Similarities Between To Kill A Mockingbird And Through The Tunnel

Maturation Through Ordeal

As one grows up they undergo incredible change in personality, morality and worldview. These changes can occur completely organically, or they can be triggered by an outside catalyst. It is through these alterations that greater understanding of the world is acquired. “Through the Tunnel” examines a child’s development into adolescence through the use of a central metaphor. Jerry, the protagonist and aforementioned child, longs to be accepted by older boys whom he sees going through an underwater tunnel. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, delves the depths of pre-teenhood through more direct means, following a brother and sister through a moral crisis that shocks their entire town. Both To Kill a Mockingbird and

“Through the Tunnel” explore maturation through ordeal.
In “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing, the protagonist, Jerry, is a young boy of eleven years.

The story takes place during an annual family vacation to an unspecified country. Jerry looks up to some older boys he sees dive and swim through an underwater tunnel, and he longs to be accepted by them. He sees them as being matured and adult: “They were big boys-men to Jerry” (Lessing 3). In order to become a man of the same stature as the boys, Jerry becomes determined to find his way through the tunnel. The tunnel is used throughout the story as a metaphor for the challenges that shape one into a matured young adult. By striving to meet the challenge of making it through the tunnel, Jerry learns the importance of focus and patience. “A curious, most unchildlike persistence, a controlled impatience, made him wait” (Lessing 7). As he embarks through the tunnel he finds that it’s much more difficult than he expected. He is scarred by the jagged top of the tunnel which he is continually propelled toward by upward currents. When he finally meets the challenge he finds he no longer feels the need to be accepted and validated by the older boys, seen here “He could see the local boys diving and playing half a mile away. He did not want them. He wanted only to go home to his mother” (Lessing 9). This shows that Jerry’s hunger for independence and adulthood had been

sated.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, deals with coming of age in an more explicit way without losing the nuance of “Through the Tunnel”’s metaphors. It casts Scout and Jem as the daughter and son of Atticus Finch, a lawyer called to defend a falsely accused black man in court. The book takes place in the south during the great depression. As well as dealing with themes of prejudice and justice it also displays the advancement of two children from a state of juniority to one of nobility. This is most apparent in Jem, as we see him come to terms with an crueler and less fair world than he believed he lived in. “His shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was a separate stab between them” (Lee 223). Jem also grows in his ability to understand other people’s actions. When he is forced to read to Ms. Dubose, widely considered to be the meanest old woman who ever lived, he is at first reluctant. When, after her death, Jem finds out that Ms. Dubose was a recovering morphine addict he sees her actions in a different light. He understands that she was in great pain and in turn was offloading that pain unto others through verbal abuse. The ordeal of reading to Ms. Dubose changes Jem, and gives him more matured traits.
Scout also goes through significant changes as the novel progresses. Near the beginning of the trial we see that Scout is smart but abrasive. She is shown to be quick tempered and swiftly becomes combative when her father is insulted by other students at her school. Atticus attempts to quell her vindictive spirit by asking her not to lash out at anyone simply because they made fun of him. It takes time, but Scout learns to control her anger and talk her way out of violent situations. Scout also learns the power of courtesy. When Walter Cunningham’s son Walter Jr. comes to the Finch house for lunch Scout’s manners are caustic. She continuously mentions Walter’s poorness much to everyone else's distress. Later, when she accidentally interrupts a lynch mob she spots Walter Cunningham in the crowd and remarks about how nice Bill was at dinner. This makes Walter reconsider his actions and he goes forward to disband the mob. All of these lessons brought Scout closer and closer to the precipice of adulthood. When we leave the novel she has one final admonition in empathy. After seeing the world from Boo Radley’s porch she understands how much she and her brother meant to him, as they were all he had. She very literally sees things from his point of view, and she states: “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know an man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough” (Lee 374). This is the moment when she truly understands what it means to be empathetic. It is one of the moments in the book where the growth of the characters is most apparent.
All of these passages show a challenge, whether it be reading to Ms. Dubose, controlling one’s temper, or even simply swimming through a tunnel, causing significant change and growth in a character. They are advanced in character, ethics, and integrity through a challenging experience.