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Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing: Full Plot Summary | Short Story
Through the Tunnel
ABOUT THE STORY
Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing
The exciting short story "Through the Tunnel" was written by British author Doris Lessing. It first appeared in the American magazine "The New Yorker" in 1955. The story revolves around an 11-year-old boy named Jerry. The story highlights a significant event of Jerry's life. Jerry trains himself a lot to swim through an underwater hole in a rock. Finally, he successfully accomplishes this daring feat. The story primarily explores two main themes: overcoming personal limitations and the relationship between humans and nature.
FULL PLOT SUMMARY
Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing
The story starts with the main character Jerry and his widowed mother. They are on their vacation from their native place (England) to a coastal town in an unnamed foreign country. They've been there many times. They have a routine of visiting a popular beach. On the way to the beach, Jerry notices a "wild and rocky bay" that is quite different from their usual spot. Due to his interest in exploring and wanting some time away from his caring mother, Jerry plans to explore the rocky bay on his own.
Jerry himself is good at swimming. He goes into the water and moves far enough to see his mother as a small dot on the crowded beach. On his way back to the rocks, Jerry notices some local older boys. They are playing and diving in the water. The boys signal for him to join, so Jerry moves there. However, when the boys get the idea that Jerry can't speak or understand their language, they ignore him. The biggest boy in the group dives into the water and stays underwater for a while.
Jerry is extremely surprised to see this. He shouts to the others, but they don't seem bothered by the other boy's disappearance. When the boy finally pops out his head in the water on the opposite side of a big rock. The other boys do the same. They also dive off the rock. Jerry follows them, but he can only see the rock's surface. When the boys also suddenly appear on the other side of the rock, Jerry figures out that they must have passed through an underwater tunnel.
As the boys get ready to perform the same trick again from the diving wall, Jerry really wants their approval. He tries his best to impress them by flailing around and speaking the broken French language. But the boys aren't impressed. One after another, the boys dive into the water and seem to vanish. Jerry keeps on counting the minutes being surprised at how long they can stay underwater. When he reaches his count of one hundred and sixty, the boys come up on the other side of the rock. They go back to the shore, ignoring Jerry. Next, Jerry moves back to the diving rock. The boys go to another part of the shore. Jerry cries alone there.
In the next few days, Jerry focuses all his energy on contemplating how to move underwater through the tunnel. He convinces his mother to buy him a pair of goggles. He practices the way of holding his breath both underwater and on land. He also learns to make use of a boulder to help him sink into the tunnel's opening. During the time of his training, he has nosebleeds and even nausea. These experiences make him feel anxious. He worries that these issues might occur as he attempts the long underwater tunnel.
When his mother informs him that they'll be going home in four days, Jerry thinks he's running out of chances. He decides to take a try at the underwater tunnel two days earlier they leave. On the day of diving, Jerry uses all the tricks that he's been practising. Once he moves inside the tunnel, he feels pain in his lungs. His eyes start burning and he feels very dizzy. He is in an illusion when he sees a crack in the rock letting in daylight. This makes him think he's completed the tunnel, but he's only halfway through.
Finally, after making it through to the other side of the rock and coming above the water's surface, Jerry desperately requires the air. He has also a bleeding head wound. Despite his injuries, he is over-thrilled about his accomplishments. While returning home, he sees the group of the older boys again. But he no longer cares about impressing them. As he gets home, he falls asleep quickly and wakes up when his mother returns. When she inquires about his head injury, he only mentions that he can hold his breath for over two minutes. She warns him not to overdo it, but he has no interest in going back to the rocky bay once again.
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