Who is Jerry from Stories and what is their importance? Stories_(Lessing) English & Literature Jerry | Stories

Jerry is eleven when he and his mother go on their annual seaside vacation. Jerry is struggling to come to terms with his emerging maturity. At one point he is horribly embarrassed because he resorts to horseplay in order to attract the attention of a group of older boys. He wants to fit in with them, but wants even more to find a way to be comfortable in his adolescence. He comes to realize that a tunnel through some rocks is symbolic of his emerging maturity. He works diligently to hone his body so that he can make the swim through the tunnel, at one point considering putting it off for another year.