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1. Through The Tunnel
Imagine being constantly ignored when all you want is to be noticed. Most have experienced this feeling at some point in their lives. In "Through the
Tunnel," Doris Lessing tells the commonly known story of a young boy as he attempts to fit in. Incidents like these prevail as someone is growing up,
and Karen Holleran, a literary critic, shares her views on the short story in her article "An overview of 'Through the Tunnel: The Search for Identity and
Acceptance.'" Conclusively, Doris Lessing incorporates Jerry's characterization to express that one must get through hard times successfully in order to
become an adult.
Initially, the reader meets a young man who is quite lonely and eager to fit in, which makes him vulnerable to being overlooked....show more content...
The group of older guys can swim through an underwater tunnel, therefore Jerry feels he will be denied again if he does not learn how to swim
through it as well. After he becomes sick and tired of constantly being overlooked, "he [begins] practicing the dives the older boys / [do] and his
determination [is] greater than ever" (Holleran). Jerry wants to prove he can do something the older boys can do. He decides to perfect the dives
they can do, and becomes deeply persistent about doing so.With hours and hours of practice under his belt, he finally makes the decision he is ready
to swim through the cave and everyone knows "this [is] the moment when he [will] try" (Lessing 406). As Jerry learns to put more time and effort into
more important tasks such as this, he wants to go all out. He knows that he must try his hardest to achieve this goal or he will not. He learns to try his
hardest to accomplish what he wants. After his near–death experience in the cave, Jerry "not only learn[s] how to hold his breath, but / also how to hold
his temper and how to understand what is truly important" (Holleran). Even though it took a long time to realize, this adolescent figures out that there
are more important things in life than impressing others and trying to fit in. The reader sees this young man mature when he realizes that being
accepted and trying to fit in are insignificant ideas, and he must remember to focus on himself and his own happiness before anything else. Once more,
Lessing radiantly incorporates Jerry's characterization to express that getting through hard times is the first step to becoming an
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2. Through The Tunnel
In the story "Through the Tunnel" by Doris Lessing the main character Jerry is young and sees a group boys do something that he finds
interesting, Going through the tunnel. The problem is he is too young and too weak to do it. The boys were Judging and excluding him and it
made him sad. Jerry used the negative actions of the french boys as motivation to set a goal of swimming through the tunnel before he leaves.
Although Jerry is not physically strong or mature he has a large amount of mental strength and uses what should be his weakness be his strength.
Jerry is a young boy who has not yet fully matured yet. His mother finally lets him go off on his own when he see the french boys. They are much
stronger and older than him but he still hangs out with them and they don't seem to mind at first. The french boys all swim under the big pile of
rocks in long periods of time without air. Jerry is amazed and wants to find out how they did it. The boys laugh and judge him as he sits on the rock,
alone without the ability to swim with the boys. This is when Jerry sees the tunnel for himself and sets the goal to swim through it before the end of
vacation...show more content...
He works on his goal none stop doing everything he can to improve his chances of going through the tunnel. He asks his mother to buy him goggles
to see the tunnel. He holds his breath under the water for long periods of time strengthening his lungs to get ready for the real thing. Jerry also starts
working out so he can be stronger and faster in the water increasing his odds of making it through because it will be shorter time and it will be less
time on his lungs. Jerry is now ready not only mentally but physically to swim through the
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3. Character Analysis: Through The Tunnel
Doris Lessing develops a theme ВЁGrowth Requires RiskВЁ in her short story, ВЁThrough the TunnelВЁ, Lessing uses the main characters, Jerry and
his mom, along with the setting to develop the theme. Jerry, the protagonist, has spent his summer on the beach with his mother. He has noticed other
kids swimming through an underwater tunnel in the bay, he becomes determined to do the same. Throughout his struggling process of going through
the tunnel, Jerry realizes that it wasn't all as great as he thought it would be. Lessing developed her theme through Jerry's mental and physical
struggles. Jerry is a young English boy who is used to a day to day routine. When he first arrived at the bay, he was skeptical about swimming there. At
the bay there was...show more content...
Though Jerry's mom didn't have many physical struggles or risks, she did undergo the process of mental growth throughout the story. Jerry's mother
is very overprotective and is in denial that her only son is growing up. With being a widow he shows a lot of authority towards Jerry. Throughout
the story Jerry's mother is very anxious about Jerry and his desire to adventure out to do new things. "She was thinking. Of course, he's old enough to
be safe without me. Have I been keeping him too close? He mustn't feel he ought to be with me. I must be careful" (Lessing 1). During the story, Jerry
becomes less dependent and doesn't run things by his mother. His mother then realizes that he is maturing, yet she still keeps an eye on him through
the process, but she doesn't overdo it though. When Jerry returns from finally swimming through the tunnel. His mother sees that his nose is bleeding
vigorously, yet she doesn't panic, she doesn't yell. "She looked at him closely. His eyes were glazed–looking. She was worried. And she said to herself,
"Oh, don't fuss! Nothing can happen. He can swim like a fish." (Lessing 4). Jerry's mother didn't change dramatically in the story, but she did learn not
to when and when not to overdo her parenting towards
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4. Through The Tunnel
The transition from childhood to adulthood, also known as adolescence, is a difficult, challenging journey that changes people in many ways.
Psychoanalyst and author Louise J. Kaplan once said, ""Adolescence represents an inner emotional upheaval, a struggle between the eternal human
wish to cling to the past and the equally powerful wish to get on with the future." This is shown in the short story "Through the Tunnel" by Doris
Lessing. "Through the Tunnel" starts with a young English boy named Jerry who decides to go to the bay instead of "his" beach. At the bay, Jerry
meets some native boys who swim through a tunnel for fun. He then decides to train himself to swim through the tunnel. After a few days of training,
Jerry successfully goes through the tunnel, despite almost dying. This...show more content...
In the story, the tunnel changes Jerry both physically and mentally. For example, Jerry describes the native boys, he portrays them as having "burned
smooth dark brown" skin. Later on, after Jerry swims through the tunnel, he returns to his mother. However, the author describes his skin tone as a
"warm brown". This shows that Jerry gained his independence after he went through the tunnel. The natives are symbols of adulthood and maturity in
this story. After Jerry leaves the tunnel, he had the same skin tone as the natives, showing he gained his independence. The author also includes how
tiring adolescence really is. "After a time, his heart quieted, his eyes cleared, and he sat up. He could see the local boys diving and playing half a
mile away. He did not want them. He wanted nothing but to get back home and lie down." This shows the transition to maturity is a tiring, difficult
transition. It also shows that adolescence is not as rewarding as one would think it to be. This use of symbolism shows that adolescence is a time to
gain one's independence and
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5. Jerry In Through The Tunnel
In the story Through the Tunnel, Jerry, the main character, has a very strong bond with his mother. He is at the point in his life where he wants to go
be by himself instead of staying with his mother. Jerry's mother is worried that he will get hurt and does not want him to go. She also does not want to
be overprotective of him.
Jerry's bond with his mother is actually complicated. His mother does not want to obsess over him. On the other hand, she also does not want him to
feel unappreciated, so she lets him get–up–and–go to the bay by himself. She suddenly feels that he will grow up in a jiffy. And not have the hankering
to spend time with her.
Jerry and his mother have a very close bond. They both love each other very much. On the other
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6. Through The Tunnel
Spiritual teacher and author Marianne Williamson once wrote "maturity includes the recognition that no one is going to see anything in us that we
don't see in ourselves. Stop waiting for a producer. Produce yourself." In the Doris Lessing short story "Through the Tunnel", the theme follows a
similar idea. When a young English boy Jerry is vacationing with his mother, he spies a wild cove from the familiar beach where they are. With his
mother's permission, he goes and explores the cove, meeting some older native boys. When he sees the boys swim through an underwater tunnel, and
subsequently embarrasses himself, he decides to train himself in order to get through it. After days of grueling work, he finally enters the tunnel and
conquers it....show more content...
Lessing describes: "He went out fast over the gleaming sand, over a middle region where rocks lay like discolored monsters under the surface." This
creates a scene inside the mind of the reader. Lessing describes how different this area is to the calm, quiet beach of his youth. With the discolored
monsters image, there is a feeling that this is exciting, almost a little frightening for Jerry. This signals that he must overcome his fears and go forward,
suggesting that it often takes courage to transition onwards from child to adult, unifying the theme that transitioning from child to adolescent is
dependent upon one's resilience to survive and
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