Theme Of Self-Determination In Through The Tunnel

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.

Initially, our first thoughts of Jerry at the beginning of the story, is that he acts immature and is burdened within a circle of maternal protection. During the opening of the story, the author conveys Jerry’s relative childishness by labeling him as “the boy”. The author also uses the mother to demonstrate his youth and how he is trapped in a circle of maternal protection which leads us to think that he is lonely due to that reason. In this part, “His mother walks in front of him, carrying a bright white strap in one hand” tells us that because the mother was walking in front of him, it gives us the impression that the mother still thinks of him as a boy that needs to be protected from any potential harm. We see more of Jerry’s immaturity and how the burden of protection leads his actions as we go through the story. During the part where Jerry sees the group of boys acting free-spirited, we see that he is overcome with desire to be with them, probably because he feels that because he is always in the circle of protection making him feel lonely and isolated from everyone. At first, he is added into the group and begins to have fun jumping from the cliff into the water with the other boys. Later on however, he starts to act immature when he realizes he could not do the same thing the other boys were doing. That was, underwater for a long time and going through the dark tunnel and he becomes scared. In this passage,“... In a panic of failure, he yelled up, in English, “Look at me! Look!” and he began splashing and kicking the water like a

“A Worn Path” is a short story written by Eudora Welty. It is based on an elderly African-American grandmother named Phoenix Jackson, who goes for a walk to the town of Natchez on a cold December morning to get some medicine for her ailing grandson. This story speaks of the obstacles Phoenix endured along the way and how she overcame them. The theme, central idea or message that the author wishes to convey to his or her readers, in “A Worn Path” is one of determination. Phoenix Jackson is determined to get to Natchez, in order to get medicine for her grandson; she does not let any obstacles get in her way. The theme of determination is shown in many ways throughout this short story.

The settings are important in a story because they tell where and when the story takes place. A reader should always focus on the setting, so he will not get lost in the story. In Doris Lessing’s “Through the Tunnel,” the story focuses on a boy named Jerry trying to accomplish something very difficult while his mother wants him to stay safe. He sees some boys swimming through a challenging tunnel and he tries to go through the tunnel to impress them in order to become friends with them. The setting in “Through the Tunnel” has an impact on the characters, the plot, and the symbols.

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.

It exemplifies the behavior of the boy and his father throughout the rest of the novel and shows how much they are willing to do to stay alive. It shows the fire within them.

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

The characterization of Jerry illustrates the stages of maturing and becoming independent. In the beginning of the story, Jerry is depicted as young and immature. The immaturity of Jerry is shown when he is trying to capture the older boys’ attention. In order to capture their attention, “he began splashing and kicking in the water like a foolish dog.” This action conveys that Jerry is still immature, and wants to join the older kids. After seeing the boys pass through the tunnel, Jerry also wants to pass through in order to be a part of their group. In order

Growing up, many young boys idolized the war heroes in movies such as Saving Private Ryan and American Sniper. However, in the poem "Tunnels," Yusef Komunyakaa portrays the theme of the true fear and lack of purpose experienced by the American soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. This was done by showing the reader that any mistake could easily result in the death of a soldier. Through his use of poetic form and structure, figurative language, and diction Komunyakaa is able to effectively convey his theme.

From 1800-1865, 100,000 slaves escaped from the Underground Railroad due to the harsh conditions they faced throughout their lives. The underground railroad was a successful way for many former slaves to become free. The underground railroad was not actually a railroad. It consisted of secret routes, safe houses, and other locations. The escaped slaves would hide out in churches, houses, barns and other places that had extra rooms for hiding. These locations were provided by the freed African Americans and whites that were against slavery. Numerous of fugitives failed to escape due to the search dogs and the townspeople searching for them because they were considered “dangerous”. The slaves that did escape went to Canada, Mexico, or anywhere else where they could be free and not live in slavery. A great number of people were involved with the underground railroad; concluding some whites and Native Americans. However the majority of people helping the fugitives escape were freed African Americans. Helping people escape the underground railroad was a dangerous job innumerable conductors had to live in constant fear of being caught by the local police and townspeople. Due to the slave trade there was a constant movement of slaves being brought into the United States and slaves escaping.

The Undergorund Railroad served as a "gateway to heaven" for slaves of the southern United States. It provided slaves a way to get north to the freeland, where they would not be forced into slavery. It was the best way for slaves to get away.

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

Even though, jerry wants to be accepted and in control of his life, the harsh reality is Jerry’s identity wants to be with his mother. Further throughout the story the tunnel is shown as the symbol of the story; letting the reader know that Jerry senses that it is the door to his identity. Additionally, the chronological structure is effective throughout the story in showing the process of growing up and an insight into Jerry’s transformation. Moreover, the 3rd person omniscient narrator and formal register presents the character of Jerry and his mother in a distanced way and without a biased perspective. This suggests the sense of detachment and alienation that Jerry is starting to feel from his mother as he is growing up and wanting to make his own choices. The story is firstly introduced with a description of the mother carrying a bright striped purse. It was this and other uses of describing Jerry’s surroundings with the use of bright colours symbolising jerry’s childish world and thoughts. In addition, the thought of jerry’s childish thoughts shows his struggle to establish his own identity. The author writes that Jerry goes swimming “over a region where rocks lay like discoloured monsters under the surface”. The simile shows that even though Jerry wants to be independent and swim alone in the bay, he’s terrified of being alone in the water and not seeing his mother again. Briefly, Jerry learns that you cannot

It tells us to put away our fears and be victorious. When Christopher had to go through the tunnel he was frightened, but he kept developing plans to get him passed the problems. In addition, Christopher shows his desire to be independent by earning an A grade on an A-level math test. He plans to prove he isn’t stupid, by further advancing his academics and use his grades to attend

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