Characters

“Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing features two individual characters – Jerry and his mother – and a collective character, the group of local boys. The most important character in the short story is Jerry, whose characterisation we will focus on here.

Jerry

Jerry is the main character in the short story. His outer characterisation reveals that he is a “young English boy” (l. 1), “an only child, eleven years old” (l. 30). We also know that he does not have a father, as his mother is a widow.

Jerry is on holiday with his mother in another country and he does not speak the local language. The fact that he yells at the group of boys “ ‘Bonjour! Merci! Au revoir! Monsieur, monsieur!’ ” suggests that the characters might be in France.

Additionally, we find out that Jerry is “a good swimmer” (l. 41). Jerry’s inner characterisation is conveyed by following his point of view on the events, but also through his thoughts, actions, and attitude. Jerry is a developing character as the story explores his transformation from a child to a young adult.

Jerry in relation to his mother

In the beginning of the story, Jerry comes across as caring towards his mother and still looking for her protection. This is suggested through his attitude to her and through the fact that he looks for her from the water: “He was very familiar with that anxious, apologetic smile. Contrition sent him running after her.” (ll. 12-13); “There she was, a speck of yellow under an umbrella that looked like a slice of orange peel. He swam back to shore, relieved at being sure she was there, but all at once very lonely.” (ll. 47-49)

While he loves his mother, Jerry also craves autonomy and independence as suggested by the fact that he looks at another beach and asks his mother permission to go there: “Contrition sent him running after her. And yet, as he ran, he looked back over his shoulder at the wild bay; and all morning, as he played on the safe beach, he was thinking of it.” (ll. 12-14); “Yet, walking down the path with her, he blurted out, ‘I'd like to go and have a look at those rocks down there.’ ” (19-20). This suggests that he wants independence but also feels guilty for leaving her.

Jerry’s attitude towards his mother begins to change after he meets the local boys, and he is challenged to find out how they swam through an underwater rock-tunnel. For example, Jerry begins to behave like a spoiled child, pressuring his mother to buy him goggles without telling her exactly what he plans to do: “ ‘I want some swimming goggles,’ he panted, defiant and beseeching. (...) But now, now, now! He must have them this minute, and no other time. He nagged and pestered until she went with him to a shop.” (ll. 122-127)

Furthermore, he immediately returns to the bay without giving his mother any explanation. The more absorbed Jerry is about his plans to find out how to go through the underwater rock, the more distanced he becomes from his mother. This is suggested when the mother does not allow Jerry to go to the bay because his nose bleeds: 

It was a torment to him to waste a day of his careful self-training, but he stayed with her on that other beach, which now seemed a place for small children, a place where his mother might lie safe in the sun. It was not his beach. (ll. 183-186)

After that, Jerry no longer asks for the mother’s permission to go the bay and never tells her what he is trying to do: “He did not ask for permission, on the following day, to go to his beach.” (ll. 187). This shows that he wants to be independent, and he is at an ag...