Through the Tunnel Comprehension Questions

9. Find a simile that compares Jerry to the fish.

"Oh, don't fuss! Nothing can happen. He can swim like a fish."

How does the language barrier affect Jerry when he sees other guys playing in the water? How do the other guys react?

-Can't communicate with them - he starts using body language - acting foolishly & immaturely -They don't like it & think of him as a little kid

He decides to leave, but "he almost ran after her feeling it unbearable that she go by herself." Why does he respond in this way? Why doesn't he tell her how he truthfully feel?

-He feels the need to protect her because he's the only man in her life & doesn't want to hurt his mom by going out alone -To comfort her because his father has already left her alone by dying

How does Jerry deal with the criticism from the foreign guys? What can we infer about Jerry by his reaction?

-He starts to cry -Shows how sheltered he is - doesn't really deal w the criticism, he just gets upset — doesn't have coping skills because of the fact that he's been raised by a women who believes it's okay to be emotional

How does the sea feel to him? How can this be translated into real life?

-Inconsistent - warm one minute & cold the next -You're going to have cool moments where everything is great & then you have moments where you're in warm water & things are just not going very good

What does he see when he's in the water? Why is he relieved that his mom is still there?

-Little tiny spec under that yellow umbrella - his mom - he's relieved she's still there because it makes him feel safe -She's his security blanket - he likes the reassurance that she's still there

What does the author mean when she refers to Jerry's mother as "safe in the sun on HER beach"?

-That's where she feels safe -It's referred to as HER beach because Jerry thinks it's boring & wants to go to the more dangerous & adventurous end of the beach

External Conflict:

-Tunnel -Might drown, die, get caught in seaweed, get lost, etc.

4. Why is Jerry so determined to swim through the tunnel?

Because he is jealous of the older boys swimming to it (Because he is and idiot)

8. Why does Jerry continue to swim through the tunnel and not swim back?

Because he saw one of the other boys pop up on the other side

With what 2 opposing feelings does the mother struggle?

Can she survive on her own & can he survive without her

Explain the significance of Jerry choking when the water surges.

Character depends on how you cope with the choking & how you deal with the situation - he chooses to get over it & keep going

What kind of relationship do Jerry & his mother have?

Co-dependant - they depend on each other equally but too much & could make the relationship toxic

The beach:

Crowded Safe Usual Big

13. Describe the relationship Jerry has with his mother.

Decent but not super close

3. What does swimming through the tunnel symbolize?

Determination

Author:

Doris Lessing

5. How is Jerry connected to the other boys in the story?

He saw the boys diving down into the hole and wanted to go and do it with them

His mother asks if he "would like to go somewhere else" and he says "oh no." Why does he react this way ?

He thought maybe she would make him go to another "safe" part of the beach - he thought that she might go with him or want him to stay within sight

Jerry feels that swimming through the tunnel is important because:

He wanted to impress the big boys who had swum through the great rock. The crowded, safe, usual, and big beach symbolized childhood, whereas, the wild, rocky bay symbolizes adulthood. To Jerry, making his way, swimming, through the tunnel, accomplishing this feat, was one way for Jerry to test himself and prove that he is no longer merely a child, as his mother sees him, but a "big boy", a young adult, who can withstand physical, even emotional, pain.

12. Give an example of foreshadowing in the story.

He wants to go over by the rocks at the beginning, and by end he goes through a tunnel in the rocks

10. How does Jerry's mother see a change in him?

His eyes and his skin was pale

6. How does Lessing's (author's) word choice help readers experience the danger in the story?

His words gave the reader a thrilling effect

1. What does Jerry accomplish by diving through the tunnel?

Holding his breath longer

The tunnel:

Irregular Dark Long Rock-bound Sharp/Slimy

Why does Jerry cry after the other boys leave?

Jerry cries after the other boys leave because to be with the boys, of them, was a craving that filled his whole body, and he was happy to be with them (Jerry was very lonely, but with the boys, he was happy). In a panic of failure (of not being able to attempt the feat of diving and swimming through a tunnel), the English boy clowned for the boys' attention, and they looked down gravely, frowning. Once the boys swam through the tunnel (after Jerry's attention-seeking act), they gathered their bits of clothing and ran along off the shore to another promontory. Jerry cried because they were leaving to get away from him.

Why doesn't Jerry care about going back to swim in the bay at the end of the story?

Jerry doesn't care about going back to swim in the bay at the end of the story because he wanted nothing but to get back home and lie down. Jerry accomplished what he set out to do, the feat to swim through the underwater tunnel in the rock at the bay.

Jerry feels that he needs to learn how to swim through the tunnel. He solves this problem by utilizing what steps?:

Jerry solves this problem by beginning with getting swimming goggles. Once he got his swimming goggles he dove into the water of the bay, and swam to the base of the great rock that the big boys had swum through. He found the hole, and used a rock to get down to the sandy floor of the bay. He observed the tunnel. He thought that first, he must control his breathing. He did careful self-training by using a rock to get to the sandy floor of the bay and counting. He exercised his lungs as if everything depended upon it. He never communicated about this feat with his mother because he knew that she would not allow him to do it, so he kept this goal a secret. Jerry had a day's rest because his mom insisted on his coming with her. This rest improved his count by ten. Utilizing these steps, Jerry accomplished his goal a day earlier than he had planned.

Why does Jerry try to accomplish this feat one day earlier than he had planned?

Jerry tries to accomplish this feat one day earlier than he had planned because he knew that now, this moment, when his nose just stopped bleeding, when his head was sore and throbbing, was the moment when he would try. Jerry thought that he would return to the house and lie down, and next summer, he would go through the hole. However, if he did not do it now, he knew, he never would.

What does Jerry want to accomplish?

Jerry wants to accomplish the feat to swim through the underwater tunnel in the rock at the bay, the great rock that the big boys had swum through that was tufted lightly with greenish weed.

What is the contrast when Jerry first arrives at the beach?

Looks at the other end of the beach -- the wild rocky bay

Explain the significance of "eyes of a different kind;" What's the figurative meaning?

Makes him see like he is a fish — he can see much more clearly - a switch has been flipped & when he was under before he saw the rocks as monsters but now that he can see clearly he can see how pretty they really are

11. List a few words that convey what the setting is like in the story.

Promontories, bay, beach, tunnel

Why is Jerry skeptical about leaving his mother?

Relationship has a lot of insecurities & doesn't know if they can separate

How does Jerry react when he sees the rocks underwater?

Seemed like monsters to him — big obstacles that he can't see through & he's getting nervous because it's unfamiliar to him — he starts to psych himself out & starts thinking the worst about what may happen

What is the significance of his mother's "white, naked arm"? What do we INFER about her based her white arms?

Shows that she doesn't get out much & she's extremely safe - not a risk taker - she's so attuned to her son because he's her main focus - and because she's like this it makes Jerry come off this way also

14. Why is it symbolic in the story that Jerry learns to hold his breath.

So that he can swim through the tunnel and back to the surface.

2. How does Jerry prepare for the task of diving through the tunnel?

Taking deep breaths longer and longer every day

What activity does Jerry join the older boys in doing? Be specific

The activity that Jerry joins the older boys, who were of the coast (French), in doing is diving from a high point into a well of blue sea between rough, pointed rocks. The biggest of the boys shot down into the water and didn't come up for a long time. Once the biggest of the boys came up on the other side of the big, dark rock, the rest of the boys dived in, and the English boy understood that they had swum through some gap or hole in the rock. Again, the French boys dove into the water, and the English boy counted the seconds they were underwater, in the tunnel. He counted a hundred and sixty seconds until the water beyond the rock was full of boys blowing like brown whales (the French boys). In brief, the activity that Jerry joins the older boys in doing was cliff diving and swimming through a tunnel.

Theme/Message:

The main theme of the story "Through the tunnel" is coming of age, which means becoming an adult, typically as a result of an event or a rite of passage. The message of Doris Lessing's story is that the transition to adulthood can often be painful and challenging, and that it is usually a private experience that others are excluded from or cannot understand.

7. How is Jerry's beach different from the one his mother is on?

There is little kids, and he is able to dive of rocks

How might the fact that Jerry's mother is a widow AND Jerry is an only child affect their relationship?

They are more codependent on each other because they're really all they have

Internal Conflict:

Thinking negatively & starts to have second thoughts

The bay:

Wild Rocky