Jerry makes it his goal to find the passageway and swim through it, even though it means staying underwater so long that he could drown. By achieving this goal, he attains a form of independence from his mother. “Through the Tunnel” is unlike most of Lessing’s fiction.
What is Jerry's motivation for swimming through the tunnel?
Like many kids of his age, Jerry wants to be able to do whatever the older boys do. In fact, he views being able to swim through the tunnel in the huge rock as a rite of passage. Initially, for Jerry “to be with them, of them, was a craving that filled his whole body.” He yearns for acceptance by the older boys.
How does Jerry feel about himself after swimming through the tunnel?
How does Jerry feel about himself after swimming through the tunnel? He felt proud because he did what he set out to do.
How does Jerry change in through the tunnel?
The eleven-year-old Jerry changes his personality during his adventure. The challenges of diving through the tunnel change Jerry’s character. He turns from cowardly to brave, overprotected to independent, and childish to mature. In short, the adventure changes his personality.Did Jerry make it through the tunnel?
Jerry completes a rite of passage by successfully swimming through the underwater tunnel. When the English boy Jerry, who is on holiday with his mother, first leaves her and goes to the bay, he swims out to where rocks are “like discolored monsters under the surface,” and he finds himself out in the real sea.
Why does Jerry decide making it through the tunnel is so important what does he have to prove to himself?
By the end of the story, Jerry has proved his abilities to himself, and no longer seeks the approval of the older boys. Thus, his journey “through the tunnel” is symbolic of the journey all children must go through—from dependence on their parents to a degree of independence.
How does Jerry respond when his mom instructs him to stop swimming for the day?
Jerry tells his mother that he can stay underwater for 2-3 minutes and she tells him that he shouldn’t swim anymore that day. How does he respond? He gave in at once because going to the bay was no longer important to him.
What qualities help us survive through the tunnel?
Jerry’s determination and daring nature—mixed with a bit of chance—are traits that you could infer led to his survival. Jerry is determined to explore the hole. He has the tenacity or boldness to push himself to practice holding his breath. Lastly, when he feels like he’s “dying,” he’s fortunate to come to the surface.What is a character trait of Jerry in through the tunnel?
In the beginning of the story, Jerry comes across as caring towards his mother and still looking for her protection. This is suggested through his attitude to her and through the fact that he looks for her from the water: “He was very familiar with that anxious, apologetic smile.
What did Jerry do when he first saw the boys?Looking back to shore, Jerry sees some boys strip off their clothes and go running down to the rocks, and he swims toward them but keeps his distance. The boys are “of that coast; all of them were burned smooth dark brown and speaking a language he did not understand.
Article first time published onHow has Jerry been transformed at the end of the story?
By the end of the story, Jerry has matured because he’s able to swim through the tunnel by himself, showing he is ready to venture into the world as a young man. Because he was willing to face the dangers of the tunnel, he has proven to himself that he’s ready to separate himself from his mother.
What lesson did Jerry learn in through the tunnel?
Learning to Breathe Jerry decides that, in order to make it through the tunnel, he must work on controlling his breathing and increasing the amount of time he can spend underwater. He uses a rock to help weigh himself down. He does that all day and the next day.
What breakthroughs has Jerry achieved by the story's end consider Jerry's conquest of the tunnel his feelings about himself his dependence on his mother?
Expert Answers In getting to the point where he is able to swim through the tunnel, Jerry has vastly improved his feelings about himself and he has greatly reduced his dependence on his mother.
What does Jerry use to help him stay under water?
Unbeknowst to his mother, Jerry returns to the wild bay and practices holding his breath. As he practices, Jerry’s lungs grow stronger and he can stay under the water for longer periods of time.
What breakthroughs Does Jerry achieved by the story's end?
He trains himself to hold his breath, and by the end of the story, he manages the feat. It has required pain and the loss of blood, a symbol of the price he has to pay to grow-up. Through this rite of passage, Jerry literally swims through the tunnel from childhood to manhood.
Why is swimming at the bay no longer important to Jerry?
Expert Answers After Jerry successfully swims through the tunnel, he feels he has accomplished what he set out to accomplish. He has proven his ability – he has demonstrated his “manhood,” so the bay is no longer important. He doesn’t need to prove it again.
How has Jerry changed during the course of this story Why is going to the bay no longer of the least importance?
It was no longer of the least importance to go to the bay. The reason for this is that he had just gone through an extremely difficult trial that he had put himself through. He had almost lost his life and had to overcome his fear and tremendous difficulties to complete the arduous task that he had set himself.
Why does Jerry leave his mother?
They left him because they thought he was too immature, or so he thought.
What does the tunnel symbolize in through the tunnel?
The tunnel represents Jerry’s passageway from youth to maturity, a symbolic journey from boyhood to manhood. By proving himself worthy, Jerry is showing the world that he is no longer a child. In the end, Jerry’s climatic swim through the dark, dangerous tunnel proves his strength and endurance.
What is Jerry's relationship with his mother in through the tunnel?
Jerry’s relationship with his mother is complicated. She does her best to raise him how she wants, but then finds herself worrying over what amusements he might secretly be longing for (Lines 10-12). His mother was the one to open up the door to Jerry’s tunnel encounter.
How the character trait of determination in Jerry in through the tunnel advances the plot of the short story?
The plot is resolved when Jerry succeeds and then realizes that being with the other boys no longer matters to him, and he also brags to his mother about how long he can stay submerged. Determination is necessary for him both to complete the swim and to have this epiphany.
How does the author create suspense during Jerry's swim through the tunnel in?
Doris Lessing builds suspense in “Through the Tunnel” by using words with negative connotations and painful imagery to describe Jerry’s experience at the “wild bay.” Instead of the “safe beach,” where his mother sits, “a speck of yellow under an umbrella that looked like a slice of orange peel,” Jerry’s bay consists of …
Why does the Bay draw Jerry's attention in through the tunnel?
Expert Answers Young Jerry wants to go to the rocky bay because it presents a challenge and because there he can exert some independence from his mother with whom he usually spends the day at the usual beach.
What is the moral of the story Through the Tunnel?
Many people face difficult struggles, often gaining valuable life lessons in the end. In Doris Lessing’s “Through the Tunnel,” Jerry, an eleven year old boy, overcomes many conflicts and challenges that lead him to the results of growing up and establishing himself as an individual.
What is the moral of Through the Tunnel?
In Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing we have the theme of connection, isolation, determination, failure, independence, conflict and coming of age. It may also be a case that Lessing is exploring the theme of failure. … At first Jerry is unable to find the tunnel in the rocks.
How does the setting of Through the Tunnel contribute to the theme?
Expert Answers One of the themes in “Through the Tunnel” highlights the developing individualism of a young boy. To that end, the setting in Lessing’s story contributes to the development of this theme.
How would you describe Jerry and his mother's relationship at the opening of the story?
Expert Answers The relationship between Jerry and his mother at the beginning of the story is pretty typical of children at Jerry’s age (eleven) and their parents. His mother is conflicted about how much freedom she ought to allow him: she doesn’t want to smother him but neither is she ready to…
Do you think Jerry experience can be viewed as an initiation?
Expert Answers I absolutely think Jerry’s experience can be viewed as, at least partly , an initiation rite. According to the French ethnographer who coined the phrase, Arnold van Gennep, a rite of passage has three phases: separation, liminality, and incorporation.
What do you think is the main message or theme of this story?
The term theme can be defined as the underlying meaning of a story. It is the message the writer is trying to convey through the story. Often the theme of a story is a broad message about life. The theme of a story is important because a story’s theme is part of the reason why the author wrote the story.
