Jerry's Journey To The Beach
It is normal for people to change throughout the course of their lives. Sometimes the change is gradual, and other times there is a distinct moment in which it occurs. Jerry, the main focus of the story, experiences the latter during a seemingly routine vacation. Throughout the course of his rite of passage, there are many elements of the world around him which represent his evolving mindset. The seed for this change is first planted when he notices a separate bay for the first time on the way to a beach to which he has gone for many years prior. The beaches in which the story takes place are structured in a way that represents both the known and the unknown. On the first day of their vacation, Jerry and his mom walk down a path that
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When the tunnel is first mentioned, Jerry is watching the older boys as they swim through it. He begins to count how long they are underwater for, but “at fifty, he was terrified. They must all be drowning beneath him, in the watery caves of the rock!” (2) His fear for the boys is seen as immature by them, and once they have surfaced, they decide to leave “to get away from him.” (2) Though he is devastated by their departure, it is also a turning point for him, as from then on, he dedicates the rest of the vacation towards going through the tunnel, just like the older boys had done. The more Jerry trains his breathing in order to hold his breath for the duration of the swim, the more determined he becomes, to the point that “he would do it if it killed him.” (3) His unyielding persistence symbolizes how the tunnel has changed him to become more mature, even before swimming through it. Once Jerry does swim through it and comes up on the other side, his mindset completely changes. When he looks at his surroundings for the first time since his trek, he “[sees] the local boys diving and playing half a mile away. He did not want them. He wanted nothing but to get back home and lie down.” (4) There is a noticeable maturity about Jerry from this point, representing how going through the tunnel was a literal rite of passage for him. Though this arduous journey changed him mentally, it also took a toll on his physical
When the tunnel is first mentioned, Jerry is watching the older boys as they swim through it. He begins to count how long they are underwater for, but “at fifty, he was terrified. They must all be drowning beneath him, in the watery caves of the rock!” (2) His fear for the boys is seen as immature by them, and once they have surfaced, they decide to leave “to get away from him.” (2) Though he is devastated by their departure, it is also a turning point for him, as from then on, he dedicates the rest of the vacation towards going through the tunnel, just like the older boys had done. The more Jerry trains his breathing in order to hold his breath for the duration of the swim, the more determined he becomes, to the point that “he would do it if it killed him.” (3) His unyielding persistence symbolizes how the tunnel has changed him to become more mature, even before swimming through it. Once Jerry does swim through it and comes up on the other side, his mindset completely changes. When he looks at his surroundings for the first time since his trek, he “[sees] the local boys diving and playing half a mile away. He did not want them. He wanted nothing but to get back home and lie down.” (4) There is a noticeable maturity about Jerry from this point, representing how going through the tunnel was a literal rite of passage for him. Though this arduous journey changed him mentally, it also took a toll on his physical