Growing Up Essay, Research Paper

The phenomenon of growing up doesn t have to happen when you re 13. You don t have to be eighteen and be fully-grown up. It occurs when a person is ready to mature mentally. What does growing up mean? It s not your bones growing, it s your mind changing. There are so many stages that everyone must go through to become an adult . Few people never complete those steps, I may be an adult, but I m still a minor inside. Through the Tunnel is a metaphorical story, where this mystical tunnel symbolizes the passage to adulthood. Jerry struggles to find this tunnel, he is anxious to grow up and pull away from childhood. In Through the Tunnel the author, Dorris Lessing uses the tunnel to show the process of growing up, symbolizing the passage to adulthood.

In Through the Tunnel one way the tunnel signifies growing up is by Jerry discovering the tunnel, a metaphor for discovering adulthood. All of us need to discover adulthood in one way or another. This gets most children excited as they see grown ups do things that they will one day do. In the story Jerry sees that the native boys are grown up and are able to do things he can t, so he himself becomes desperate to grow up. Jerry watches the native boys from a far and a craving {fills} his body. Jerry has concluded that the boys must ve gone through a passage so he begins to search for it. It takes a while for people to find this secret tunnel . In most cases people get very desperate to find this passage cause they are fed up with being a kid, they know there s this option called growing up. Jerry who himself was fed up with being a kid was desperate to find an entrance. The example of trying to find the passage ties back to the symbolization that Dorris Lessing is using in this story. Lessing is trying to show the readers that everyone at one point discovers adulthood, and Jerry is also trying to find it. Thus pointing out that the tunnel symbolizes the passage to adulthood.

In addition to finding adulthood, Jerry needs a whole new perception on life to be able to fully grow up. The goggles represent this change and they are used to see the tunnel clearer. Jerry had dived deep in to the waters earlier but was unable to see clearly enough to find this passage to adulthood. So he rushed to his mother desperately begging her for a set of goggles he grabbed them from her showing his desperation to find adulthood. At first he isn t able to adjust and set his point of view The impact of the water broke the rubber enclosed vacuum, the goggles came loose as described, Jerry couldn t adjust his views and perception. He readjusted his goggles to fit him firmly Now he could see now he is able to see through this new perception. For many that are in the process of growing up or have already grown up, one of the first of the many steps is to adjust your perception on life. Going back to the fact that the tunnel is a symbol for growing up. Jerry was readying himself for the tunnel with his new goggles, as most people adjust their perception before growing up.

Actually growing up is the painful part, and Jerry, passing through the tunnel even though he is faced with lots of dangers shows this process. People who have already been through the process, or who are growing up now can relate to the fact that growing up is filled with, pain, loneliness, and happiness. In the story Through the Tunnel Jerry while swimming in the tunnel experiences all of these emotions. After everything is adjusted, and a person is ready to face this task, they take a deep plunge into pain. As he advanced through the tunnel Jerry was losing himself and his head was swelling, his lungs were cracking . Portraying the pain that a person suffers while growing up. At times people can lose hope, and so did Jerry he felt he was dying, in the darkness between lapses into unconsciousness. When days grow darker, and times get harder while going through all the actions of growing up, it s extremely possible to feel loneliness. As Jerry is passing through the tunnel he saw a single mussel shell, and darkness ahead . He was all alone in the darkness. Growing up requires a lot of loneliness, no matter how many friends you may have. But when the end of the tunnel is in sight a swelling happiness fills Jerry, smiling, his eyes lighting up he met his mother at the villa. Pain, loneliness, and happiness are all a part of growing up, Dorris Lessing shows all three components while Jerry is in the tunnel, thus proving that the tunnel symbolizes growing up.

In conclusion Jerry has finally grown up. His passage through the tunnel has made him content, and It (is) no longer of the least importance to go to the bay. Let it be finding the tunnel, which connects to discovering the presence of adulthood, adjusting your perception, or living through the three components of growing up. Jerry faced all of these three parts of growing up in the story and this makes it crystal clear that Dorris Lessing uses the tunnel to symbolize the passage to adulthood, better known as growing up.