Through the Tunnel Everyone living on this Earth has or will go through the process of growing up. This is a constant, never changing fact that we must all encounter the challenges of maturing to become an adult. One story that illustrates these concepts is Doris Lessing's’ story “Through the Tunnel,” a story about a beach, a bay, and a boy named Jerry. It shows how the main character changes from boy to young man. In Doris Lessing’s short story, she illustrates the challenges of maturation using symbolism and characterization. The crowded beach and the bay represent childhood and adulthood to Jerry, they symbolize the stages and challenges of life. You can see this by just reading the first paragraph of the short story. The story is mostly told from Jerry’s point of view, in third person, but includes an internal monologue in which one can understand Jerry’s feelings. The reader sees by Jerry’s actions that he “...stopped at a turning of the path and looked down at a wild, rocky bay, and then the crowded beach he knew so well for years,” which shows his opinion towards the setting that surrounds him and his feelings toward his childhood and what lies before him. He feels intimidated by the challenge that the bay presents for him, which creates a …show more content…
Just watching the boys, Jerry feels the urge to be like them. As stated, “He wants to be accepted by older boys and to leave behind the safe beach of his childhood where his mother watched over him, and he wants this so badly that ultimately he is willing to risk his life to demonstrate that he is ready (Sobeloff, Judy 2003).” Jerry sees the others not as boys, but as men, adults that are ready or what the world holds for them. He wants to be like them, brave and able to go through the symbolic ‘tunnel’ to youth. This was a direct result the impact that characterization has had on Jerry and his path to
The two stories "Brothers are the Same" by Beryl Markham and "Through the Tunnel" by Doris Lessing are both about growing up and entering adulthood. "Brothers are the Same" about a boy named Temas trying to prove he was tough and could be called an adult. In a similar situation in "Through the Tunnel" a young boy named Jerry is determined to go through an underwater tunnel that he saw some older French boys go through. He wants to accomplish this goal to prove to himself that he could do it . The two stories share a similar theme, but the authors perspective on the topic differ.
n the short story, Tunnel by Sarah Ellis, humour is used to reflect the struggles of adolescence and the overall theme of change, maturity and growth overtime. The first use of humour as a form of criticism of adolescents is when the protagonist realizes that he is not properly trained to babysit his new child, Elizabeth or lb. He is shocked at the drastic different styles of play from his previous child. “In my babysitting course at the community centre they taught us about first aid, diapering, nutritious snacks and how to jump your jollies out. They did not teach Barbies.” The author uses juxtaposition and humour to criticizes the inherent pride that the youth carry with them about their knowledge. For example, the protagonist is prideful
The short story Eleven by Sandra Cisneros, focuses around the main character Rachel as an insecure developing girl who lacks the experience to handle everyday encounters. Rachel, an eleven year old girl truly encapsulates the thoughts that are present within an adolescent. The lack of confidence in herself, excessive fear of being judged, and ideas of growing up are ideals that are relevant within each and every one of us. The reader is able to relate to Rachel because her feelings and experiences that are described by the author are similar to what most people have been through and are currently experiencing. The characterization of Rachel is expressed through the author’s usage of point of view, imagery, and repetition.
Someone once said, “Maturity is not measured by age. It’s an attitude built by experience.” (SearchQuotes). These experiences help advance maturity and prepare adolescence for adulthood. In coming of age literature, the key is to evolve an authentic character through different incidents. Accordingly, Evan Hunter demonstrates this characteristic development in “On the Sidewalk Bleeding”, through the protagonist, Andy. Within the story, there are moments that illustrate the development in thinking realistically rather than idealistically, a prominent transition from ignorance to knowledge and experiences that demonstrate a shift from selfishness to selflessness. Consequently, the various developments Andy encounters in “On the Sidewalk Bleeding”
We all experience a rite of passage in our lives, whether it be the time we learned to swim or perhaps the day we received our driver’s license. A rite of passage marks an important stage in someone’s life, and one often times comes with a lesson learned. Three selections that provide fine examples of rites of passage that individuals confront include “The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant” by W.D. Wetherell, “On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins” and “First Lesson” by Philip Booth.
Fourteen-year-old Jerry Renault is like your typical skinny or thin teenager in his freshman year at Trinity, a boys' Catholic high school. He tends to dwell on depressive emotion, sexual frustration due to hormones, and loneliness from his mother as well as asking his own existent in the world. He is has no mother and had recently died in a few months. He often remembers and recalling times of his parents lived together in a house with a large backyard and front lawn which his father never got tired of mowing it. He's trying to make quarterback and to do well in school despite that fact weighing him down. As well as being best to be a good son to his widowed father but Jerry is beginning to freak out of his father’s boring life style. He worries about ending up like his dad and being stuck in the same routine as his father. Realizing this factor, Jerry decides to make a change in his life out of impulse saying "No" to chocolates but, he's really saying "no" to the entire “universe” that The Vigils and Brother Leon created at Trinity. The random guy out from the streets accuses Jerry of being a "Square boy. Middle aged at fourteen… “. Disregarding the guy’s aimless lifestyle, he begins questioning all the routines in his life. It’s not like he doesn't love and appreciate his father but Jerry becomes more worried that he'll grow up and be trapped in the kind of boring life as his dad. He comes to the realization that his father is stuck living a dull, almost unhappy life as he looks in the mirror and "sees his father's face reflected in his own features." We can see also in the story, Jerry tends to waver in the border lines of excitement and boredom by isolating himself and not being isolated. In the beginning of t...
“Tunnel” by Sarah Ellis is about a sixteen-year old boy who is looking for a job. He gets a job as a babysitter, and has to look after a girl name Elizabeth, Ib for short. Ib and Ken go for an exploration mission, as he calls it, ending up at a recognizable place from Ken's childhood. Ib enters this place, endangers herself, and requires assistance from Ken. Ken and Ib hear voices that will only disappear upon hearing Ken and Ib’s real name. Ken helps Ib, and they leave, trying to forget about the traumatic experience. This story was able to positively depict the elements of a short story through the point of view, theme, and the mood of the story.
Maturity and taking responsibility is what society must do to move beyond the point it’s at. The film symbolizes the transformation from childhood to adulthood through scenery and setting. It begins in modern Japan, where everything is simple and easy, and eventually ends up in an old-fashioned Japan as the spirit world, a world of tunnels, bridges, and trains. Through the use of symbolism, metaphors, and reflecting society’s flaws, the transformation from childhood to adulthood is thoroughly depicted in this film.
Introduction:The road to maturity and adulthood can be a long and difficult road for teens, especially when it comes to decision making and changing your view on the world. The popular short story, “On the Sidewalk Bleeding”, written by world-renowned author, Evan Hunter in 1957, displays this perfectly. Hunter uses the protagonist, Andy, to illustrate his development from adolescence into adulthood as he shifts from a state of ignorance to a state of knowledge, from a mindset of idealism to realism and from a selfish personality to a selflessness personality. Hunter expresses the major theme of coming of age through this protagonist character who is seen shifting from a state of adolescence to a more matured state of adulthood throughout the story.
Growing up is a natural part of life. Everyone grows up. The loss of childish innocence and blind faith in what is said is one chief mark of growing up. Loss of innocence, however, presents itself in many forms, even to adults, and with it brings a greater understanding of the world at large. In literature, authors use the process to explore society and humanity. Through the characters’ loss of innocence, the authors of both To Kill A Mockingbird and Of Mice & Men discuss ideas of prejudice, family, and courage.
Throughout this semester we have dissected the meaning of childhood in children’s literature. Neil Gaiman does the same in his novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I feel that there are universal truths about childhood, and that childhood is different than adulthood. Neil Gaiman is a unique writer, and in his novel are passages that support my idea on childhood.
Marita Bonner starts her short essay by describing the joys and innocence of youth. She depicts the carefree fancies of a cheerful and intelligent child. She compares the feelings of such abandonment and gaiety to that of a kitten in a field of catnip. Where the future is opened to endless opportunities and filled with all the dream and promises that only a youth can know. There are so many things in the world to see, learn, and experience that your mind in split into many directions of interest. This is a memorable time in life filled with bliss and lack of hardships.
The strangest part of The Phantom Tollbooth is the fact that the various bad thing that people do are personified as demons. For example there is the “ Overbearing Know-it-all” this demon is “A dismal demon who was mostly mouth, he was ready at a moment's notice to offer misinformation on any subject. And, while he often tumbled heavily, it was never he who was hurt, but, rather, the unfortunate person on whom he fell.” This demon basicly spreads misinformation and only hurts others.
Throughout the poem, there were statements that showed how at the beach you find different things that make you unique. For example, “Maggie discovered a shell that sang” (Cummings 3), “Millie befriended a stranded star” (Cummings 5), “Molly was chased by a horrible thing” (Cummings 7), and “May came home with a smooth round stone” (Cummings 9). These points in the plot show how everyone at the beach found something different. Because everyone found something different, everyone is unique. Therefore, the theme of how you act at the beach reflects your personality is established through the plot, which shows how finding different things at the beach makes you
The Beach represents a place of balance and democracy. From Lord of the Flies, the quote “‘Let’s vote –’ This toy of voting was almost as pleasing as the conch” (22) shows how gratifying the boys find it to be creating a democracy on the peaceful beach. And while the beach is also where Jack declares his independence from the group and splits off, he does so in a nonviolent way, without threatening physical harm. Even when harsh words are exchanged, the reader sees these events as non-aggressive, civilized events that accentuate the peacefulness of the beach. The open setting of the beach, with its “shimmering waters” (10) and “miles of length” (18) is reinforcing the characters to get along and to act more civilized.