Through the Tunnel

According to the dialogue in the story, the relationship between Jerry and his mother ___________.

• shows how Jerry is resentful of his mother.

• demonstrates how young boys like to deceive their mothers.

• is a caring relationship

• is fragile and shows signs of tension.

Which best helps you understand the character of the mother?

• “And yet, as he ran, he looked back over his shoulder at the wild bay; and all morning, as he played on the safe beach, he was thinking of it.” . . .”“ . . . Yet, walking down the path with her, he blurted out, “I’d like to go and have a look at those rocks down there.”

• “She was thinking, Of course he’s old enough to be safe without me. Have I been keeping him too close? He mustn’t feel he ought to be with me. I must be careful. He was an only child, eleven years old. She was a widow. She was determined to be neither possessive nor lacking in devotion. She went worrying off to her beach.”

• “They looked down gravely, frowning. He knew the frown. At moments of failure, when he clowned to claim his mother’s attention, it was with just this grave, embarrassed inspection that she rewarded him. Through his hot shame, feeling the pleading grin on his face like a scar that he could never remove, he looked up at the group of big brown boys on the rock and shouted, “Bonjour! Merci! Au revoir! Monsieur, monsieur!”while he hooked his fingers round his ears and waggled them.”

When he is swimming through the tunnel, the main character keeps repeating the same number in his count. What number was it?

• 100

• 115

• 155

• 160

As soon as he came through the tunnel, the main character wanted to ____.

• go to be with the older boys.

• go tell his mother.

• go celebrate his achievement.

• go back to the villa and lie down.

What point of view is the story told?

• 1st Person

• 2nd Person

• 3rd Person Objective

• 3rd Person Omniscient

Choose all the following which describe the character of Jerry?

• Protagonist

• Dynamic

• Flat

• Round

• Static

Which of the following are a part of Doris Lessing's writing style?

• imagery

• irony

• conflict

• suspense

• cliffhangers

Jerry changes his approach when...

• He decides to go to the bay

• He cries on the rock after the older boys have left

• He decides to figure out how to swim the tunnel by himself

• His mother tells him to take a break from the bay

Jerry's preparations to swim the tunnel are:

• sloppy and careless

• impulsive and irrational

• timid and hesitant

• determined and carefully planned

What is the main theme of 'Through the Tunnel'?

• A) The struggle for independence

• B) The beauty of nature

• C) The importance of friendship

• D) The dangers of the sea