In 'Through the Tunnel,' Doris Lessing narrates the story of a young boy named Jerry who struggles with loneliness and the desire for acceptance among older boys. Through his determination to swim through a challenging underwater tunnel, Jerry learns invaluable lessons about persistence, self-worth, and the importance of personal happiness over fitting in. Ultimately, the story highlights the journey of maturation that comes from overcoming hardships.

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
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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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