POST: Short Story: "Through the Tunnel" (373)

I think that the tunnel represents how determined to boy was. He didn't give up and everyday he just kept practicing to hold his breathe longer and longer. After he finally reached his goal it probably gave him a sense of accomplishment and he probably felt proud to be able to do that.

I didn't like this story very much. I didnt' like the parts where his nose was bleeding, because it made me want to tell him to give up. After the story was done I realized that if he hadn't reached his goal he would have been very dissapointed in himself, but I still thought it was dangerous.

I think its crazy that he could hold his breath for two or three minutes. That makes me hurt just thinking of it.

haha I don't wanna make anyone mad, but I just think this agrees with the fact that guys have their ego and have to fufill it, even if that means hurting themselves in the process.

I belive the Tunnel symbloizes a right of passage. It shows how one must train and struggle to achive what they want, what they strive for. And right when it seems you may lose and fail, you might just get what you were going for.

NickP6 wrote:

This kid was crazy! I cant believe someone would work so hard to get through a little tunnel. He risked his life!

>.< Well he saw that as a goal to prove his manliness and he took the challenge with the risks it bears.

I believe that the tunnel represents chances that we take everyday for one reason or another. It shows that there are consequenses for these risks we take, but there is a great deal of satisfaction once we overcome these feats.

I belive that tunnel represents the one seemably impossible challenge that he absolutely must conquer to show that he was a man, not just some wimpy kid. He believed this above all because he saw the cool older, stronger kids do it and therefore had to do it. In fact, I don't believe that this stupid kid would have ever risked his life trying to swim through the tunnel if he had not seen the older kids do it, even if he did know it existed otherwise. This is because he would have had enough common sense to not risk his life in such a dangerous task.

I think that the tunnel represents the goal or achievement that Jerry wants to accomplish. I think that once he saw the other boys swim through the tunnel, he wanted to be accepted in their group. Once he saw how far the tunnel goes through, and timed to the boys to see how long he was holding his breath, he knew that he had to train hard to do something like that. It showed me that he would go to great lengths to do something so important to him. He was so determined to show the boys that he could what they could do that he hurt himself many times in the process.

In the story Through The Tunnel, I think the tunnel symbolizes a challenge that the main characther Jerry persues and insist of completing. I think it also represents how Jerry wanted to have something to prove to himself that he was as strong and good as a swimmer as all the other boys at the bay. I think that was the main reason why he wanted to go through that tunnel, that and also maybe his curiousity. Has anyone heard of the quote, " light at the end of the tunnel"? Doesn't that quote mean hope or something good to look forward to at then end of a challenge that you feel like giving up on? I think the light at the end of the tunnel represents hope and Jerry's goal of getting through the tunnel alive. Even though Jerry was struggling to get through that tunnel, he knew that he would feel a feeling of triumph if he made it through, when he saw that light at the end of tunnel. He strived to reach the end of the tunnel and be in the light.

I believe that the tunnel in this short story is representative of the extremities children will go through in order to achieve acceptence from those that they look up to. In the story, the main character Jerry admires the older group of boys at the beach he is vacationing at. In an attempt to fit in with this group of kids, Jerry feels that he must overcome the challenge that they all had already overcame. This particualr challenge was making it through the lengthy tunnel in one breath. Jerry feels that he must go through what all of the older boys went through in order to become more like them. This is why Jerry puts himself through so much pain just to reach the end of the tunnel.

I didn't understand this ending as well as i understood the endings to the other stories. If anything, i would say that the tunnel represented the hardships that he was going through, and that he would do anything to achieve his goal.

I think that the tunnel represents a hardship or an initiation that Jerry must overcome in order to be accepted. Even though by passing throught the tunnel, the older boys do not accept him.

In this story, Jerry is faced with a difficult test that determined his status. He wanted to test his manhood by endeavoring a difficult task was willing to die if he failed to complete it. At first, he saw the other boys swimming underwater and admired their skill at swimming. He wanted to be a member of their group and for a time joined them. He noticed the way they were able to perform great feats and wanted to be men like them. After making a fool of himself, he was disappointed at his folly and wanted to redeem himself. I could assume that he thought by making his passage through the caves, he would be able to claim his redemption.

He did not want to be considered a child anymore and wanted to prove that he was more. The tunnel symbolized his persistence. He persisted in practicing before he would attempt the difficult feat and did not give up. He did not want to quit and was tenacious. Even when his mother requested he stop his training. He was willing to die if he could not make it through the tunnel and I believed this was ignorant. Even if he completed this task, he would most likely be impaired for the rest of his life. While he was underwater, his brain cells were deprived of oxygen and he most likely killed an ample amount.

I think the tunnel represented Jerry's Goals and he had to do it to prove himself.