a tough time in. Also, I had not felt that there were any valuable information in the author’s Belvedere experience that she trained a swimming team in her house.
Therefore, I read the story several times. After that I knew that “you” refers to the author’s ex-boyfriend. The place “Belvedere” is probably an unknown small town which had not shown a specific location on google map. And, I think the reason why the author tells her story in Belverdere is to annoy her ex-boyfriend because her ex-boyfriend seems to date with another girl before they break up.
I feel the most difficult part for me is to understand the meaning of the story, so I probably will not do this in my story.
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I read the story and it was not quit clear to me what message the writer wants to give us because here she was telling about her boyfriend and then she scape to another story which has no connection with each other. and i don’t think i would write something similar to that. i might do something different which would make some kind of scence. Also i want my audience to enjoy my story and i don’t want to make them bored by reading my story.
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July’s story is so interesting because she uses the first person to describe that. For the topic “ swim team”, normally, from the following story. we will know how hard they to train and how happy story will be happen. However, the coach use a different way to train her term member. Funny enough, they try to train swimming in the floor, and Kelda afraid to breath because his uncle’s death. Unfortunately, for the ending of story the swim team members have been gone. Why? Make readers more curious to think what happen?From the ending of story, it is the coach’s memories and sadness ending.
I think the write should give us more clue to us. Perhaps, her Ex boyfriend make this sad story or she stand to boyfriend’s role to image all of that.
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I can’t image that I live in a small and strange place without friends, families, phone and car. Maybe I can endure one day, even one week. But over ten days, I think I might be crazy because of too lonely. Without car, we can walk. Without phone, we can send letters. But without families and friends, we can’t be happy.
Friends for the narrator, they are her life-saving. Because of Elizabeth, Kelda and Jack Jack, her lonely life has been changed. Even though they are too much older than her, but they give her a goal to welcome every day. They are over eighth years old, and there is no swimming pool in their small town. For them, swimming is unbelievable, and it isn’t necessary to learn it. They want to learn swimming, so narrator try to teach them without pool. She lets them come to her house, use her kitchen, swim in bowls. They come twice a week. For her, that two days are very especial. Because of that two days, her time become meaningful. She writes a letter to her ex-boyfriend who already get a new girlfriend and tells him her new friends has been died. She is so sad because her life go back to lonely.
.For me, friends are very important. Without friends, whom we can go shopping with, whom we can chat other people’s business with, whom we don’t need to worry about we will lose with any excuse. Narrator can set a swimming lesson for her friends because they want to learn. For her, friendship saves her life from lonely. For me, friendship gives love and hope.
The swim team is not only a team, it is friendship and love.
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Personally, I feel not comfortable and awkward while I reading this story, maybe because Miranda describe her story so intimate and mystery. For example in the first paragraph “This is the story I wouldn’t tell you when I was your girlfriend……” and the last paragraph. It can say that this story has really very little to do with second person. In the story, we can see that narrator describes her time in Belvedere, where she helps a small group of the aged. They all meet at her apartment to learn how to swim, even though there isn’t a pool or quite body of water to practice in. Instead, they all just paddle around on her kitchen floor. In the finally paragraph she tells you that she misses them, because she knew that they already dead. In addition, What I like form this story is it’s accomplishes, although it is short, it is full of suspicious and make me think about what happen to her and her old swimming student as well as her ex-boyfriend. And I was trying to figure out why she breaks up with her ex-boyfriend. It seems like that the sudden reminiscence of the swim team was reminder to Maria that breaking up with him was a right decision. Furthermore, I found her very introvert. She had difficulties to stand for herself. She didn’t even get herself together to tell the three old people her real name. Not knowing how to confront with her boyfriend she decided to end up the relationship.
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This story while confusing to me had a lot to offer.The description of the town and the training sessions really gave a sense of setting and the actions they did, for example describing having the bowls with warm water and salt and how the exercise was for practicing holding they’re breath under water.All the character had they’re own personalities and backgrounds such as Kelda and Jack Jack being married, it shows what relationships are already established in the story.Also for some I feel as though she created the three characters in her head because of how she had no one in the town even though she established were she met them.I like the character dynamics I want to be able to establish character relationships that already exist and don’t need as much introducing.
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In this story ” JULY, “THE SWIM TEAM” we can see how July uses three-dimensional characters in a wonderful way, which persuades me to practice it on my own short story. She started with the “you” ” This is the story I wouldn’t tell you when I was your girlfriend.” Then she moves to the story itself which she would not tell, thinking of her
ex-boyfriend’s lurid and specific guesses that left me with question mark “If prostitution is legal at Belvedere ? Was
I naked for the entire year? Then the narrator moves to the first point of view telling us that she was stuck in an incredibly small town without job where she met the three old people and build a relationship with them, and how she taught them how to swim in her house because there was no pool, no lake, and no ocean.They left her casseroles in exchange for the lessons, so she did not need another job. This was how she spent the year. This is what she was afraid to tell her boyfriend.
Then the story ends with another person ” you” revealing her feeling of loneliness and pain.
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The author uses first narrator in this story that makes me understand her at the first time. From this story I realize that maybe involving three or more characters in one story is not a good idea for me. That is because I do not think I have the same ability as July to give such in-depth and three-dimensional characters at the same time. However, I do want to challenge my self to describe three characters in my story. Besides, July gives me the clear way to use other characters to develop the protagonist’s feeling and thought. I will try to use it in my story as well.
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The author use first person to describe herself in the story and as this is a journal or letter to someone she knew. She wasn’t confident while was dating this guy as he constant expressed to her that he thought she might have a interesting past. She thought she didn’t have a interesting and exciting life while in a small town, so she didn’t even think teach the elders how to swim was interesting experience to tell. I find she is a very creative person, without a swimming pool in the town, she taught three elders how to swim with a bowl of water to simulate the breathing exchange in the water. In the end, she realized that she miss the friendship that she had with those elders which is more meaningful to her life.
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I couldn’t wait any more When I finished reading this story . That’s pretty interesting story. The author used the three characters who are all old people and describe their personality attitude to connect the whole story .That’s first way of writing novel , I learned from this story .Second, the author wrote a lots of detail of the three characters to develop a picture of the author teaching the three old people how to swim in readers mind. That’s a clearly way to make me understand the rule how to write a novel easier.
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When I read this story, I did not understand what kind of messages that the author delivers for. This is a sad story. The story starts that July was living in an incredibly small town – Blevedere. Her life was bored and lonely before she met Kelda, Elizabeth, and Jack Jack. It is because she was not thing to do all day. When she met them, her life seems to be colorful, because she had friends and no longer felt that lone even she only met them twice a week. But at the end of the story, all of her friends died and the pain of the present was loneliness triggers past loneliness and all new losses feel like all the losses that have gone before.
For me, I might not write a very sad ending story, because I don’t want a lonely life. It reflects of what you dream for when you write a story.
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The “Swim Team” is an excellent short story . Here is the author as the narrator , creates a three dimensional character of this story . I like it . I think , I will try to create such type of character in my non-fiction story.
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I find this story really interesting. The author has an interesting way of writing about four different characters including the narrator. When i write my story I want to be able to engage the reader as Miranda did from the beginning. I like how she completely switched up the story from like the second line to give it a completely different view. I wouldn’t do that with my own story because i will probably end up confusing the reader. But i liked how she did that.
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I read this story several times because first of all i was confused. I really like this small story because when i was read this story i was remembered my small town “Comilla”, which is located in my country, Bangladesh. I felt very sad when read this story. I felt as a main character. The writer Miranda was described three old people characters,those characters were related each others.
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There are many aspects of the story ”The Swim Team” that I would like to incorporate into my own story, the main aspect the author adds into the story is how she sculpts the characteristics of Jack Jack, Kelda and Elizabeth (the three people the main character is teaching) she does it in a way that makes you feel attached to them. When i read that the three swimming students were quite old, like some of them were 90 I was very surprised. I was also surprised how the main character was teaching the students with a couple of bowls in her own apartment. My kids don’t know how to swim and they have a whole swimming pool, it really shows what you could achieve with hard work and dedication. What really got me in the story was at the ending when it said they died. I got so attached to the characters that i felt staggered and if someone suddenly pierced me in the heart with a dagger. That is an aspect I would love to add to my story. One aspect i didn’t like was the beginning, it can be quite perplexing if you do not read the story and the beginning a couple of times. I would like my story to be straightforward and right to the point because as i can see in the comments above many people were confused by the beginning. All in all this story was magnificent and unique.
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“The swim team” story, I found it very interesting. Because it combines of many characteristics; such as memory, old people (about their eighties), swimming team( old people without any experience, and water), nostalgia. As a young girl in her twenties, I couldn’t imagine how she could choose that kind of a boring life. It lacks to the most basic needs: water shopping centers, friends, and with no money.
This story gives me an idea about how to write my fiction story, and how to extend my thinking and my imagination.
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I try to send my work but I cant something wrong
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The 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning this short story written by haruki ,murakami .
person who was telling the story the second person narrator and he have limited point of view ,he was tone cold and detached intimate and warm .Then in this narrator used the love story . He was talking about two person met each other the first time and they talking a lot he thinking he find 100%perfect girl and she thinking she find 100%perfect boy they don’t .
than both of them they believes the love in the first sight .
I don’t for get to post your reply in the space available at the bottom of the page then the tone in this story was sad and lamenting the narrator at the end said yes that’s it that is what I should have said to her this mean he was sad and he should say something else better than this .in this story the girl also wants man perfect 100%and the man need woman also perfect in 100% in my opinion both of them they can’t be perfect all the time they can find any person he or she perfect 100% it is impossible to find it a lot of people had advantage and this advantage .
All the people like this no one perfect 100%.
than the boy and the girl both are human being the make mistake no body perfect 100%.and also Than no love in the first sight .
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I’m sorry professor I make mistake I put the answer in the wrong places if you want me to do it again I will .am so sorry
just I change the place by mistake
thank you very much
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This is short story called “The swim team written in 2007 by American author Miranda July .
This story taking about three character two woman and one man but no name in this story the character don’t have name in this short story .This story taking about woman she learn the people who to swim and she is so happy in her job .Than her boy friend left her because he thanking she is not sexy as he guessed it would be and somehow they dissolve the relationship between him and her they are not to gather any more .
than after that she saw him with another woman she still love him but when she so him she get him out of her heard and out of chest then she decided to be attractive and honest .
This story are complicated and attractive.
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Well, at first, I just felt kind of bored with the lady wrote for her ex about her swimming experience.
But what surprised me that was the students she taught at home to how to swim, were all died. Kind of surprising ending. Until now, I still confused about why she wrote this to her boyfriend, for bend their relationship?
Anyway, what I really appreciated for this story was the surprising end, which remained me of the fiction of , also using the ending could not be guessed and made the reader fall in thinking. So, I will try to use unpredictable end in my fiction.
In addition, I felt like this story lack of described the behavior of character was not specific enough.
So what I prefer in my show fiction, I am going to use a lot of detail of people’s action to express the emotion of the character.
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Based on my first reading, I couldn’t differentiate the type of messages that the author is trying to tell us. After several readings of the story, i realized that the story was Written in first-personand. this story elicit a tought situation where most of us would never imagine. A youthful female, impecunious and stuck in a small town, completely teaches swimming, all the strokes, to three golden ages. Now i have an idea who to build my own short story….
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I liked how I never understood the begging, until I read the ending. It was like a riddle that had the answer at the end of the story. Also, I liked how she went into details with how they were swimming at home. It made me feel like I was with them or watching a movie of them swimming. That gave me an idea for my short story. The story was depressing as well as entertaining. But, till now I do not know why that story was told to her ex-boyfriend.
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In the story “The Swim Team” the author Miranda July exposed her feelings to her ex-boyfriend that what she had been hiding from him. She finally told him that she has been teaching three students how to swim. But I’m confused why she had broken up with boy friend.
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