Change which happens too rapidly can leave people feeling trapped and out of control. In the novel Dear Miffy by John Marsden this idea is clearly represented. Dear Miffy centres around the story of a young man who, after a failed suicide attempt is paralysed and placed in a psychiatric hospital. Tony then begins writing letters to his ex-girlfriend Miffy. However, the novel is about much more. Marsden is exploring many ideas about change. These include change of perspective, change of physical and mental state and changes in relationships.
Change of perspective is the most powerful change employed in Dear Miffy. Changes are seen in both the main character Tony and the audience as the novel progresses. The novel is written in the form of conversation like letters. Tony writes letters to Miffy but doesn’t ever send them. This style of writing is very effective as it allows information to be revealed slowly which consequently provokes the readers’ opinion to be ever changing. At the beginning of the novel we are sympathetic towards Tony. We then find out that Tony stalked Miffy. The audience then feels suspicious about Tony and the question arises, why does Miffy never write back? Tony then begins writing about his battered childhood. We immediately feel sympathetic towards him again. Up until this point the audience has had no strong feelings towards Miffy. When Tony reveals that he accidentally killed Miffy’s mother due to a misunderstanding, we are immediately sympathetic to Miffy and extremely disapproving of Tony. In that same letter Tony reveals that he felt so bad about what had happened that he attempted suicide and is now paralysed. The audience is again sympathetic towards him. Tony only directly addresses the audience once in the last paragraph of the novel. This is very powerful as Tony is actually accusing the audience of reading his letters to Miffy, which he obviously intended no-one else to read, “I don’t want them to read this, that’s the main thing”. “Dear F******* bastards who’ve been reading these letters… You c****… F******* MIND YOUR OWN F****** BUSINESS” Tony writes as his concluding paragraph. The audience is made to feel a sense of guilt about reading Tony’s letters which again provides authenticity of character.
The Term Paper on How Did Tony Blair Change The Labour Party During His Time As Prime Minister part 1
How did Tony Blair change the Labour Party during his time as Prime Minister? The aim of the paper is to consider and discuss the changes which Tony Blair has brought while being British prime-Minister. No one will argue that under his rule the Party has acquired considerable political success and has changed its policies and inner order. Thus, it is necessary to see both positive and negative (if ...
The language is very informal. “Geez, it bloody hurt…still had a go at you but.” This technique is used to promote the authenticity of the character. Once the audience can believe that the character is real, we can then have empathy for them. Onomatopoeia is used throughout Dear Miffy frequently “WHAM… CRACK…” are examples of this. This is used to enhance imagery and meaning.
Rhetorical questions are used very frequently in Dear Miffy. “…don’t they Miff?… you remember?… Do you reckon they’d do that?…” are examples of this. Rhetorical questions are very powerful as they actually make the letters more like soliloquies. This, alongside with the use of very explicit language, provokes the idea that Tony has psychological problems. We later find out that he is in a psychiatric hospital.
Change of physical state is very important in Dear Miffy. Tony reveals that the only reason that he is writing letters to Miffy is due to his feeling of isolation caused by being “in here”. Tony only reveals that that he is in a hospital almost at the end of the novel. Tony’s attempt at suicide causes him to be paralysed and therefore in a wheelchair. Tony speaks longingly of activities and daily tasks that he used to love doing. “…not that I could now anyway” is a phrase repeated numerous times throughout Dear Miffy. Tony feels very trapped.
The Term Paper on Analysis Of Management Of Change At Royal Mail 2002-2005
The oxford dictionary defines change simply as “make or become different”. In essence change if the movement from one situation to another, whether deemed positive or not. The way in which this change is managed and implemented especially in the work place has become more important in recent times where change is needed at almost a constant rate because of the pace of the world around ...
It is the absence of mental change that makes Tony such a constricted character. Tony believes that he is very hard done by, that the world owes him something and that he should have the right to choose if and when he decides to redeem his prize. “I feel like staying in bed all day so I’ll stay in bed all day… f*** the lot of them… why shouldn’t I be negative?…” Tony maintains this attitude from the beginning to the end of the novel and still fails to take responsibility for the murder of Miffy’s mother. “…you know how I am… it wasn’t my fault… she just kept screaming…”.
Change in relationships, although not a predominant change, is seen in Dear Miffy. The most important change of relationship is Tony and Miffy. At the beginning of the novel Tony writes “Geez, you were a lagging bitch”. Tony and Miffy are in a sense rivals. Miffy hits Tony over the head with a trophy and he is hospitalised for the night. “I wanted to kill you, that’s all I wanted to do” Tony says in reference to the trophy incident. It was not until after that Tony and Miffy become a couple. The newly formed relationship is unexpected by everyone, including Miffy and Tony. “I’ll never forget the look on their faces when you took my hands and kissed me…”. Tony and Miffy then break up. This is after Tony murders Miffy’s mother. Tony is then unsure of where he stands with Miffy. This is shown by the use of varying greetings and goodbyes used in the letters. “Dear Miffy… Dearest Miffy… Miff… Hey Miff… Cya Tony… Love Tony… Bye Miff” These vary throughout the story depending on the information that Tony reveals in each letter.
Symbolism in Dear Miffy includes the train that Tony throws himself in front of. The train is symbolic of Tony’s state of mind at the time. Tony, just like the train, is hurtling through space and time. Tony feels that his problems are far to complex to be solved and that momentum has already forced him to a point of no return. Tony’s feeling of a lack of control and the train then become the reasons that Tony ends up in a wheelchair.
The Essay on Resistance to Change Paper
Introduction Resistance to change comes along quite a bit in all organizations; and individuals are comfortable with what he or she knows. Organizations are constantly struggling with combating resistance to change, and all the while keeping individuals ideas and concerns in mind. In order to make things a little easier Lewin’s theory can be used, to make this transition to change a little easier. ...
The wheel chair is symbolic of Tony’s lack of control. Tony considered himself very independent and capable. The wheel chair is the complete opposite of Tony’s previous life. The reason that Tony attempts suicide is because his world was changing too fast around him. The wheel chair does the exact opposite in that Tony is forced to slow down both mentally and physically. Physically he slows due to obviously not be able to walk etc. Mentally Tony slows because he now feels inadequate and as though his life is now a constant so there is no point in exploring anything anymore.
In conclusion, Dear Miffy is about the changes that a young man faces during his teenage years. Dear Miffy is a perfect example of the fact that the more rapidly things change the more likely we are to feel out of control and act irrationally in order to try and regain that control. The more things change the more they stay the same. Although physically Tony has changed, he still maintains the same state of mind all throughout the novel.
