Through The Tunnel

By Connor Soukup

“Maturity is not measured by age, it is measured by experience” -not sure

     Maturity is a dangerous yet essential part of life. And in the story, Through the Tunnel, by Doris Lessing, it emphasizes the not only physical but emotional growth that the young boy in the story experiences. The boy knows this small task may have no physical importance or use but as a much more important emotional use.

    This story was very interesting and throughout it all I stayed intrigued for the whole twenty pages that was the story. One quote that I really liked was when the boy was decided on whether or not to swim the tunnel. “this was the moment when he would try. If he did not do it now, he never would”. I found this quote very interesting and the truth to it made me think about maturity and how some things going on in my life now I just needed to put my mind to and do. I really liked the idea of how the boy who had never really been away from his mother before attempts a worthless task like in the story just to prove to himself that he doesn’t need others steadying his arm. 

    I often find myself in situations like these where the task may have no real importance but as a person I feel like I need to get it done to mature and build myself up as a person. Reading this boys thoughts and feelings really reflected some of what I’ve thought many times before in situations sometimes much like this one.

    I found that reading this story made me reflected on my past experiences. I had thought a lot about maturity as the boy in this story fought his doubt about swimming through the tunnel. The steps passed during the story showed the real importance and impact that maturity has on people.