Setting on “Through the Tunnel” Nature has always been one of the toughest obstacles. It always has its way of bringing out the crazy side of people. It can test a boy’s potential, authority, and dedication. In Doris Lessing’s “Through the Tunnel,” the main character, Jerry, refuses to give up on getting through the tunnel. Instead, he is determined to prove that he will not be labeled as a little kid. He will not pay attention to the signs that he is not old enough to get through the tunnel without
In "Sixteen" the narrator went through a conflict: the narrator went to a skating rink close to where she lived and she met a boy she fell in love with a boy from her school that spends the night spending time having fun with her and after they spend time together he walks the narrator home and when they get to the narrator's house he tell her "Good night now. I'll call you" and she never got a call back from him and she felt devastated because of that the narrator probably will not fall in love
During maturity conflicts often occur whether it is the process of growing up or the fear of what is to come. In Doris Lessing’s “Through the Tunnel,” Jerry is trying to build himself physically and mentally into a young man by facing challenges and danger. His challenges involve moving from the safe beach to swimming through a difficult tunnel. The setting in “Through the Tunnel” has an impact on the characters, plot, and symbolism. One of the first ways that the setting has an impact is on the characters
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. Since a young age, Jerry has always gone to the safe beach
Through the Tunnel to Adulthood From the time one is born, they continue to grow each day both in the mind and body. British novelist, Doris Lessing, takes readers along the journey called life in her 1989 short story, “Through the Tunnel”. Before one finds themself, they must first lose himself, and to become stronger, one must know hardship. Jerry, a blossoming, young boy finds himself at a threshold, when he pushes himself in the hopes that he can find a part of his identity through pain and
rocks in her short story, “Through the Tunnel”, are associated with modifications and instability. The main character, Jerry’s initial goal is to travel through a tunnel in order to fit in with the older and cooler kids. Throughout his journey, he encounters or utilises rocks in three different instances. He uses rocks to weigh himself down during training, he finds rocks scattered across the white ocean floor, and he is met with sharp rocks as he travels through the tunnel. Doris Lessing’s message
There is hardly anyone that hasn’t had to grow up. Growth is central to every character in a story, but “Through the Tunnel” and To Kill a Mockingbird amplify this; the loss of innocence and coming of age is central to the entire story. Both “Through the Tunnel” and To Kill a Mockingbird’s main conflict test the characters (Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird and Jerry in “Through the Tunnel”) as they grow up in the face of adversity. One of the first aspects of growth and maturity is responsibility. To
In Doris Lessing’s “Through the Tunnel”, Lessing uses imagery in order to show the audience that the transition from childhood to adulthood is a quest in itself. Lessing reveals that Jerry’s quest isn’t just to swim at the bay, but is to become a man by suggesting that swimming through the tunnel represents manhood and to become like the boys at the bay who Jerry idolizes as being men. It is evident that Lessing incorporates explicit overtones into her writing because in the text “It’s All About
something different than what you normally do. This goal can take your whole life or it can just be one day. The point of a goal is to challenge yourself to reach a particular endpoint that you desire. “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing is a story about a boy named Jerry and his goal to swim through a tunnel under the ocean. Lessing's characterization of Jerry shows that in order to achieve a goal, one must prepare, practice, and sacrifice. This characterization is revealed when he first thinks about
In the short story Through the Tunnel (1990) by Doris Lessing, a boy named Jerry embarks on a vacation in which he seeks a sense of belonging and separation from the maternal presence of his mom. Lessing portrays Jerry as very clingy and dependent eleven-year-old who begins a journey toward his independence and adulthood. As the story progresses Jerry's nature changes drastically as he transforms from a boy who has to be at his mother's side constantly to one who can hold his breath and train to