Striving to Reach Your Goal in Doris Lessing’s Through the Tunne

Jerry set up a goal to go through itbefore summer vacation ends. He admitted he was afraid of the tunnel, which it a steptowards being mature.

In life, one must overcome their fears in order to achieve or successfully attain a certain goal in their mind. The short story “Through the Tunnel”, by Doris Lessing tells us about how Jerry builds confidence and maturity throughout the story, by overcoming his fear of going through the dark and scary tunnel underneath the water. The author portrays the idea of overcoming one’s fear to achieve a goal through Jerry, who was once a childish and isolated character, had begun his risky adventure of going through the tunnel to prove his worth to a group of boys and along the way discovers what he truly wants. Over time he becomes more mature and in the end, gain self-acceptance.

The epic journey of “The Old Man and the Sea” describes struggle, discipline and manhood. The main characters relationships exemplify how faith and skill overcome man’s adversity during life on the sea. Santiago’s growing relationship with the boy idealizes his statute as a father figure and develops his integrity and values towards the boy. Hemmingway shows us how an old fisherman’s will to overcome the sea’s obstacles proves his manhood to himself and the young boy. His skills and knowledge of the sea provide a positive influence for the young boy to become a great fisherman someday.

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

Without the ocean, life as humankind knows it would be impossible. The ocean has provided the man a bountiful amount of resources. It is easy to think that the big blue is man's friend. Though with ninety-five percent of the ocean unexplored, it is easy to think that it is more than sandy beaches and volleyball. Stories such as “The Sea Devil” and “Edward’s Rocks” express the idea that the sea, as beautiful as it is, can also be equally as powerful and mysterious. Though stories share similarities they also have differences between their protagonist, conflict, and settings.

The story Through the Tunnel is about a young boy named Jerry and his mother going on vacation to a beach resort that they have previously visited. The villa they are staying at consist of two beaches. The safe, crowded beach is where Jerry’s mother goes and the wild Rocky Bay is where Jerry ends up spending most of his time. While Jerry swims in the water at the wild bay, he sees a group of boys diving into the water. Jerry knew right when he saw them, he wanted to be just like them. In his eyes, “They were big boys—men to Jerry” (Lessing 148). To show that he was brave, he found the courage to dive off the

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.

Now comparing these stories, Jerry and the narrator of “Sixteen” are very much alike, just as they are apart. Maureen Daly and Doris Lessing really give the reader a good feel for the characters and mood, making the tone easy to comprehend. In “Sixteen”, the narrator is very serious when talking about how she is, in fact, quite smart, and knows what she’s doing when it comes to life. Along with this, Jerry is very serious about practicing his breath golding and swimming because he wants to be able to get to and go through the tunnel. It’s a goal, not a dream. Both of these characters take the reader on a very personal journey; one into the mind and heart, and one into the process of him becoming a “man”. Two very difficult things to normally talk about. The authors create anxiety for the readers when Jerry is actually in the tunnel. He begins counting, higher and higher, the longer he’s in the tunnel, making the reader think, “There’s no way he’s going to make it out.” There is also a sense of anxiety in

In the story through the tunnel a boy named Jerry overcomes his fears, becomes more mature and proves to himself that he can do anything he puts his mind to. One day on the beach jerry asks his mom if he can go to the other side of the beach where he meets four native boys diving under the water and coming out on the other side. When jerry tries to find the the hole he cannot so the next day he comes back with goggles and dives down looking for the whole, once he finds it he practices holding his breath until he thinks he can hold long enough to get thru the cave. The day before they go jerry decides to go thru the cave and he comes out victorious. Jerry doesn't really rejoice in his accomplishment but he does say to his mom out of nowhere

In the short coming of age story “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing, the author utilizes peer pressure to show the fear of growing up. In the beginning of the story, the bay represents freedom to Jerry. “He went out fast over the gleaming sand, over a middle region where rocks lay like discolored monsters under the surface, and then he was in the real sea—a warm sea where irregular cold currents from the deep water shocked his limbs.”(Lessing) Being out alone in the middle of a dangerous bay makes Jerry feel more mature than when they arrived to the vacation. The reader feels happy for Jerry. Later in the story, he finds out that the supposedly alone bay has other visitors, foreign boys who clearly have been there before. We know that they've been there before because

“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.

In Doris Lessing’s short story “through the tunnel”, she uses many different literary devices to express various aspects of her protagonist’s coming of age. Specifically, one of the most emphasized themes throughout the whole story involves Doris Lessing’s use of symbolism and characterization to relay the ways in which physical and mental conflict build maturity of character. In her story, Jerry, a young boy, makes a transition from boyhood to adulthood by simply swimming through an underwater tunnel.

The protagonist was initiated by trying test himself underwater so he would get better at holding his breathe. So he could go in the hole. But every time he goes there he will get sick once again. While he was swimming his mother was laying down at the shore. After she was buying goggles for her son, she would watch him. His enemy was the hole because the hole would not let him out so that is the reason why he was trying to hold his breathe for a long time. Jerry did come through as a wiser and more mature character because he had the choice that he could or couldn’t do it. So since he couldn’t could not do it, so he decides to not go through the tunnel for one day then the next day he will be going through the tunnel once

I take a deep breath, my nostrils are filled with the pleasant aroma of the salty sea air. This is my happy place, this is where I belong. As I sit with my freshly painted pink toes in the sand, I am overwhelmed with all that is happening around me. To my right, there is a family of four; a mother, father, and two little red headed girls that look like twins, laughing and jumping around, taking in the big world around them. The children are in their bright red and purple flowered bathing suits, running and screaming, attempting to get their toes wet in the chilly water that churns back and forth on the shore. After a few attempts they decide to run and jump full force into the crystal clear abyss, unaware of what creatures they could find if they dive deep enough.