Difficult Obstacles In Doris Lessing's Through The Tunnel

Maturing Comes Through Difficult Obstacles Difficult obstacles can help someone become stronger and learn many things. In the short story, “Through the Tunnel”, Doris Lessing established the main character to make him seem super innocent, therefore he seems naïve to life. She also uses lots of symbolism to give the story another layer of meaning. Lessing uses symbolism and characterization for the purpose of showing how kids can mature through difficult obstacles. Lessing uses characterization to show how kids can mature through difficult obstacles. An example of how the author characterizes Jerry is, “He was an only child, eleven years old.” This statement illustrates that Jerry is at a young age and that he is not exposed to everything …show more content…
The first quote shows what Jerry has descended from. Since his mom has white pale skin he most likely will too since he gets the genes from her. The second quote contrast the mom’s skin with the older boys who are matured. Jerry wants to go from the pale skin that he shares with his mom to the dark brown skin like the older boys so he can show he has matured into one of them. In the end the author states “laying her hand on his warm brown shoulder” This excerpt is a physical quality that shows he has matured into one of the big boys since he swam through the tunnel, as the older boys did. Another example of how the author uses symbolism to convey the theme is “He was being continually pressed against the sharp roof… The water paled, Victory filled him.” This quote symbolizes the theme perfectly. It illustrates the struggles and hard times Jerry must go through to become mature. Getting pressed against the sharp roof is a major obstacle that he must overcome to swim out of the tunnel safely. If Jerry did not continue to have determination and push through he would not have made it through the tunnel and matured. Jerry could have given up and ended up dying, but instead he pushed through and