Jerry, the protagonist, is 11 years old, and it is primarily his thoughts and actions the story follows. The narrative offers no information about Jerry’s father other than that he is dead, but Jerry appears to have a good relationship with his mother. He is also obsessive in nature as he fixates solely on his goal to cross through the tunnel throughout the narrative. He is a dynamic character as he grows and changes throughout the narrative.

Jerry’s character presents the story’s central conflict as he continually negotiates between two primary, warring desires: the desire to remain safe and dependent versus the desire to take risks, find independence, and prove himself as a man. However, though Jerry starts out very childlike, it is within only the first few paragraphs that he shows a nascent maturity and trajectory toward growth: Even apart from his curiosity about the “wild,” rocky bay, Jerry’s concern for his mother reflects a responsibility and impulse toward heroism, however small-scale. As he reassures her that he isn’t bored by spending time with her, he wants to rescue her from loneliness, demonstrating “a sort of chivalry” (Paragraph 3).