Maturity In Doris Lessing's 'Through The Tunnel'

Maturity is never easy, it takes a lot of bumps and bruises to get the hang of it. “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing expresses the difficulty of growing up. This story is about a boy, Jerry, who grows up and matures on his journey at the beach. In the story, the author portrays the maturity of the boy by using symbolism and imagery.
The color yellow and orange on his mother shows safety. As Jerry comes up from the water he saw his mom and thought “There she was, a speck of yellow under an umbrella that looked like a slice of orange peel. He swam back to shore, relieved at being sure she was there, but all at once very lonely” (Lessing 358). Jerry feels secure when he thinks of his mother; he associates her with the colors that make him feel safe. Even though children might want to mature and be independent, they always need a safe zone, a guardian or parent to keep them

When Jerry is at the rocks, Lessing writes “From where he was, high up among red-brown rocks, it was a scoop of moving bluish green fringed with white. As Jerry went lower, he saw that it spread among small promontories and inlets of rough, sharp rock, and the crisping, lapping surface showed stains of purple and darker blue” (Lessing 358). The author described the rocks with dark colors, almost as if referring to Jerry’s own injuries. He decided to explore more, “He went out fast over the gleaming sand, over a middle region where rocks lay like discolored monsters under the surface, and then he was in the real sea—a warm sea where irregular cold currents from the deep water shocked his limbs” (Lessing 358). Here, one can understand that the rocks are very rough and not to comfortable to be on. Lessing describes his environment as if it were against Jerry. Jerry learns to adjust to the feeling since he wants to be a big boy and grow