One of the major themes of this text is the rites of passage from youth to maturity. Some common rites of passage in American culture involve getting a driver’s license, graduation, and “sweet-16” parties. In this narrative, the rite of passage is swimming through the tunnel in the rock. This makes an appropriate rite of passage because it is difficult for children to accomplish—a sense of struggle is usually needed to a rite of passage. Jerry struggles physically and mentally with completing this rite of passage.

During one of his first attempts, Jerry must fight against his impulse to avoid the danger. While he’s underwater, “[s]omething soft and clammy touched his mouth; he saw a dark frond moving against the grayish rock, and panic filled him” (Paragraph 26). This is enough to scare him back to the surface even though it ends up being a harmless piece of seaweed.

Jerry’s greatest physical struggle is controlling his breathing, which he quickly realizes after his first attempt. Though he resolves to train himself to hold his breath, the training seems even more challenging than his earlier diving. His nose starts bleeding, and he intermittently feels weak and dizzy.