E.E Cummings once said, “ it takes courage to grow up and become who we really are.” Growing up can be scary and is a difficult transition. “Through the Tunnel” is a children's short story written by Doris Lessing. The short story is about a young boy who challenges himself to go through a tunnel at the beach on his own. In “Through the Tunnel” the author conveys the difficulties of adolescence through personification and symbolism.
Personification is used to convey the difficulties of adolescence in “Through the Tunnel”. In the short story, the rocks are personified as angry or scary. On page 360 author Doris Lessing states an example of how the author uses personification as “ He swam back to the big rock, climbed up, and dived into the
blue pool among the fanged and angry boulders.” The rocks that may seem angry cannot have emotions. The author compares the rocks to anger because it shows instilled fear Jerry has. A secondary example of how the author uses personification in her short story is “He went out fast over the gleaming sand, over a middle region where rocks lay like discolored monsters under the surface.” The author compares the rocks to monsters. This is an example of being childish and kids are afraid. Monsters tend to have a kid feel to it , which shows how the author compares fear to still be a kid such as monsters.The author uses personification to give his story life and to connect with the audience. The rocks can seem or appear to be angry and look like monsters, but in reality, they are nonliving. Furthermore not only does the author use personification , symbolism is a key literary term used in the short story “ Through the Tunnel” to convey the difficulties of adolescence.When Jerry put on his goggles for the first time, he uses them as a symbol of growth. On page 360 Author Doris Lessing states an example of symbolism. “Now, he could see. It was as if he had an eye of a different kind—fish eyes that showed everything clear and delicate and wavering in brighter water.” This quote explains when Jerry puts on the goggles he can see a problem free world. No worries, only beautiful things. Literary critic Hollern agrees and states an example of how the author uses symbolism such as“ He risks his life, but does so while wearing swimming goggles, which are symbolic of both his inexperience and his need for protection. These quotes both shows how Jerry uses the goggles to help him to see which leads to growth. Authors use symbolism to create depth in the writing and to build a connection between the theme and the story. Jerry grew as a person and learned how to overcome his fears. Although going through adolescence is difficult, with the adjustments he can see clearly. The difficulties of adolescence are conveyed throughout the short story “Through the Tunnel” using personification and symbolism. Napoleon Hill once said, “ patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” Growing up can have its challenges and can be difficult but through it all, it is a life lesson.
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.
In John Connolly’s novel, The Book of Lost Things, he writes, “for in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be”. Does one’s childhood truly have an effect on the person one someday becomes? In Jeannette Walls’ memoir The Glass Castle and Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner, this question is tackled through the recounting of Jeannette and Amir’s childhoods from the perspectives of their older, more developed selves. In the novels, an emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the relationships Jeannette and Amir have with their fathers while growing up, and the effects that these relations have on the people they each become. The environment to which they are both exposed as children is also described, and proves to have an influence on the characteristics of Jeannette and Amir’s adult personalities. Finally, through the journeys of other people in Jeannette and Amir’s lives, it is demonstrated that the sustainment of traumatic experiences as a child also has a large influence on the development of one’s character while become an adult. Therefore, through the analysis of the effects of these factors on various characters’ development, it is proven that the experiences and realities that one endures as a child ultimately shape one’s identity in the future.
In her famous short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oates shows the transition from childhood to adulthood through her character Connie. Each person experiences this transition in their own way and time. For some it is leaving home for the first time to go to college, for others it might be having to step up to a leadership position. No matter what, this transition affects everyone; it just happens to everyone differently. Oates describes Connie's unfortunate coming of age in a much more violent and unexpected way than the typical coming of age story for a fifteen year old girl.
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.
Both authors make a point of showing the narrow-mindedness of humans by nature. In “Allegory of the Cave”, the prisoners believed that the shadows they were seeing were reality, with nothing more to it. The comfort of the said perceived, and therefore the fear of the unrecognized outside world would end in the prisoner being forced to climb the steep ascent of the cave and step outside int...
The point of view was effective throughout the course of Tunnel giving us a better understanding of the elements happening. Tunnel is written in first person point of view, meaning that the pronoun “I” was used throughout the story. On page 44 this is seen. It states “I didn't know by the time I was sixteen it would be the global economy and there would be no summer jobs, even though you did your life-skills analysis as recommended by the guidance councilor.”
There is a certain process that every human being on the planet has in common. Not everyone can say it is a pleasing experience, but nobody can deny that it happened to them. ‘Growing up’ happens to everyone one whether they like it or not. The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood is long and confusing, which often reveals questions that can never be answered. The novel Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger explores how the adult life has its complexities and can be very puzzling to teenagers starting that phase in their lives. The main character Holden Caulfield realizes the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenges of adapting to an adult society. The catcher in the rye shows the inevitable loss of innocence
In the book Tunnel Kids written by Lawrence Taylor and Maeve Hickey, tells the stories of children in their attempt to cross the border from Mexico into the United States. These children are referred to as Tunnel Kids because they seek shelter within a storm tunnel. The tunnel connects the cities of Nogales, Arizona USA and Nogales, Sonora Mexico. Not only do these children find shelter in this tunnel but they find children like themselves. Children who face struggles including hunger, pain, addiction, and loneliness. These children are not completely left to fight for their own defenses, they do have a haven, Mi Nueva Casa. A place looking to change the lives of these children and take them out of the tunnels. But this haven cannot support
We all grow up, and for some, it is more tumultuous than others. J.D.Salinger is known for encompassing in Literary form the struggles of the transition from a young adolescent to the experience of living in the adult world and highlighting what is important to a teenager during their journey to maturity. Salinger discusses certain themes important to the average teenager such as the protection of innocence, sexual frustration, and refusal to let go of the world they leave behind when they enter adulthood with diction, narration and symbols.
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.
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 author chooses to write the novel through the eyes of the main character and narrator, Jack. Jack’s perception of the world is confined to an eleven foot square room. His world consists only of the objects in his room and his Ma. Because of his limited amount of knowledge of the outside world the narrator uses personification which allows the reader to see his life through his eyes.
Norton, D. E., & Norton. S. (2011). Through The Eyes Of a Child. An Introduction To Children’s Literature. Boston, MA, 02116: Eight-Edition Pearson Education
This story is told through the use of many different techniques of writing, including, one of the most emotionally gripping, personification. The use of a line such as “When she was just a girl she expected the world but it flew away from her reach” (lines 1-2) gives the listener a childlike view on the situation, which, allows the listener to relate to and, subsequently, connect themselves to the song’s protagonist. Personification is also used in other
Plato's Theory of Forms draws parallels to The Allegory of the Cave, highlighting the concept of human beings being ignorant to true perfection. In the writing Plato uses symbols to convey a veiled meaning. The philosopher says, “The prisoners s...