The Main Idea
The novel “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Dr. Spencer Johnson, is a simple story of four characters: Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Haw. Sniff and Scurry are ordinary mice; Hem and Haw are little people. They all lived in the maze and they led a contented life altogether. The four of them had only one goal – that is, to find cheese. In this novel, cheese represents the most important thing in one’s life, something which can be equated with happiness. The two mice looked at life in an uncomplicated way – they maximized the use of their instincts to find cheese. Conversely, Hem and Haw had more complex brains and thus looked at things in a more complicated manner, including the methods of finding cheese.
One day, all four characters were able to find Station C, which contained a room full of cheese to last them a long time. Every day, it would become their routine to go to this station to have their fill of cheese, and then they would all go home afterward. Hem and Haw somehow did not notice that the supply of cheese was slowly dwindling, until one day, when they arrived at Station C, they found out that all the cheese was gone. Sniff and Scurry had been to the station earlier and found that out sooner, but they did not stay long. They just went ahead into the maze in search of new cheese. Hem and Haw fretted and fussed and blamed each other for having lost their cheese.
The book states that “the little people’s behavior was not very attractive or productive, but understandable” (Johnson, 1998). They did the same routine over and over until Haw realized that what they were doing wasn’t achieving anything beneficial to both of them. Haw then tried to convince Hem that they should go out of station C to look for new cheese, but Hem declined. Hem had become too attached to station C that he had begun to fear the world outside of it.
He no longer wanted to get out of his comfort zone for fear of getting lost, imagined danger, false hopes, etc. Hence, Haw gathered up his wits, started his scribbling on the walls, and ventured out alone into the maze. Little by little, with every passing day, Haw gained confidence, until not long after, he was able to find station N. Here was another roomful of cheese which was even more than what they found in station C.
Haw thought of going back for Hem but thought otherwise because, in retrospect, he had already tried to convince him before but was unwilling. Haw realized that for Hem’s outlook to be modified, the change had to come from within.
The main idea of the story is about dealing with change and how the characters would react when “faced with unexpected change” (Johnson, 1998). The concept of change is inevitable in almost all aspects of human life, hence, each individual should be open to change or at least willing to arrive at a compromise. The world is dynamic, ever-changing, and always evolving, much like life itself.
It’s either one should try to keep up or he’ll get lost. It is also better to assume a pro-active stance when dealing with life because this denotes being in control or holding the reins of one’s life and its direction.
The cheese holds the most important role in the story as it serves as the main source of happiness for the four characters. It also served as an inspiration for them, however, how they looked at the cheese differed. For the two mice, it was important, but it can be found in another location when the supply ran out. For the two little people, the cheese was very important, and they just wanted to cry and whine and be lonely for their loss. Later on, Haw realized that feeling sorry for oneself was not helping them to rise above their present predicament so eventually, he changed.
Which Character?
I can align myself with the character of Haw because at times, I feel some difficulty accepting change. I have to allow things to simmer before I can react, and then I have to reflect on things, analyze and weigh the pros and cons until finally, I get to arrive at a course of action and that is the only time I run off into the maze. Change is difficult to accept especially when one grows older. It gets difficult to trust people, and you always have to evaluate things based on what you have experienced. However, I would not want to be identified with Hem because I feel that whiners do not get anywhere. What happened with Hem and Haw was that they became too complacent with the situation until there was no more cheese. This would have been avoided had they been more conscious or aware of what was happening on a day-to-day basis.
I would have wanted to align myself with Scurry and Sniff but I cannot ‘sniff’ things before I ‘scurry’ off. I am not the sort of person who makes swift decisions because I have this tendency to overanalyze things. I also prefer to put myself in a secure position before I make any decision.
I had a friend named Eliza. When I thought of the four characters in this novel, I remembered the character of Hem in her. You see the cheese in her life was getting married and living a happily married life.
One day, she received an anonymous call telling her that her boyfriend was getting married to another woman.
She did not want to believe this as they already had their wedding plans laid out. She called up her boyfriend who was in another place at that time, and unfortunately, her boyfriend confirmed the information.
Eliza’s first reaction was, of course, one of rage and disbelief. Soon, she quieted down, but after several days, I learned that she had become depressed and needed psychiatric help. She held on to her cheese so much that when it got lost, she broke down.
Lessons Learned
The novel offers simple, practical lessons which apply to daily life like expecting change, being open to change, accepting change, facing one’s fears, and delighting in new things/ideas.
Nothing is permanent in this life, everything gets modified and altered, all things evolve, hence, each one must be ready, or else, his/her cheese might get lost.
References
Johnson, S. (1998) Who Moved My Cheese? New York: Putnam Publishing.