Through the Tunnel

Through the Tunnel In Through the Tunnel by Doris Lessing, an eleven-year-old English boy is on vacation at an exotic beach. Getting bored with the little kid's beach, he goes to swim at a deserted, more rocky shore. He spots some older, more mature, and more developed native boys diving into the ocean and he joins them in an effort to fit in. However, the older boys ignore him and eventually abandon him. He discovers …

…some older native boys as they swim in the ocean together. He dislikes how childish he appears to them. He is determined to develop the underwater skills required to complete the arduous task of swimming through the under water tunnel as the natives have done. He under goes many trials, headaches, and heartaches but finally accomplishes his goal. Swimming through the tunnel, he emerges triumphantly on the other side with the pride of a man.