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Matthew Stephen Morrison Unyielding Youth                                                                                  Period 3 Mr. Bruns.

Breaking down and staring death in the face, this was child’s play for a boy named Jerry. Peer pressure can be a powerful thing, and in most cases, it can prove to have deadly consequences. This is quite the opposite for this budding adult; Jerry had seen the boys at the lake one day and wanted to join after them. Jerry soon realized the boys were gone, and nowhere to be seen. They had been last noticed under the tunnel, shortly swimming thought the death grasp they call “The Hole”. To his concern, they were dead to him. Miraculously they appeared a mile away, unharmed and living life the way it meant to be lived, carefree. Once the boy realized that there was an obstacle waiting to be demolished, his endurance took over and trained until blood came sprinkling down his cheeks. In the story “Through the Tunnel” Doris Lessing uses plot, theme, and character development to show the difficulties and hardship of a teenage boy who thought everything was within his grasp.

Unyielding persistence and hard work is hard to come by nowadays, yet there is still the dedicated few that can still amaze the population. “There are no short cuts in becoming the best, only another road to success.” Training for success takes a great deal of time to supply the motivation and clearance to stick with it. Jerry started out as the like everyone else, until he realized that he had the drive and passion to succeed where others had failed. “For hours he had been under water, learning to hold his breath, and now he felt weak and dizzy.” The harder something is, there is a greater chance of failing. Jerry knew how difficult and strenuous his goal would be; yet he managed to tough it out and beat his personal best. The more athletes work and refine their skills, the better they will become. “He would do it if it killed him, he said defiantly said to himself.” People who have the drive go far in life, no matter what is at stake; they are the ones we see every day, wanting to do the same thing. Once you find that special person, rival or friend, they shape your life in ways you would never know.

Environment plays a great role in developing and shaping the minds of the youth, even shaping the mind of a champion. Jerry’s family was on vacation one day and he decided to go for a swim, just for giggles. Unknowingly after arriving to the scene of the ocean, the young chap saw several boys jumping and swimming in the waters. He cautiously swam to the herd, and was accepted accordingly. “At fifty, he was terrified. They must all be drowning beneath him, in the watery caves of the rock!” People develop relationships, actions, and teachings, even goals reflecting how people react and treat you. “All night the boy dreamed of the water-filled cave in the rock, and as soon as breakfast was over, he went to the bay.” Depending on whether or not Jerry met the boys, his near-death experience may of never came into existence. The natatorium held the same effect, altering the way Jerry would view life and accomplish his goals. When an athlete comes to his natural surrounding, they have a knack of showing their true intentions. Jerry never let up after noticing how the task was close to impossible. Never straying from the path of success, Jerry broke though the tough task and came out of the depths of the crag.

Jerry trained day after day, never giving up, and never coming to a stop. Before all the events occurred he wanted to break his record under the water, only to see what is at the end of the tunnel. Jerry started from base one and worked his way up. “He could hear the movement of blood in his chest. Fifty-one, Fifty-two…His chest was hurting.” With great gain comes great sacrifice. The boy lost a great deal of blood during his training, and he may have even punctured a lung while swimming under the crag. After realizing how hard it was to surpass his goal, he submerged back into the water and kept the amount of time in his head, counting bit by bit. Days later his mother told him they were departing the day after tomorrow, and he knew, it was his last chance. He gave it his all, sucked it in, and dove into the water below him. He knew, once in the waters, adrenaline would take over and let him accomplish all he had been training for. Though all the pain and suffering Jerry had faced, he passed his personal best, and barely alive to tell his remarkable experience.

In the story “Through the Tunnel” Doris Lessing uses plot, theme, and character development to show the difficulties and hardship of a teenage boy who thought everything was within his grasp. Goals that take more than the average challenge make the reward much more deserving. This challenge was like a right of passage; only few would sustain the right of being able to pass the crag and dive of the monstrous dive. The big thing with goals and records are there are people behind him who encouraged them to follow though on it. Jerry did all of this single handedly, even his own mother had no part in providing the hard work and persistence he showed that wonderful day. With hard work and a keen sense of sight, his goal became a breathtaking experience he would never forget. While reminiscing, he would never of taken on this challenge if the boys had been more accepting.