Through The Tunnel

Literary Criticism: “Through the Tunnel” Is an ambition ever worth the most important expense? The story “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing, shows a situation where a goal is not worth a life. Jerry, the main character, an 11 year old boy is testing the idea of independance. His need for independence from his mom leads him to a dangerous and mysterious bay. In the bay, Jerry meets a couple of local boys and they swim through an underwater tunnel, and they inspire Jerry also to swim through the tunnel. Jerry risks his life just to prove that he could just go through an underwater tunnel. Jerry is not a believable character because it is not reasonable to risk his life just to prove that he is getting older. He is also not believable because

His mother, a widow, is a victim of worry for her son and Jerry is the victim of worry for his mother. Even when Jerry was in his bay and trying to accomplish his goal, he still worried about his mother. Lessing states, “As for Jerry, once he saw that his mother has gained her beach, he began the steep descent to the bay” (357) Jerry will worry about his mother again: “He floated on the buoyant surface and looked for his mother”(358). Jerry states that he will risk his life, but if he does die, then he will not be able to protect his mom and would most likely break her heart. Jerry thinks openly about his death: “He would do it if it killed him, he said defiantly to himself”(363). Jerry also thinks about what could happen if he proceeds with his goal: “If he died there, he would lie until one day. . . those big boys would swim into it and find [the underwater tunnel] blocked”(363). It is not reasonable nor believable to risk a life to feel older or to protect a

Some people may argue that Jerry is believable because the tunnel was a metaphor for the changes and him being more independent. This claim may be true, but there are better and safer and healthy ways to find his independence. Jerry also could have found a better way to find out how to protect his mother. Others may claim that most people can relate to him that they all have something that they are determined to do and it doesn’t matter what the cost is to accomplish that goal. This may be true too, but why risk common people’s lives to travel through a tunnel once and not tell anybody ever. Jerry is not a believable