Through The Tunnel Theme Essay

Tom Stoppard once said, “If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older”. To grow up you need to leave the baggage of your childhood and parents behind, and just take the lessons. This concept happens throughout the three short stories, The Bass, The River and Sheila Mant, The Passage and Through the Tunnel, as the main characters go through different milestones that pushes them farther and farther away from their childhood and closer to adulthood. In the following stories, the author utilizes the vibrant setting to stimulate the journey of childhood.

In the story, “Through the Tunnel” the author symbolized the beach as a getaway destination for Jerry. In the beginning of the story Jerry simply asked his mom, “I'd like to go

In the beginning of the story the protagonist stated, “I never went anywhere that summer without a fishing rod.” (Page 1). The author uses the fishing rod as a symbol to represent who this fourteen year old boy is and what he does. The author only mentions this fourteen year old boy and his crush on Sheila, not his parents. Later in the story, when this boy finally asks his neighbor Sheila out on a date, on Page 2 it stated, “I got in the canoe early and started paddling in a huge circle.” The author uses the scenery to show this young man on his own and not needing his parents as a taxi. As the story continues the boy is forced to make a decision, he needs to chose between a girl and fishing. He has the biggest bass he has ever had on the line and on page 4 he decided; “I pulled a penknife from my pocket and cut the line in half.” Later on page 4 he later said, “...and I never made the same mistake again.” These last two excerpts represent the young boy making a hard decision, realizing it was a bad one, overcoming it, moving on and choosing not to make that mistake again. Making the fourteen year old one step further in the steps from childhood to