Discussion Topic
Jerry's Physical and Mental Challenges in "Through the Tunnel"
Summary:
In "Through the Tunnel," Jerry faces significant physical challenges, such as holding his breath and swimming through a narrow underwater tunnel, which test his endurance and strength. Mentally, he confronts fear, isolation, and the need for independence, pushing himself to overcome these obstacles to prove his maturity and capability.
What physical challenges does Jerry face in "Through the Tunnel"?
Jerry takes on the big physical challenge of swimming through a tunnel in the rock promontory at the wild bay which he visits without his mother. He sees a number of older, local boys doing it. "They were big boys—men, to Jerry," and he is desperate to be able to perform the feat, as they seem to do it so easily, and he wants to fit in with them. The first step to overcoming this physical challenge is getting goggles because "the salt was so painful in his eyes" when he opened them underwater. Next, he understands that he will have to be able to hold his breath for a count of at least "a hundred and sixty" because that's how high he counted while the older boys swam the tunnel. So he begins to practice: "He was incredulous and then proud to find he could hold his breath without...
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strain for two minutes." He continues to work and push himself until, one day, "his nose bled so badly that he turned dizzy" and almost decided to stop for the day. However, he has a sense that it's now or never, as they say: "If he did not do it now, he never would."
Once inside the tunnel, he must adjust to the water pushing him upward by "pull[ing] himself along with his hands—fast, fast—and us[ing] his legs as levers." He is dizzied by sharp pains, his head pulses, and it's not long before he reaches "the end of what he could do." And yet, he must continue: "His head was swelling, his lungs cracking." He does finally make it, of course, and he discovers that he's not interested in joining the local boys anymore.
Jerry simply has to swim long and hard enough underwater to make it to the other side before coming up for air. As the tunnel has no air holes along the way, this is a "win all/lose" all situation.
Swimming through the underwater tunnel is a challenge Jerry is taking on in secret. He has nothing to prove to anybody except himself.
Risk taking is not really so rare during puberty and adolescence, though, and some psychologists consider it a natural and even necessary part of the maturing process. The problem is that danger is very real and uncompromising: some kids push themselves too far and die or seriously injure themselves by taking on a foolish "dare."