Through the Tunnel

Read this passage from “Through the Tunnel.” (In the passage, Jerry has just dived after the boys on the rock and discovered that he is unable to follow them through the tunnel.)
When he came up the boys were all on the diving rock, preparing to attempt the feat again. And now, in a panic of failure, he yelled up, in English, “Look at me! Look!” and he began splashing and kicking in the water like a foolish dog.

They looked down gravely, frowning. He knew the frown. At moments of failure, when he clowned to claim his mother’s attention, it was 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.
What does this passage most clearly suggest are Jerry’s reasons for training himself to swim through the tunnel?

• He wants to find out what is inside the tunnel, stealing the boys’ secrets.

• He wants to prove himself to himself, conquering his feeling of shame.

• He wants to be accepted by the boys, easing his feeling of loneliness.

• He wants to prove himself to his mother, gaining her admiration.

What does the boy’s conversation with his mother at the end of “Through the Tunnel” most clearly show about their relationship?

• The mother’s thoughtful attention to the boy emphasizes how close they have grown.

• The boy’s cooperation and understanding emphasizes how close they have grown.

• The boy’s silence about his adventure emphasizes the distance between them.

• The mother’s steady anxiety emphasizes her inability to understand her son.

Read the following passage: "That day and the next, Jerry exercised his lungs as if everything, the whole of his life, all that he would become, depended upon it. Again his nose bled at night, and his mother insisted on his coming with her the next day. It was a torment to him to waste a day of his careful self-training, but he stayed with her on that other beach, which now seemed a place for small children, a place where his mother might lie safe in the sun. It was not his beach." Which sentence accurately describes the conflict in this passage?

• Jerry is desperate to prove he is no longer a child.

• Jerry's mother is happy when he stays with her on the beach.

• Jerry is an excellent swimmer and wants to prove that to his mother.

Which of the following details would be most useful in answering questions about Jerry’s motivation to swim through the tunnel?

• “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.”

• “The boys were gathering up their bits of clothing and running off along the shore to another promontory. They were leaving to get away from him.”

• “He knew he must find his way through that cave, or hole, or tunnel, and out the other side.”

• “He took the edges of the hole in his hands and drew himself into it, wriggling his shoulders in sidewise as he remembered he must, kicking himself along with his feet.”

What are the native boys doing that terrifies Jerry?

• Swimming far out to sea

• Staying under water for a very long time

• Swimming without life preservers

• Swimming with sea animals

The author including missing and confusing stretches of time during Jerry's dive through the tunnel is most likely used to...

• show the pain Jerry experiences when hitting the rocks

• Personify the experience of the sharp rocks

• show Jerry's maturity

• create suspense

After swimming through the tunnel, what is Jerry’s attitude about the other boys?

• He feels comfortable in their company

• He wants to beat them by holding his breath for longer

• He isn't interested in the other boys anymore

Answer explanation

"He could see the local boys diving and playing half a mile away. He

did not want them."

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

Which literary device is most prominently used in 'Through the Tunnel' to highlight Jerry's internal conflict?

• A) Metaphor

• B) Simile

• C) Symbolism

• D) Irony

In 'Through the Tunnel', what does the tunnel symbolize for Jerry?

• A) A barrier to adulthood

• B) A place of danger

• C) A secret hideout

• D) A connection to his mother