Through The Tunnel

A man and his son travelling alone amidst the ruins of a previously prosperous nation; a young man venturing into a treacherous land to tie up the loose ends in his life; a broken ranch hand that suspects he had a conversation with death: in the most desolate and uncertain environments, the surrounding world can lend a bleak and lifeless perspective to one’s struggle to survive. In lands without accompaniment from other humans, the will to live can be as difficult to muster as shelter for the night or the first meal in days. Cormac McCarthy explores the difficulties of survival under the tension of barren landscapes and youthful inexperience and their effects on the loss of innocence. Gained maturity enables humans to persist and stay hopeful, even in the least hopeful situations. These environments and mindsets play an important role in the messages of three novels by Cormac McCarthy: The Road, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain.

Lee’s writing is littered with descriptive and flowery visuals that truly capture both the environment and his emotions. In one such case, he recalls an evening where he “[stared] at the brightest star, viewing it not so much on this night as a beacon, something [he] wanted to believe would lead [he] out of this dark tunnel, but instead as a place [he’d] rather be” (155). His juvenile wistfulness is tangible in the words and the reader can almost feel the chill of the night air. He continues, wishing to be “anywhere but here…[wishing to have] been born anywhere but here.” (155). His yearning twists the heart with sympathy for his lonesome and pitiable plight. This moment is but a minute fraction of the incredibly intimate tale that Lee

Jerry set up a goal to go through itbefore summer vacation ends. He admitted he was afraid of the tunnel, which it a steptowards being mature.

The short story ‘Big world’ by Winton emphasizes the intention that there are moments, people, times and places that can change how individuals view the world around them and how the perceive themselves. Much like the protagonist’s experience in the film ‘Life of Pi’, so does Winton’s protagonists in the short story display final epiphany come as a outcome of his loneliness. He is isolated because of the plot twist made by Meg, who in the story builds a connection with his best friend, Biggie while they are on a road trip. It is through his segregation and observing them that he then realises and notices a ominous truth about himself and the relationship he has with Biggie: ‘… he’s enjoying being brighter than her…it’s me all over. It’s how I am with him and its not pretty.’ Through this, the protagonist suffers, realising the detrimental and unproductive environment of his relationship. This epiphany leads him to become even more secluded and alert that he must move on if he is to find and discover joy and progress. The story also reconnoitres the idea of change of self and attitudes towards others, where moments can express a person’s perspective towards others around them and life. This statement is accurate as the narrator comes to terms with his attachment with Biggie, ‘that’s how it started. A single decisive

Sometimes our everyday experiences can strike us in ways that will influence our thinking in ways that might forever alter the way that we view our lives. In the short story “Fish Story,” Rick Bass primarily uses conflict, symbols, and the changes in a character to present a central theme reflecting the inevitability of our maturing thoughts and growing responsibilities that come incrementally with age. Gullason (1982) shares, “A short story represents a prose narrative usually concerned with a single aspect of personality changing or revealed as the result of conflict” (p. 222). We might interestingly find both of these dynamics within our weekly discussion’s short story assignment. Pigg (2017) explains, “The theme of a work of fiction is as much a creation of readers as it is for the writer because the user’s knowledge and beliefs play a part in determining the theme(s) they will recognize” (Attend Topic 4 Unit 2 [Video]). The writer of this week’s short story was likely to have known the theme that he intended to communicate while also recognizing the diversity of human thinking that gives us a myriad of perspectives. The “’Fish Story’s’ narrator is a 10-year-old boy in the early 1960’s living in rural Texas with parents who run a service station while their customer brings a 86 pound catfish creating a task to keep the fish alive until time to cook it” (Bass, 2009, pp. 1-2). As we recall our childhoods, most can likely remember how our imagination and fantasies began to collide with the realities of life, and this overreaching concept might allude to the theme of this piece of work. The narrator tells us how “He grew dizzy in the heat and from the strange combination of the unblinking monotony and utter fascination of his task until the trickling from the water hose seemed to be saturating and inflating the clouds as one would water a garden” (Bass, 2009, p. 2). As the narrator embraces the mundane task, his daydreams seem to symbolize the innocence of his youth. Later the story’s narrator “speaks less of childhood than of the general nature of the world in which we live, while contemplating that those days were different – we had more time for such thoughts, that time had not yet been corrupted”

The epic journey of “The Old Man and the Sea” describes struggle, discipline and manhood. The main characters relationships exemplify how faith and skill overcome man’s adversity during life on the sea. Santiago’s growing relationship with the boy idealizes his statute as a father figure and develops his integrity and values towards the boy. Hemmingway shows us how an old fisherman’s will to overcome the sea’s obstacles proves his manhood to himself and the young boy. His skills and knowledge of the sea provide a positive influence for the young boy to become a great fisherman someday.

I have use images to explain the cave, as well as the relationship of the realm of true forms. This writing is construct a bridge between the worlds of darkness and of enlightenment. I have entered back into the cave.

In the story “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing the main character Jerry is young and sees a group boys do something that he finds interesting, Going through the tunnel. The problem is he is too young and too weak to do it. The boys were Judging and excluding him and it made him sad. Jerry used the negative actions of the french boys as motivation to set a goal of swimming through the tunnel before he leaves. Although Jerry is not physically strong or mature he has a large amount of mental strength and uses what should be his weakness be his strength.

It is these extreme behaviours, which challenge and contradict the values that most individuals have been taught from the very beginning. The values the boy must carry into the future. After the mother’s death, all that stands between him and death is his father’s light. It is this light at the end of the tunnel, which allows the man to continue his quest. Despite all the wrong deeds occurring around the world, the boy progresses through his quest whilst also upholding his values such as dignity, perseverance, justice and faith. But it is a greater story of survival, it is the story of the world surviving with the morals, beliefs and laws that are at risk of losing. This concept of the story profoundly confronts my values and how others reject them for their own survival at any cost. Having experienced the environments of a refugee camp, if people were to abandon their values and beliefs just as the characters in The Road, then there would be no hope or future left for them to look forward to.

Now comparing these stories, Jerry and the narrator of “Sixteen” are very much alike, just as they are apart. Maureen Daly and Doris Lessing really give the reader a good feel for the characters and mood, making the tone easy to comprehend. In “Sixteen”, the narrator is very serious when talking about how she is, in fact, quite smart, and knows what she’s doing when it comes to life. Along with this, Jerry is very serious about practicing his breath golding and swimming because he wants to be able to get to and go through the tunnel. It’s a goal, not a dream. Both of these characters take the reader on a very personal journey; one into the mind and heart, and one into the process of him becoming a “man”. Two very difficult things to normally talk about. The authors create anxiety for the readers when Jerry is actually in the tunnel. He begins counting, higher and higher, the longer he’s in the tunnel, making the reader think, “There’s no way he’s going to make it out.” There is also a sense of anxiety in

Rather than exploring lighter tones in her stories, she can only express herself through trauma. Let’s now explore what methods Danticat uses to explore such literary cliché’s within ‘Children of the Sea’.

It also indicates a revolt against the oppression and prejudice that trouble the African Americans. It is particularly Daniels’ color of the skin that makes him fear the law and society all the more since he cannot see any hope because of his black color. In this context the sewer is a second home that keeps Daniels safe from prejudice, discrimination and all the disorder found in the upper-world. Underground represents the light in the dark. It represents freshness away from the suffocation people like Daniels had to bear when amid the society. Underground also represents protection from the miserable life Daniels would find in the upper world. In this way, underground is a symbol of escape and revolt. At this point, it does not represent poverty or misery but is like a cave which protects Daniels from the troubles found

Then Jerry looks up and sees that the source of light is not the end of the tunnel, but only a crack in the rock. Hopeful terms are used to describe the break in the stone. “Sunlight,” typically associated with warmth, life, and comfort, falls through it, illuminating the “clean” rock of the tunnel, and as Jerry gazes he sees a single mussel shell, the only sign on life in the tunnel. Ahead of him is “darkness,” but that is his only way out, although he thinks he has reached “the end of what he could

“Big Two Hearted River”, a semi-autobiographical short story by Ernest Hemingway, is a story about the main character, Nick, returning to Big Two Hearted River in order to recover from his inner wounds. Nick Adams goes on a journey alone in nature for a therapeutic purpose as he suffers from PTSD. However, Hemingway purposely avoided any direct discussion regarding to Nick’s mental wounds. The absence of the discussion is contributed by Hemingway’s writing style, the Iceberg principle. Hemingway focuses explicitly on what occurs on the surface without mentioning actual theme. This indicates that the theme of self-healing cannot be uncovered by simply looking at the text itself. In order to comprehend the actual theme of the story, the character development of Nick must be examined. This is possible since Nick Adams is a recurring character of Hemingway’s stories. The two preceding stories of “Big Two Hearted River”, “Now I lay me” and “A Way you’ll Never Be”, directly discusses Nick’s suffering from shell-shock and how he comforts himself by returning to Big Two Hearted river in his mind. The two short stories will be analyzed and connected to “Big Two Hearted River” in the essay first. This will provide a strong understanding of Nick’s psyche and the reason behind his return to nature. Then, “Big Two Hearted River” the short story itself will be carefully analyzed.

As a young boy, Trond’s interactions with water illustrates his innocence, showing his youthful behavior and preservation of innocence. Growing up, water has played a huge role in Trond’s life; He would often go out, “fishing for trout in the river” (15) or “riding logs down the river” (15). These activities that Trond engages in reflects Trond’s close bond with the river and how it brought out his adventurous and youthful behavior. The dynamic environment of the river and the never-ending flow of water is symbolic of Trond’s constant energetic youth. As a kid, Trond was always outside admiring the beauty of nature or out stealing horses, and the river provided him the opportunity to do that. In order to go out stealing horses, Trond had to “row across the river”(32), in which the river acted as the path or gateway that led Trond to his next adventure. In addition, the river also represents Trond’s reluctance to change or grow out of his childhood. Trond recalls, “I could immerse myself in water up to my chin and remain the person I was”(101). This highlights the idea that the river is a comfort zone in which Trond is able to submerge himself in and stay youthful. Trond doesn’t want to grow out of his childhood and the river protects his innocence. Even with the “current pounding away and pulling at his body,”(101) Trond felt untouched and remained the same person. This shows how the river maintains Trond’s growth into a man and it serves to show that Trond is the “anchor of