Preview

Through The Tunnel Poem Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
245 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Through The Tunnel Poem Analysis
Comparing Themes and Situations from “The Journey,”
“Through the Tunnel,” and “Brothers are the Same.

“The Journey,” a poem by Mary Oliver, shows many similarities to the themes and situations in the short stories “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing, and Beryl Markham’s “Brothers are the Same.” In “The Journey”, Oliver states that “you finally knew what you had to do and began, though the voices kept shouting their bad advice” (1-5). This quote demonstrates that in order to reach a goal, one must push past negative voices in life. This is the same tug that Jerry feels in “Through the Tunnel”. When he asks his mom if he can leave the safe beach to swim in the “wild rocky bay”, she gives him permission. However, as she walked away, he
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Poem Analysis: Sharon Olds On The Subway
    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Poem Analysis: Sharon Olds On The Subway

    Sharon Olds in "On the Subway" writes the poem to contrast the lives of a Caucasian woman and an African American boy. It displays how the narrator realizes the bonds they share because of their fear for each other.…

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Waking Poem Analysis
    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Waking Poem Analysis

    ‘The Waking’ is a contemporary jazz piece written by American vocalist, Kurt Elling, and features Theodore Roethke’s 1954 poem of the same title. Released in 2007 on the album Nightmoves, Elling uses musical techniques to enhance the message of Roethke’s poem. However, in order to understand the reasoning behind the devices Elling has used, the meaning of Roethke’s poem must first be discussed.…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rivers Road Crummey Analysis
    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rivers Road Crummey Analysis

    For this assignment, the chosen poem was “Rivers/Roads” by Michael Crummey. In this poem, Crummey successfully expresses the difference between individual journey’s through subtle brevity and depth. One of the best aspects of this poem is that it moves the reader to ponder on their journey-- whether on rivers or roads. Within “Rivers/Roads”, there are no similes or metaphors; however, there is literal and figurative imagery, plus symbolism.…

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Poem Analysis: Into The Grave
    • 108 Words
    • 1 Page

    Poem Analysis: Into The Grave

    Unfortunately the relationship between the speaker and the mother in the poem is unclear as it is stated that her mother has passed away and is in a grave, which is shown here in the following excerpt “… into the grave!” but all throughout the poem she speaks of her mother’s courage, which is shown here “courage that my mother had. Went with her, and is with her still… if instead she’d left to me. The thing she took into the grave!–That courage like a rock” which is not typically something that is said by someone who didn’t have a good relationship with the person who’d passed…

    • 108 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Franken Effing Stein Essay
    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Franken Effing Stein Essay

    One of the central themes the book seems to gravitate towards is the important of FRIENDSHIP. The story starts off with one of the beginning protagonist Walton who seems to have the courage and excitement within his voyage, but no one to share with. Consider it Walton’s goal in the novel to attain the true meaning of friendship.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Poem Analysis: Inside Out And Back Again
    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Poem Analysis: Inside Out And Back Again

    In the novel Inside Out and Back Again, there’s this girl named Ha who is 10 years old who lives with 3 older brothers and her mother. She lives peacefully in her hometown in Saigon. Now the Vietnam War has reached her home, so Ha and her family are forced to flee home as Saigon falls to the Communists. Ha moves to Alabama where she will soon faced a lot of challenges because she is a refugee, but will soon overcome these challenges. Ha was a girl who was stubborn and sneaky. When she was still in Vietnam, she did lots of things that she wasn’t supposed to do like placing her big toe on the floor on Tet or secretly buying things she wasn’t supposed to buy. A refugee’s transition to another country is hard, because they can’t speak the language…

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Roadblocks: Poem Analysis
    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Roadblocks: Poem Analysis

    Many writers on their venture to becoming great, are faced with roadblocks. I too feel those stresses. When sitting down to begin a story, novel, or poem we all strive to be different. But as Baldwin explains, "there is no original thought, because we all humans think and feel has been thought and felt so many times before, by so many generations." This in itself makes starting writing a very daunting task. Not to mention the sea of fellow authors you are competing with for limited shelf space. A trip to a jam packed bookstore reiterates this feeling instantaneously. Really, what sets the writer apart is the original perspective and finding out what shape to give it to really hold the readers attention. This can all be achieved through the power in…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    First Poem For You Analysis
    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages

    First Poem For You Analysis

    A tattoo is like poetry, because there is always more to the story than what meets the eye! The sonnet “First Poem for You” by Kim Addonizio is a riveting piece of poetry that uses symbolization to help guide the readers to understand the emotions and feelings the woman has towards her partner. Visual and tactile imagery used within this poem helps readers interpret the meaning of the poem. The theme is longevity and the true meaning of a relationship. In Addonizio “First Poem for You,” Addonizio utilizes literary elements to develop the story and detail a fictional character that is in love with a man that has permanent tattoos. Upon analyzing the symbols, visual imagery and theme throughout this poem the readers will better comprehend the poem to its entirety; these elements symbolize permanence, which is the meaning of the entire poem.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Through the Tunnel
    • 1362 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Through the Tunnel

    In the short story Through the Tunnel, Jerry and his mother spent their holidays near the sea. Jerry, the eleven-year-old English boy, was trying to become more independent and be accepted by the local boys so he left the safe beach where his mother stayed and turned to a more dangerous one. The main conflict appears when Jerry was convincing himself to practice holding a longer breath and dive through a long underwater tunnel made up of rock walls in the bottom of the sea. He wanted to demonstrate that he was able to cross the barriers without the help of other people. The overall meaning of the story is that growing up is always a harsh process but everyone has to face the challenges and go through them. This can be noticed in the sentences “…this moment when his nose had only just stopped bleeding, when his head was still sore and throbbing --- this was the moment when he would try. If he did not do it now, he never would” in which Jerry suffered all the pains but still continued trying to cross the tunnel. In the photo essay, the four pictures are mainly aiming to illustrate the connections of two generations, between youth and adults. For instance, the old lady in the second picture was injected Botox to look younger. The boy in the third picture is reading a book which gives us a sense that he is mature and knowledgeable.…

    • 1362 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay
    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay

    What is the major theme in the novels and how to the characters influence this…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay Comparing Two Poetry
    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay Comparing Two Poetry

    Often times giving oneself up to this peer pressure can lead to mistakes and one can be lead down the wrong path. “ The Journey” in a way explains that one cannot let those temptations take over their mind, that everyone needs to find themselves, and find their own voice, in order to be successful. In line 35 of “The Journey” it says, “...determined to save the only life you could save.” Saving the only life one can save, one’s own, is what self­ preservation is all about. A similar theme is apparent in “The Sacred” , but this poem focuses more on where one might look to be able to truly find themselves, rather than how to do so. Finding a sacred place might be the key to finding one’s inner self. In lines 15­-18 of “ The Sacred” it says, “a car could take him from the need to speak, or to answer, the key in having a key and putting it in, and going.” The specific theme of self­ reliance is shown here in the way that everyone does not need to answer to anyone else, but only rely on themselves to get to where they need to be in life. These two poems both give the message that finding one’s true is so fulfilling and an important part of one’s life…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Poem By Repetition Analysis
    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Poem By Repetition Analysis

    Art is expression through creativity that allows us to deliver a message that may be more significant than just words on a page. Art connects with people on a more emotional and spiritual level, and it is this that can help to drive home the artists message in his or her works. Natalie Czech’s “A Poem by Repetition by Allen Ginsberg” combines two powerful pieces of art, poetry and photography to create one cohesive piece of art. The art is inspired by writings documented in Ginsberg’s personal journal; not originally being a poet, Ginsberg later had his journal turned into a poem. Czech later discovered the poems and altered the ending to a broader form of self-appreciation, changing the last line of the poem from “anybody,” to “anything.”…

    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Positive Influences In 'Through The Tunnel'
    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Positive Influences In 'Through The Tunnel'

    Positive influences help people understand problems and motive them into solve them. Writers know of these positive influences and use them as a literary elements in their stories. Writers such as Doris Lessing, David Raymond, and William Nolen use positive influences when creating their characters and generating a moral for the story. “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing tells the story about a young boy named Jeremy who tries to prove to himself and the foreign boys that he could swim through the tunnel, he works on training his body to breathe underwater and after a long day goes into the comfort of his mother. Another story that displays positive influences is “On Being Seventeen, Bright, and Unable to Read” by David Raymond. It tells the story of a boy living with dyslexia. He had been teased and made fun off all through his life and he came to the conclusion that he was dumb. People understood what he was going though and he changed as time grew. He learned how to use his disability as a strength over a disability. “The First…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Poetry: Poem Analysis
    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Poetry: Poem Analysis

    The works we studied within Creative Writing were all helpful in creating my own works to submit to the class. Throughout all of the reading, many of the works inspired me in different ways, whether it was short story plot ideas or word usage in the poems. While crafting my work for the final portfolio, I reviewed many of the poems from our poetry packet in an effort to find inspiration and to create new interesting images. I took the most inspiration for my formal poem, which I found most difficult to write. One of the poems that was most useful to me was Jilly Dybka’s “Memphis, 1976.” Dybka’s poem follows the sestina form; I also wrote my last poem in this form, so it helped to follow the form by looking at her poem as an example. Dybka’s…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Through the Tunnel
    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Through the Tunnel

    1. The inner journey that the boy takes on his self-imposed physical rite of passage is his transition from childhood and emerging into young manhood. This transition is mostly symbolised in this short story by the Jerry’s experience of preparing to go through the tunnel after watching the other boys swim through the tunnel. Jerry practised holding his breath in order to get over the first barrier in achieving his desired destination, the light at the end of the tunnel which symbolises the beginning of his young manhood. This inner journey of growing up is also represented through the physical aspects of the journey when he went from staying with his mother on the safe beach to the dangerous, risky and rocky bay with the French boys. This maturing is also represented when he wanted to give up on his quest after suffering numerous nosebleeds and his fear of death in the tunnel. However he decides to complete the quest anyway based on impulse and by pushing through, he has found self confidence and maturity which is seen by his wanting to be independent of his mother.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More