Jerry has matured greatly during the course of the story. he wanted to impress the other boys by swimming through the tunnel they all swam through. So he told his mother that he needed swimming goggles. So she took him to the store and he grabbed the goggles and ran back to the swimming spot to attempt the long swim through the tunnel. He practiced every day learning independince from his mothter. Jerry has alway depended on his mother for everything like literally everything. he was babied all his life and never knew what it was like to be independent.he slowly bacame independent by wanting to learn how to hold his breath. He wanted to go to the other side of the beach where the waves where crazy and unsafe. He wanted to have an adventure and be by himself but he also wanted all the other boys attention. and as he …show more content…
jerry swam down to the tunnel and entered the tunnel. Jerry swam through the tunnel while the light behind him began to fade away and he entered a dark seemingly endless tunnel. His back was being scrathched by the slimy sharp roof of the tunnel. As he swims through the tunnel he loses his breath and his lungs began to hurt him he thought he was going to die in the tunnel, and he figured that the boys would find his body in the tunnel and block their way through the tunnel. He was scared but knew he had to keep going to make it out.He made it through the tunnel and blood filled his goggles. He swam to the surface gasping for air. He climbed onto the rock and sat their cleaning the blood from his face so his mother wouldnt worry about him. This shows alot of maturity and independence because he normaly would let his mother tend to him and let her worry about him. But he didnt want his mother to worry about him he has become more independent through the storry by going off to the beach everyday to practice holding his breath and learning where the tunnel entrance