Chiang 1 Anderson Chiang
Ms. Lee
English 9­B
11 September 2014

Taking Risks “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” This is a quote
Winston Churchill gave during his address to the First Army. In the story “Through the Tunnel” by Doris
Lessing, Jerry, an English boy, attempts to swim through an underwater tunnel despite his fear of failure.
The series of event’s Jerry experiences deeply affects him externally and internally, that propelled him to a decision that greatly refines him. Lessing uses symbolism to dramatically affect the plot of the story.
Accordingly, Lessing uses the “tunnel” Jerry attempts to swim through as a symbol of his transition from childhood to adulthood. The tunnel symbolizes Jerry’s passage to independence and maturity. After completing this extreme feat, Jerry explains “Mummy... I can stay underwater for two minutes, three minutes at least”(Lessing 153). Not only is he describing his accomplishments to him mom, he is telling his mother that he is mature and that he feels the need for independence.
Similarly, Lessing also uses the “Safe beach” and “Wild bay” to represent danger and safety.
Lessing describes the bay as “wild” and “rocky. Both very obvious hints of danger towards Jerry. She describes the bay as “safe” hinting safety and childhood to Jerry. The bay represents adulthood or maturity. In order to go to the bay, you must be mature and