Point Of View In 'Through The Tunnel'

The short story Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing is full of symbolism about the transition out of childhood. Doris accomplishes this by writing about a young boy named Jerry and his journey swimming through the tunnel. During this difficult transition the main character gains the tools he will need during adulthood. Lessing uses symbolism abundantly in Through the Tunnel to emphasize on the theme of the transition from childhood to adulthood.

Reading this story from momma's point of view creates the feeling that one is in the story. The reader can feel and picture every character in the story.

The transition from childhood to adolescence is a difficult process with many obstacles. In Doris Lessing’s short story, “Through the Tunnel”, this idea is expressed when Jerry decides to leave the safe beach and play in the rocky bay. He strives to be like the older boys, but he can only do that when he matures enough. In Doris Lessing’s “Through the Tunnel,” the author demonstrates the many obstacles present in going from childhood to adolescence using symbolism and imagery.

In the short story "Through the Tunnel", Doris Lessing describes the adventure of Jerry, a young English boy trying to swim through an underwater tunnel.  Throughout the story, the author uses the third person omniscient point of view to describe the boy's surroundings and to show us both what he and the other characters are thinking and what is happening around them.  By using this point of view, the author is able to describe the setting of the story, give a detailed description of the characters, and make the theme visible.

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.

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.

A part of maturing is finally doing things independently without the supervision from parents. In her short story, “Through the Tunnel”, Doris Lessing conveys the concept of maturing through becoming self-sufficient. Lessing uses characterization and symbolism to show that being self-reliant is a part of growing up.

In the following stories the authors dramatize the transition to adulthood through different symbolic objects and experiences. The authors use different types of literary elements to portray different experiences and feelings to the reader. I think the authors chose to use symbolism in their stories so that they could help the reader understand the different elements that are happening within the story.

Mark Twain once said, “Age is an issue of mind over matter, if you don't mind it doesn't matter”. There are many coming of age stories and I'm sharing 3. The stories background consist of kids who go through their own personal transitions into adulthood. My thesis statement is that in the following stories, the author uses symbolism to expose the struggles and fear of transitioning into adulthood.

“Yet, walking down the path with her, he blurted out, ‘I’d like to go and have a look at those rocks down there,’’ (Lessing 1). During the short story, “Through the Tunnel,” Lessing shows that Jerry has an interest in breaking away from his mother early on in the story. He shows a passion for wanting to go to the wild bay, instead of staying with his mother at the safe beach for their vacation. Jerry’s transformation from boy to a young man is revealed in the settings of the safe beach, wild bay, and the journey through the tunnel.

Growing up is one of the most interesting things to learn as a child. This is represented in Through the Tunnel by the protagonist in the story discovering how to grow up and how to overcome your fears. This short story is about a boy who is trying to detach himself from his mother and tries to grow up. In this short story, the author creates an environment that describes the way that the main character matured and grew up over time.

Adolescence and the transformation to adulthood can be symbolized in countless ways. For example, Doris Lessing shows this process constantly throughout “Through the Tunnel” by including a variety of metaphors. The first time Jerry and his mother arrived at the beach that they had been to on other vacations, he looked at the rocky bay before looking at the beach. Lessing wrote, “...the young English boy stopped at a turning of the path and looked down at a wild and rocky bay, and then over the crowded beach he knew so well…” This symbolized the beginning of his journey because he was taking a greater interest in the bay than he had in years passed. After the first day on the beach with his mother, Jerry decided that he wanted to go down by

African American activist Frederick Douglass once said , “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” This quote is exhibited in the short story “Through the Tunnel” when Jerry, an 11 year old boy, who decides to transition into adulthood by going through a tunnel that the older boys can cross during vacation. On the first day, he remains close to his mother who represents childhood and safety. After discovering the tunnel, he strays from her and faces the challenges of adulthood as represented by the rocks and bay. In the short story "Through the Tunnel," the author, Doris Lessing portrays the theme the difficulty of the transition from childhood to adolescence using symbolism and imagery.

Literary Criticism “Through the Tunnel” As the black, brick sunk to the bottom of the pool I knew that I was going to get the going to get the brick, but it would be difficult. I took the biggest breath my lungs could hold, and pushed myself to the bottom. When I get to the bottom my lungs were already aching. I kick my legs so hard I felt the burn.

Jerry tries to act older so that he can fit in with the boys. When