Through the Tunnel

Doris Lessing’s short story “Through The Tunnel” was first published in 1955 in The New Yorker. Widely considered a seminal postwar writer, the British Zimbabwean author explored a wide range of topics but is best known for her interest in the political issues of the 20th century, from race to gender to political systems. However, “Through the Tunnel” concerns individual psychology, and the coming-of-age story follows an English boy and his mother as they vacation on a beach.

This study guide refers to The New Yorker edition of the story, which is also freely available online via The Short Story Project on behalf of the Estate of Doris Lessing.

The story begins with 11-year-old Jerry and his widowed mother on vacation, making their way to the beach in an unnamed, foreign country. On their walk, Jerry looks down a fork in their path and glimpses a “wild,” rocky shore quite unlike the tame beach to which they’re headed. Though intrigued by the exotic sight, he follows his mother toward their destination of the safe, familiar beach: “His mother walked on in front of him, carrying a brought striped bag in one hand. Her other arm, swinging loose, was very white in the sun” (Paragraph 1).