The narrator of “The Swimmer” does not directly tell the reader that this man is experiencing a delusion or that something is wrong. Instead, the narrator uses foreshadowing, by means of his simple description of routine objects and events (the empty pool, the strange approaching storm despite the perfect sun moments before, the smell and signs of autumn) to key the reader in. For this essay, you have a couple of options. On the one hand, you can use elements of this thesis statement for “The Swimmer” with #1 and suggests that it is through foreshadowing that the difference between reality and the surreal happens. On the other hand, perhaps for a shorter essay, you can merely point out the significance of the foreshadowing, namely by discussing how it creates an increasingly hostile world with each new “swim” Ned takes.