Preview

Who Moved My Cheese Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1423 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Who Moved My Cheese Essay Example
Who Moved My Cheese?

Before reading “Who Moved My Cheese?”, by Spencer Johnson, I scanned through it real quick and it seemed like a fairly simplistic read. I did not originally expect much out of the book with its sort of corny pictures of cheese and story about made up people and situation. Once I began to read it I realized it was a little more complex than a mouse going through a maze to obtain cheese. The beginning starts out with a group of former classmates gathered around discussing their current jobs and such. Then the story of Who Moved My Cheese is brought up and one of the alumni begin telling the whole story...
The story starts out with four made up characters, a couple of simple mice named Sniff and Scurry and two beings, that were as small as the mice, named Hem and Haw. Right away I noticed that the names would have some sort of significance in the story. These four characters were all contained within a giant maze, which I believe is symbolic to the world we live in today. I believe that each character also represented different personalities of people. Sniff represented someone who looks ahead, and has a plan when things go wrong. Scurry type people are ones that are always ready to change when something is thrown them. Hems are people that hold others back, they are too comfortable or afraid of change and repeat the same things over and over again regardless of its efficiency. Haw type people are willing to change and move from one source of “cheese” to another and enjoy the adventure in doing so.
One of the major differences between the mice and small beings was that the mice didn't over-analyze things and kept things simple. The little beings were more intelligent but at the same time it cold work against them due to over complicating things. Their wits should be used to their advantage, and in the story Haw does exactly that after realizing its mistakes. Hems mind worked a little different, Hem seemed to over-think things and imagined

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The three character traits show that the third little pig is the most admirable. Hard-working, clever, and ambitious are the three character traits of the third little pig. The third little pig was hard-working because he used the bricks given to him by the man to build his house, preventing the wolf from destroying his house like he did to the other two pigs. The third little pig was ambitious because he got out of sight of the wolf in time to or else he would’ve been caught. The third little pig was clever because he was able to open the pot of boiling water, causing the wolf to fall in and be eaten. This story goes to show that even if you are weak or are the underdog, you could still outsmart the opponent using your…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The mice contribute to the author’s purpose by symbolizing the precious things in life and how easily they can be taken from us. They also foreshadow Lennie’s destructiveness and inability to fit into a normal…

    • 1495 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I feel that the overall moral of the story is that time and effort will always pay off.However within that each character has a distinctive purpose within the story. The first and the second pig illustrate…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Who moved my cheese?

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The story involves four characters who live in a maze: the mice Scurry and Sniff, and two 'little people', Hem and Haw. All is going well because they have found a huge source of their favorite food, cheese. Hem and Haw have even moved their houses to be near it and it has becomes the center of their lives. But they do not notice that it is getting smaller, and are devastated when they arrive at the site one morning and find the cheese is gone. The mice, Sniff and Scurry possessed simple rodent brains but good instincts searched for the hard nibbling cheese they liked. In contrast, the two little people Hem and Haw, used brains filled with many believes and emotions to search for a different kind of cheese which they believed would make them feel happy and successful. This is where the story splits in two. Scurry and Sniff quickly accept the loss of the cheese and go off into the maze in search of other sources. The little people, because they have built their lives around the big cheese, feel they are the victim of some kind of fraud or theft. Yet this only makes things worse, as their clinging on ensures that they go hungry. Meanwhile, the mice move on and find new cheese.…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The conch, glasses, and brains are all symbols in Lord of the Flies by William Golding. In this novel, a group of school kids crash into a deserted island and fight wilderness, fear, and themselves to survive. Piggy, being one of the most vital characters in their survival, is often disrespected and overlooked. This is persistent throughout the novel, and can be attributed to his weight and nerdy appearance. Generally, Piggy means well, and tries to help the boy’s survival on the island. Piggy, an extremely complex and intelligent character, contributes to the boy’s survival by using logic and brains.…

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This theme of power is also shown in the mouse, as the fact that Steinbeck shows the mouse already dead before it's found foreshadows Curley's wife being dead before she was found. The mouse symbolises the lack of hope and ambition felt by Curley's wife; her repetitive daily routine representing all the powerless women during the 1930's. It displays how women during that time had nothing to work towards or aim for, and as a result desperately sought attention and hence settling attentively for the ears of a stranger. The symbolised mouse also explains to the reader the theme of power and powerlessness, felt by most of the characters on the…

    • 112 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who Moved My Cheese Essay

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Throughout time, people have had to go through change. Whether it had been moving to a new city or starting a new job, people all around the world have to deal with it. Every person that has endured change has had their own way to handle it. Some people complain and fail to comply with the fact that change will happen and others strive to be a part of the future to come. Dr. Spencer Johnson took note of this when he wrote “Who Moved My Cheese.” This simple story demonstrated the ways that many people deal with change. Using evidence from the story, I have to come to the conclusion that the best way to deal with change is the same way the Sniff and Scurry did, immediately adapt when change comes.…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice and Men describes the life of a man and his best friend who has the mentality of a child. Their friendship is very strong and this is surprising, “it jus’ seems kinda funny a cuckoo like him and a smart little guy like you travelin’ together”, and this is due to the other characters in the book being implied as very lonely.…

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Both novels involved mice and rats, the rats being from All Quiet on the Western Front. The mice in Of Mice and Men died innocently due to the fact that Lennie kept petting them too hard as he received them from his Aunt Clara, but the rats from All Quiet on the Western Front died intentionally, yet innocently; the men of the raid shelter thought the rats to be a “burden,” so they…

    • 1298 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mice are soft, smooth, and small fragile animals. They need attention, protection and affection. The "mice" of the book are Lennie, Curley's wife, Candy's old dog, Lennie's puppy, and the dead mouse Lennie had in his pocket at the beginning of the novel. Although Lennie is not small of soft or smooth, he is very fragile. We see Lennie as being fragile when he is in Brooks room and Crooks was saying all the what ifs about George. At that point we realize that such things cannot be said to Lennie because he panics. The "mice" in the novel are the ones being used. Curley's wife is one of the "mice" and she is used by Curley. Although she married Curley even though she didn't love him, Curley also married his wife simply to parade her around. Mice are very small and therefore they need protection and that is exactly what George gives Lennie. Through the "mice" Steinbeck shows how society takes advantage of the less fortunate but also how the week are treated is left to the strong.…

    • 596 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Each character, whether small or big, had a significant role in mice of men. With each little snip bit of the characters point of views or lives, you get another piece of the puzzle, revealing eventually their tragedy. All the characters build up and their own tragedies and it concludes into a big lesson. “The style is simple: clear, direct sentences of description and action, direct quotation of the speech of simple people. Few long words, no hard words.…

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice And Men Allegory

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When Lennie kills the farm owner’s wife and suffers the consequences, the rest of the farm workers realize that they should think before their actions. As one can conclude, Of Mice and Men is a novel written to “pinpoint” parts of life that are unfair and cruel such as racism, power, negativity, violence and foolishness. The characters in of Mice and Men are individuals with differing personalities and…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice and Men

    • 2671 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Introduction While reading Of Mice and Men, we will pause to make some observations. These observations are intended to improve your ability to see and interpret key ideas and events in the story. Write your responses to these questions on a separate sheet of paper as you read. It’s fine to type your responses if you prefer. Responses to each question should be thorough, not just a few words or single sentence.…

    • 2671 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This previous quote is important because it elaborates that the creature has developed the exact way a child would, “I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept” (page 90). The creature grows and develops as a toddler would, thus making him more childlike than most beasts.…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jumping Mouse

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The story starts out with a seemingly simple mouse, who hears what others do not. He dares to question what is out of the ordinary, and seeks out the truth instead of dismissing it as nothing. He shows curiosity, which leads him to new ideas. When he has his experience at the river, he is given a new name, which signifies his own personal growth. When he takes his newfound ideas back to the mouse society they don't believe him because it is far too different than what they already know, and they decide that he is harmful. The society of mice reflects society in how they didn't understand something so they pushed it away. So many times people don't accept or understand things because they are out of the ordinary, so they shun it. It happens every day; with racism and conflicts over human sexuality. Most people don't understand that there is no way to define normal. All around the world things are different, and one needs to be open minded enough to understand it. Now look what being open minded did for the mouse. His willingness to listen and his faith in the frog allowed him to see into the rest of the world, even deeper into his own mind. There is a fine line between being open-minded and being gullible. Both will listen to anything to try to understand it, but gullible people lack common sense. The mouse seemed kind of gullible, in how he'd risk his safety by jumping in the water all because the frog said to.…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays