“Through the Tunnel”, written in the early 50’s by Doris Lessing, is a short story filled with literary devices that create a coming of age story. On the surface, the story is about a boy named Jerry, an eleven-year-old boy, who is being raised by his widowed mother. They are on vacation on a beach at their usual annual spot. Jerry is faced with a challenge he desperately wants to overcome, by any means necessary. Doris Lessing uses symbolism and bildungsroman to portray the theme of coming of age. To begin, Doris Lessing uses many literary devices throughout the story to develop the theme. To be specific, symbolism plays a major role in the evolution of the characters and the story. For example, Lessing introduces one setting that Jerry, the main character, sees as childish and unfitting for him. Then immediately Jerry has his eyes set on “the bay,” where the jagged rocks and crashing waves shows to be for a grown man. Lessing writes, “...he looked over his back shoulder at the wild bay, and all morning, as he played on the safe beach, he was thinking of it (Lessing 1).” The two settings described symbolize the two stages of life that Jerry is amidst. The “crowded beach” symbolizes childhood, safety, and dependence on his mother. On the other hand, the “wild and rocky bay” symbolizes risk, maturity, and independence. “Short Story Student Guide,” explains how the symbolism of the beaches creates the exposition(1). Another example of symbolism is the goggles that Jerry
The contemporary texts, See you at Harry’s by Jo Knowles (2012) and Wonder by R.J. Palacio (2012) explore the common concerns that young people may face whilst growing up. The universal theme of the Human Condition involves the stages of life and the issues everyone must go through to develop a sense of self and purpose that define us from being social beings. These novels explore the Human Condition through discovering self-identity, relationships and loss. These novels are examples of bildungsroman as they are relevant to today's society and the children living in it. Young readers can relate to the struggles and feelings expressed by the characters, based off the composer's perspective of youth.
In addition to this, belonging to a family is a key concept in this novel. The novel opens with an alluring introduction to the family; a blissful atmosphere is created through the picturesque icons of their family life. The composer uses small photograph like icons to allude towards the widely acknowledged contentment that is readily associated with the memories in a picture album. Tan introduces the motif of the paper crane which he carries through the length of his novel as a symbol of affection and belonging between the family members. The next pages signify the break in contentment as the man begins his journey and a salient image of the couple with their hands grasping the other’s parallels the anxiety and despair in their downcast facial expressions. Although the gloomy atmosphere, the light sepia tones in the picture allow an insight into the tender and loving relationship that the family members share. Upon the man’s departure the paper crane motif returns and he hands it to his daughter as a token of his undying love for her. His migratory experience is studded by the comfort and ease that he obtains from a picture of his family. In paralleled scenes on the boat and the new apartment, the
In this story, the narrator gives us the important clues that lead us to the theme by letting us know what the characters think. For example, when the Jerry's mother says "Of course he's old
In life, one must overcome their fears in order to achieve or successfully attain a certain goal in their mind. The short story “Through the Tunnel”, by Doris Lessing tells us about how Jerry builds confidence and maturity throughout the story, by overcoming his fear of going through the dark and scary tunnel underneath the water. The author portrays the idea of overcoming one’s fear to achieve a goal through Jerry, who was once a childish and isolated character, had begun his risky adventure of going through the tunnel to prove his worth to a group of boys and along the way discovers what he truly wants. Over time he becomes more mature and in the end, gain self-acceptance.
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.
The main theme of this novel work is a powerful journey that lead unknown strangers on this dull island where each one of them life is at stake between survival and fate. The author’s overall message to society is far the intended audience to know how justice needs to be served. The way the author Christie use each element such as characterization, conflict, and style to enhance the theme with the characterization she pin out points from the begging of the novel to let the beginning of the novel to let the audience know that this vacation trip that each of the strangers think they getting is going to turn out to be something more than what they all expect. The conflict again are within each character their self’s and the author make sure that in this novel there’s pin points that the
The story Through the Tunnel is about a young boy named Jerry and his mother going on vacation to a beach resort that they have previously visited. The villa they are staying at consist of two beaches. The safe, crowded beach is where Jerry’s mother goes and the wild Rocky Bay is where Jerry ends up spending most of his time. While Jerry swims in the water at the wild bay, he sees a group of boys diving into the water. Jerry knew right when he saw them, he wanted to be just like them. In his eyes, “They were big boys—men to Jerry” (Lessing 148). To show that he was brave, he found the courage to dive off the
The 1960’s were a time of drastic social change, with the next generation questioning their parent’s ideals and a cataclysm of political adjustment. Away, by Michael Gow, under the direction of Michael Beh and performed by heartBeast on the 12th of February 2015 at the Holy Trinity Anglican church, formed a powerful idea of the Australian identity during these turbulent times. Issues of the Australian identity were explored through symbol, and roles and relationships used examined the Australian stereotypes of the time. The character’s goals and intentions towards other characters accentuated the Australian identity at the time, especially those of Coral and Gwen.
Some people believe that lies will always be bitter in the end, no matter how sweet you make them in the beginning. In William Gass’ The Tunnel, he expounds the validity of this belief by taking the reader on an emotionally evolving journey, as he recounts the self-realization of a young boy, who’s frightening lie unravels in front of not only his own eyes, but also the readers. Gass successfully enriches this story with striking imagery, symbolism, and comparisons; exposing how no matter how sweet you make a lie in the beginning, it will always turn bitter in the end.
The significance of the sea as a motif enhances the story because it develops the theme of independence and solitude being inseparable. During the course of the book, Edna strives for independence, but doesn’t realize that in the society she lives in independence comes with an abundance of consequences such as loneliness. The significance of the sea plays a major part all through the book because the sea comes to symbolize freedom, escape, rebirth, and strengthens the idea that independence and solitude are entwined. Edna’s first encounter with the sea was the beginning of her journey to self-discovery and throughout the novel the sea is associated with Edna’s awakening. The starting point of Edna’s awakening was established by the alluring
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
The first example is the fact that it could represent the 1920s American Dream being lost. Now, in case someone didn't read the book, at certain points in time, a green light begins to shine in the West Egg far from Daisy's dock, but after a while it begins to fade away. What it represents is the American Dream fading away. The American Dream was originally to have a life about discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. That did not come to be, as easy money and relaxed social
Even though, jerry wants to be accepted and in control of his life, the harsh reality is Jerry’s identity wants to be with his mother. Further throughout the story the tunnel is shown as the symbol of the story; letting the reader know that Jerry senses that it is the door to his identity. Additionally, the chronological structure is effective throughout the story in showing the process of growing up and an insight into Jerry’s transformation. Moreover, the 3rd person omniscient narrator and formal register presents the character of Jerry and his mother in a distanced way and without a biased perspective. This suggests the sense of detachment and alienation that Jerry is starting to feel from his mother as he is growing up and wanting to make his own choices. The story is firstly introduced with a description of the mother carrying a bright striped purse. It was this and other uses of describing Jerry’s surroundings with the use of bright colours symbolising jerry’s childish world and thoughts. In addition, the thought of jerry’s childish thoughts shows his struggle to establish his own identity. The author writes that Jerry goes swimming “over a region where rocks lay like discoloured monsters under the surface”. The simile shows that even though Jerry wants to be independent and swim alone in the bay, he’s terrified of being alone in the water and not seeing his mother again. Briefly, Jerry learns that you cannot
The Old Man and the Sea has man tensions, ambiguities, and ironies that arise within the work which the work uses towards a particular theme. There are several themes that unify into one resolution. The Old Man and the Sea can be interpreted to discover how it functions as a self-contained, self-referential aesthetic object. This would be how the structural purpose of the text could be explored. The first step to this process is to find a confusing, unclear section within the text.
The fictional life and death of a twelve year old little boy named Robert is vividly articulated in this moving tale by Thomas Wolfe. The reader learns of the boy’s life through four well developed points of view. The reader’s first glimpse into Robert’s character is expressed through a third person narrative. This section takes place on a particularly important afternoon in the boy’s life. The second and third views are memories of the child, through the eyes of his mother and sister. His mother paints the picture of an extraordinary child whom she loved dearly and his sister illustrates the love that the boy had for others. Finally, an account from the narrator is given in the ending. It is in the last section of this work that the