Obsession In Dorothy Lessing's Through The Tunnel

Obsession is a catalyst that can promote rapid growth. However, it can also destroy a man at great speeds and ferocity. Some people are lucky to benefit from their obsession; however, many fall due to their obsession consuming them. In Through the Tunnel, by Dorothy Less, a teenage boy named Jerry, is consumed by obsession. This obsession to navigate an underwater tunnel successfully. There is no doubt that it helped him accomplish his goal, but it also made him blind to the dangers he faced. Dorothy Lessing’s short story uses symbols and examples to display the theme of obsession and its negative effects on people. Obsession can make a person numb to his own body. Even though their body is telling them to stop, the mind truly controls the body. As Jerry trains for hours on end, he places rigorous stress on his body. His obsession is apparent when he “dreamed of the water-filled …show more content…
As he dives into the tunnel, he finds himself in a narrow cave in which no light penetrates. As he navigates through the tunnel, he wonders, “ if the tunnel might be filled with weed that could tangle him” (Lessing). The weeds inside the tunnel represent a risk that obsession poses to people. People who are obsessed may pass through the tunnel and make it out of the other side alive. It is a risk that obsessed people go through and they may be perpetually stuck in this endless goal. The tunnel is similar to a bottomless pit. The person who is obsessed may never recover from it.
Another obstacle that Jerry faces in the tunnel are the small jagged rocks on the side of the tunnels. When he first dives into the tunnel, he recognizes that the “roof was sharp and pained his back” (Lessing). The roof is filled with roof rocks that constantly stabs him while he swims across the tunnel. It represents what a person will put himself through when obsessed. They are perpetually trapped in a tunnel that brings them constant