Friday, September 26, 2008
Through the Tunnel
A theme is a general insight or truth about life that an author tries to communicate through his or her story. What do you think the theme of the story "Through the Tunnel" by Dorris Lessing is? Use specifics from the plot to prove your position. Include a quote or particuliar passage in your response. Please also respond to others demonstrating you have read your classmates' post and are able to reflect on them.
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I think the theme of this story is that when you want something really bad that you would do anything you could to get it. Just like in the story when all he wanted to do was swim through the tunnel. He practice holding his breathe under water even though it caused him to have terrible nose bleeds. When he was hesitating to go in and finally go through the tunnel he hesitated. That's just showing you how much he really wanted to do it.
He was trembling with fear that he would not go; and he was trembling with horror at the long, long tunnel under the rock, under the sea.
He put on his goggles, fitted them tight, tested the vacuum. His hands were shaking.
Both of these statements are proving that he was going to do it no madder what even if it would cost him his life.
The theme of this story is definetely determination becuase jerry in this story wants to achieve what the olders boys did by swimming through a tunnel in the water. He is determined becuase at first he cannnot hold his breath for more than 30 seconds but he practices and lets his nose bleed and goes through much pain to achieve that goal.
"that day and the next, jerry excercised his lungs as if everything, the whole of his life, all that he would become depended on it"
I think that the theme in the story is determination and not giving up hope. In the story, Jerry meets some foreign friends who are able to swim way down under water, through a rock tunnel, and out of the other side. This whole process takes about 160 seconds. Once the foreigners left, Jerry was determined to swim through the rock and out of the other side just like those other boys had done. He would do anything. Jerry had practiced his breathing under water so much that his nose had begun to bleed almost every night non-stop. This didn't stop him. He began to feel light headed and dizzy. This didn't stop him either. Even when Jerry was questioning whether or not he would come up out of the water alive didn't matter to him. "If he did not do it now, he never would. If he died there, he would lie until one day-perhaps not before next year-those big boys would swim into it and find it blocked."
Jerry's determination paid off when he pushed himself to the last thread and made his way through to the other side of the rock.
"He drifted to the surface, his face turned up to the air. He was gasping like a fish. He felt he would sink now and drown...."
Both of the "anonymous" people:
I think we all agree that the theme is determination, and that Jerry would do anything, even risk his life, so he could swim through to the other side of the under-water rock tunnel.
I think the theme of this story is that Jerry wants to play with the bigger boys and be a bigger boy and he thinks he has to swim through the tunnel to prove himself worthy, able to do what the big boys do. He is determined to do this. His mother knows that he this is maturing and wants to give him a little space but is also very concerned with his safety. This is demonstrated when the narrator says "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 lay safe in the sun" Jerry thinks of the beach as "a place for small children" because there aren't as many dangers and there are many parents with littler kids. he knows that the big boys don't hang out at that beach so he follows their example and doesn't want to be there either. his mother is concerned for his safety and that is why she wants him to go to the beach that day. she also says to him "i shouldn't overdo things darling, if i were you". after Jerry goes through the tunnel and almost dies he goes home with a lesson learned. the mother says to him after he went through "Well, i shouldn't overdo it. i don't think you ought t swim any more today. she was ready for a battle of wills, but he gave in at once. it was no longer of the least importance to go to the bay." In the end Jerry learns that it isn't important to be like the big kids and that he should listen to his mother more. the saying " It was no longer of the least importance to go to the bay" is a metaphor for he doesn't want to be a big boy any more. he has learned that it is not as important to be a big kid yet and that he risked his life for a silly task to prove himself a big kid.
anonymous and Michaela...
I would agree with anonymous and Michaela but they missed out on the fact that he was doing it to be a big boy because he wanted to fit in with them. The narrator writes "He was only a child of eleven years old" and "they were big boys - men, to Jerry". The narrator also says "to be with them, of them, was a craving that filled his whole body." This shows that he was determined to be a big boy like him and that to prove himself worthy to be like them he had to swim through the rock. When he did this he then realized how stupid he was to attempt to swim through the rock and that he doesn't need to be a big boy. I think both anonymous and Michaela missed this point.
I think that the theme of this story is determination. Jerry never gives up and with his positive attitude, he swims through the tunnel. Even when he is feeling dizzy and having nose bleeds and having a little bit of trouble breathing, he still continued to swim, never gave up and finally reached his goal, swimming through this tunnel. In this story, there are some older boys that can swim under water into a rock tunnel and out the other side. This whole task takes around 160 seconds. So, when he was alone, he tried to do this every day until his nose was all bleeding. He didn't stop when he was dizzy. He didn't stop when he was feeling light - headed. No matter what, he didn't stop. He sometimes wondered whether he would come out of the other side alive or dead, but even when he was questioning himself, he never gave up and at last he reached his goal and made it to the other side of the rock tunnel, just like the other older boys had done. This gave him the satisfaction that he wanted to achieve; doing what the older boys were doing even if he was only eleven years old, younger than they were. "They were big boys - men, to Jerry." "To be with them, of them, was a craving that filled his whole body."
"He fixed his goggles tight and firm, filled his lungs, and floated, face down, on the water. Now he could see. It was as if he had eyes of a different kind - fish eyes that showed everything clear and delicate and wavering in the bright water." These three quotes show and explain the examples that I explain in my comment, above. For, these reasons, I think that the key and theme of this story is determination. Also, he never hesitated or lost hope, so therefore I think that this even more shows the determination Jerry had to fit in with the other older boys, or, not even to fit in, but to see if he could do what they could do and give him his own satisfaction of being and reaching their level. These examples clearly show that determination is the key or theme of the story.
This story is about a young
boy who will do anything to
fullfill his goal of getting, through the tunnel.
He pushes himself to the limit by working hard every day
by making trial runs and practicing breathing techniques.
Jerry even said himself, "I will do it even if it kills me". He would always feel dizzy and light headed and his nose would even bleed because he was so determined to get through the tunnel. The point is Jerry, NEVER STOPPED!
I think that the theme of the story is determination, because Jerry wants to prove to himself that he is grown up and by accomplishing his goal, in his mind, he will consider himself to be a big boy.
By Brayson: The theme of this story is that hard work and dedication always pay off. When Jerry first started diving he could only stay under water for a little while, and at the end he makes it through the tunnel. An example of dedication is when the narrator states: That night his nose led badly. For hours he had been underwater, learning to hold his breath. These two statments show that he was working hard at holding his breath all day. " That day and the next Jerry exercised his lungs as if everything, the whole of his life, all that he would become, depended upon it." This shows us that he was determined to swim through the tunnel like the big boys.
Anonymous: I agree with you on the fact that if you want something badly you will do it, but I do not agree with the fact that when he was hesitating that showed us that he wanted to do it. When he hesitated it was showing us that he was skeptical and unsure about doing it. If he went in right awat with out a second thought, then I would be convinced that he really wanted to do it.
BY: Brayson
(julia)
i think the theeme of Through the Tunnel is that people generally want what they don't have. When jerry sees the other boys go through the tunnel so easily and he can't he becomes almost envious of that and becomes obsessed with trying to duplicate their actions. i don't think jerry would have bothered to use so much time and effort on finding a way through the tunnel if he had been able to the first time he tried. he wants to be equal to the other boys at the rock.
i also agree that jerry is determined to get through the tunnel no matter what the cost. he says something like this towards the end of the story and doesn't stop trying to hold his breath even when he gets all of the nosebleeds.
(eric)--
I thought that this story has a boy who wants to be all he can be and be just like "big boys - they were men to jerry". In order to prove that he was being allthat he could be he was determined to get to the end of the tunnel. this shows that the theme is determination.
frank saying he never stoped is also implying determination
What I think the author is trying to communicate to the readers is that trying hard and never giving up can get you a lot of things. to prove that he writes this story about this boy jerry who meets these older kids who can hold their breath for 160 second and go through this tunnel and come out on the other side. Jerry witnesses this and is determined to do it although he can only hold his breath for 30 seconds. After hard work and practice he accomplished his goal and made it through the tunnel. When you first read it, it just seems like a boy trying to hold his breath for a long time, but then you realize that it’s a lesson about trying your hardest will get you in life.
I think that the theme of the story is about determination and passion. I think that Jerry is detemined to swim with the older boys and accomplish this mission that he gave himself, but also I think that he was swimming because he had a passion for it. He was determined to swim with the older boys because he felt that he was not worthy of being around them when he failed to get into the hole. An example of this is "And now, in a panic of failure, he yelled up, in English, 'Look at me! Look!' and he began splashing and kicking in the water like a foolish dog." This quote proves that he was very afraid of embarassing himself in front of them and wanted to be big like them; he started to get desperate.
The theme is also passion because I think that he has a passion for swimming and loves to do it. He swims almost everyday because he wants to improve his swimming not only for the boys but for himself. He wants to prove to himself that he is a good swimmer and is as good as anybody else. An example of this is "He ran straight into the water and began swimming. He was a good swimmer." This proves that in order to be that good at swimming you must have a passion for what you are doing because if you do not love what you do, you will fail to jump the first hurdle that is thrown at you.
Owen: i think that you are absolutely right. I think that he is just trying to prove himself to them and that the theme is determination. Next time though, use quotes to explain your answer thoroughly.
I think that the theme of "The Tunnel determination. An example of his determination to swim under the tunnel is when his mother makes him stay at her beach for the day. He thought, "It was a torment to waste a day of his careful self training." Another instance where he shows his determination is right before he swims through the tunnel. Before he went under he had many negative thoughts such as he would die no one would find his body, and to boot, he was dizzy and his nose was bleeding! The nararator says, "but even after he had made the decision, or thought he had, he found himself sitting up on the rock, and looking down into the water; and he knew that now, this moment, when his had only stopped bleeding, when his head was still sore and throbbing- this was the moment he would try." This shows that even in his terrible state, he was determined to swim through the tunnel. Therefore, the theme of "The tunnel" is determination, because no matter how badly his condition, he was determined to swim through the tunnel, which he did.
Although trying to fit in and be a big boy is a big part of the story I disagree with Austin that it is the theme. Throughout the story Jerry was not trying to prove himself to the older kids, he was determined to swim under the tunnel, therefore making the theme determination. However, Austin is correct in a sense because without the older kids, Jerry would not be determined to swim under the tunnel, but that does not make it the theme of the story
by noah:
i think that the theme of the story is practice and determination. i think that the author is trying to say that with practice and determination, like the boy had, then you can acomplish anything. the boy practiced for as long as he could and never gave up, even when he thought he was gonna die. he was not going to give up, even if he died "..his hands were shaking.."
jerry was prepared to swi the length of the tunnel without stopping even though he was terrified and thought he was gonna die.
i agree with owen on the fact that the author is trying to show that if you never quit you can never lose. jery made it all the way through the tunnel and improved his breathing time by more than a minute. this shows you can do anythin when you set your mind to it.
I think the theme of the story is that if at first you dont succeed try and try again. He really can not hold his breath for long at first but after many times of practice he is able to conquer his fear and hold his breath long enough to get through the tunnel and be able to hold his breath for 160 second seven though it comes with terrible nose bleeds.
I think that the theme of the story is that if you set your mind to something you can do anything no matter how hard it may be. The boy in the book was determined to get through the tunel no matter how much his nose bleed. Determonation is a great but dangerous quality in this case because the boy could have killed himself in the tunnel.
Austin: I do not agree with you when you said that the main theme of the story was that Jerry wants to play with the bigger boys and be a bigger boy. I do not think that is the main theme of the story. I think that we all agree that the main theme of the story was determintation, and never giving up. The point that you mentioned was an event in the story, but it was not the theme.
I think that the theme of thought the tunel is that if you try to fit in and be like someone else you could get hurt. To prove that this is bad how about when Jerry tries to hold his break for a long time he starts to bleed from the nose when could later hurt his sence of smell and he also takes advange of his mom not being there to he is able to do this that mabye she wouldnt let him do.
Anonymous- i think that you are right when people want to do something they will do anything to do it. But i think that you could of added a qoute or said something about what happened after like his eyes bleeding or something like that. good job.
Anonymous- i think that you are right when people want to do something they will do anything to do it. But i think that you could of added a qoute or said something about what happened after like his eyes bleeding or something like that. good job.
Anonymous- i think that you are right when people want to do something they will do anything to do it. But i think that you could of added a qoute or said something about what happened after like his eyes bleeding or something like that. good job.
ayo every body
the theme of this story to me is that when facing your fears you can always overcome them. in this story he was a boy who always depended on his mother and he never steped out on a lim. when halfing to go throught the tunnel this shows that he has grown as a person to step out from the protection of his mom and do something for himself on his own. after this although he wantsa to go home there is nothing rong with that because even thought he wants to go home to his mom he still acomplished something and that means he has grown.
Ben,
i agree with michela on how the theme of the story is definently determination.
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