So Much to Tell You

So Much to Tell You – Exposition The author, John Marsden, of the novel ‘So Much to Tell You’, definitely explores the concepts of growth and change. These concepts are illustrated through the main character, Marina, who transforms from an antisocial girl suffering from ‘anorexia of speech’ to a more self-assured and happier, outgoing character. Marina’s development highlights her growth and change. Her transformation was documented through a journal; a book where she journals her thoughts and feelings, a book which holds the secrets that are hidden behind Marina’s mask. At the beginning of the novel, Marsden portrays Marina as an isolated and unhappy figure who doesn’t speak. Marsden uses the technique, anonymity, to convey her privacy and detachment from the rest of the world. She believes she has a condition known as “anorexia of speech”, which was brought on by an accident which involved her father. The author uses the metaphor, to symbolise that she is starved of communication, and that she has an undesirable illness. Marina begins as an unconfident teenage girl which is exposed through the use of the simile when she is describing her voice, “like a plastic bottle burning in a fire”. This simile represents that her voice and thoughts have been snuffed out. From her journal, you see that she is changing and becoming more confident. Marsden uses the technique, exclamation, “I did it! I did it!” after Marina, gave one of the girls in her dorm, Cathy, a birthday card and a present. This symbolises that she is more confident and isn’t afraid to show how she feels. Marina gave Cathy, a wombat [the present], which also suggests that she wants to come out of her ‘burrow’, this also signifies her growth. Growth happens in time. Marina came to Warrington, as a gloomy character whose true features are hidden by her phantasmagoria. But as time goes on, and certain happenings occur, some of her phantasmagoria shatters and it allows people to view some of Marina’s