"Through the Tunnel" by Doris Lessing

In Doris Lessing’s short story, “Through the Tunnel”, increasing up is a hard and occasionally painful process. Jerry shows he wants to be independent through the symbolism of the way he moves on from the protected beach, enters the wild rocky bay with uncertainty, and finally goes through the tunnel.

At the starting, Jerry shows his will to be independent by way of the symbolism of the “safe beach” and how he moves on from it. The “safe beach” is the beach Jerry has “always visited” with his mother. Then a single day as Jerry walks with his mother toward the secure beach, his mother notices him searching over his shoulder at the wild bay beyond them. “Are you tired of the usual beach, Jerry?” she inquires, he responds swiftly and asks to discover the the “wild rocks there”. She lets him trying not to be too protective. Jerry begins to swim out to sea exactly where he saw his mum: “There she was, a speck of yellow below an umbrella that looked like a slice of orange peel”. This shows that the sunny, cheerful colors of yellow and orange characterize the beach and his mother. It is a location which is vibrant and safe and someplace exactly where Jerry looks when he is uncertain.

Even so, Jerry is trying to break cost-free from his mother and attempting to be independent but at the identical time making a slow transition. In the middle of the story, Jerry shows his will to be independent by way of the symbolism of the “wild rocky bay” and how he challenges his uncertainty. The “wild rocky bay” seems like a spot which is quite harmful. The water itself shows “stains of purple and darker blue”, below the water “rocks lay like discoloured monsters” and beneath the surface, “irregular cold currents from the deep water”. This beach is complete of hazards, the water perilous. The connotation of words like “stains” and “monsters” is overwhelmingly gloomy, while the image of purple and blue stains sounds like a bruise. The rocky beach and its dangers are symbolic of adulthood and the transition into it. Jerry is no longer protected as he is far from his mother, who is a “yellow speck” on the protected beach, Jerry feels independent.

At this wilder beach, Jerry encounters older boys who can dive and swim through a tunnel that is underwater for a extended time. When they comprehend that he can not pass by way of the hollowed rock beneath the sea as they do. So, wishing to be like the “big boys”, Jerry returns to the villa and demands to have a pair of swimming goggles so he can discover this rock via which the older boys pass. This shows that now there is no 1 to protect Jerry from the outdoors planet and he is transitioning from a kid to a “big boy”.