"Through the Tunnel" was first published by the New Yorker magazine in 1955. Lessing had relocated from British-controlled Rhodesia in South Africa in 1949. Six years later, little had changed. Apartheid, a legal system enforcing racial segregation, dictated every aspect of life for both black and white people there. During this period, racism also erupted violently in the United States, Europe, and many other parts of the world. White tourists, like those depicted in the story, could afford vacations, while the native black population of many countries, suffering from racist economic exploitation, generally could not.

Within this racist framework, the interaction between Jerry and the "smooth dark brown" boys gains significant meaning. Jerry is outperformed by "natives," challenging the entire structure of colonial racist supremacy. The British and French, among other nations, justified their colonization of Africa and other regions with various scientific and social theories that supposedly proved the inferiority of darker-skinned people. For decades, European and American scientists and anthropologists traveled to Africa to study "primitive man." African societies were not acknowledged as contemporary, viable ways of life but were seen as remnants of an earlier era. These assumptions formed a worldview that enabled white colonists to rationalize their brutality and economic exploitation of black nations.

In 1957, single mothers were viewed with suspicion in both the United States and Europe. Authors like Phillip Wylie, who wrote Generation of Vipers, and organizations like the Boy Scouts warned against the feminization of men. They believed that overbearing, obsessive mothers were undermining men's virility and independence. In films like The Manchurian Candidate, powerful mothers were depicted as demonic communists intent on world domination. Critics argued that because mothers were overly protective of their children, men were being emasculated. As a result, organizations like the Boy Scouts and summer wilderness camps flourished as parents aimed to "toughen up" their children. Many social scientists of the time contended that boys needed a strong father figure to grow up healthy. Thus, when Jerry's mother, "a widow," worries about being "neither possessive nor lacking in devotion," she faces a dilemma familiar to many women of that era. The widow's relationship with her son is laden with anxieties that extend far beyond the story's immediate details.

Point of View

"Through the Tunnel" is narrated from a third-person limited perspective. The narrator conveys the emotions of both Jerry and his mother, but does not delve into the minds of the local boys. This narrative choice aligns the reader more closely with the white tourists who are unfamiliar with the area. By presenting the story from the viewpoint of the English tourists, Lessing amplifies the sense of separation between the main characters and the locals Jerry meets. This perspective also allows the reader to connect more deeply with Jerry as he confronts the daunting tunnel.

Setting

Lessing's portrayal of the setting is marked by a few vivid, concrete details and numerous evocative emotional descriptions. Initially, she depicts the bay as "wild and rocky," and later as "wild" and "wild-looking," in contrast to the "safe beach." The bay's untamed nature explains both the mother's worry and the boy's excitement. As Jerry approaches the bay, the reader experiences the setting through Jerry's eyes. This introduction to the setting from Jerry's viewpoint prepares the reader for the intense swim through the tunnel.

Imagery

In "Through the Tunnel," there is a dynamic tension between the domestic and the wild, between risk and safety. This tension is evident in the story's opening paragraph, where the "wild and rocky bay" is juxtaposed with the "safe beach." This contrast is repeatedly emphasized as Jerry moves away from the safety of his mother's beach bags and pale skin toward the jagged rocks. Jerry himself embodies an intermediate state between wildness and safety. He risks his life, yet does so while wearing swimming goggles, symbolizing both his inexperience and his need for protection.

1949: Following World War II, countless young wives around the globe find themselves widowed. Many of them take on the responsibility of raising their children on their own.

Today: By 1994, the rate of out-of-wedlock births in the United States climbs to 31 percent. A significant number of these children grow up without a father figure in their lives.

1950s: Coming-of-age novels, also known as bildungsromans, enjoy widespread popularity. One of the most renowned is J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye.

Today: Coming-of-age novels have dwindled in popularity among young readers, who now prefer paperback series that focus on adolescent adventures, such as R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series.

1948: The National Party in South Africa enforces apartheid, a frequently violent policy of segregation and political and economic discrimination.

Today: Apartheid comes to an end in 1994. Nelson Mandela, after being freed from a 27-year imprisonment, is elected president of South Africa in the first elections open to all citizens of the nation.

Sources

Didion, Joan. The White Album, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1979.

Gordimer, Nadine. A review of The Habit of Loving, in Africa South, Vol. 2, July-September, 1958, pp. 124-26.

Hanson, Clare. "Doris Lessing in Pursuit of English, or, No Small, Personal Voice," in In Pursuit of Doris Lessing, edited by Claire Sprague, Macmillan, 1990, pp. 61-73.

Knapp, Mona. Doris Lessing, Frederick Ungar, 1984.

Lessing, Doris. Preface to African Stories, Simon & Schuster, 1981.

Singleton, Mary Ann. The City and the Veld, Bucknell University Press, 1977.

Further Reading

Brewster, Dorothy. Doris Lessing, Twayne, 1965. A biography that explores the key plots and themes in Lessing's early works.

Thorpe, Michael. "The Grass Is Singing and Other African Stories," in his Doris Lessing, British Council for Longman Group, 1973. Analyzes the themes in Lessing's African narratives.