An Analysis of the Moral in Who Moved My Cheese

1. Introduction about the author and his work Who Moved My Cheese

1.1 About the author
Who Moved My Cheese is a book which is written by Spencer Johnson. Spencer Johnson is one of the most popular authors in New York Times. His works, which have been translated into over twenty-six languages, have enlightened millions of people all over the world.

“His education includes a B.A. in psychology from the University of Southern California, an M.D. degree from the Royal College of Surgeons, and medical clerkships at Harvard Medical School and The Mayo Clinic. Dr. Johnson was Medical Director of Communications for Medtronic, the inventors of cardiac pacemakers; Research Physician at The Institute for Inter-Disciplinary Studies, a think tank; and Consultant to the Center for the Study of the Person, and to the School of Medicine, University of California. Spencer Johnson, M.D., is an international bestselling author whose books help millions of people discover simple truths they can use to have healthier lives with more success and less stress.” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 2)

“The story of Who Moved My Cheese was created by Dr. Spencer Johnson to help him deal with a difficult change in his life. It showed him how to take his changing situation seriously but not take himself so seriously.” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 3)

1.2 About Who Moved My Cheese
The story Who Moved My Cheese is a parable which tells people “an amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life.” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: Cover Page)
The first part of the book is “The Story Behind The Story”, which is written by Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D. In this part, he shows what each character stands for in our true life in his opinion and what glamour the little story can stimulate people. The second part, we can also include it into the story who moved my cheese. This is the cause why they talk about this story. It begins with an interesting conversation among a group of former classmates. They all talk about changes in their lives. One of them starts to tell this story to others. That’s why Who Moved My Cheese appears in this book.
This little parable happens in a maze. There are two mice and two little people who are busy in looking for some cheese for their own in an amazing maze. They all do the same thing every day. They put on “their jogging suits and running shoes” to look for their favorite cheese every morning. One day, they find a cheese station named C Cheese Station which is full of tasteful cheese. From then on, they stay at there and not to look for another cheese station any more. But mouse and little people are enjoying their delicious cheese in different way. Sniff and Scurry “took off their running shoes, tied them together and hung them around their necks” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 28).
But Hem and Haw put their shoes away and never care about anything. When the days go by, they enjoy their cheese day after day. However, the cheese Station C suddenly disappears one day. At that morning, Sniff and Scurry arrive at C Station early, they put on their shoes which are tied and hung around their necks, then, start to look for another cheese station when they find that the delicious cheese are disappeared. Before Hem and Haw arrive, they have already left there to some new place. Hem and Haw can not believe that there is nothing before their eyes when they get Station C as usual. They start to wait another huge number of cheese’s coming. At the same time, Sniff and Scurry find the new cheese N. The cheese in there is more than that in Station C before. With disappointed and little patience, Haw begins to leave the empty Cheese Station C to find another cheese station alone. But Hem still stay Cheese Station C, still believe that some one some day will send lots of new fresh cheese to Station C. Haw finds the Cheese Station N, he stays there, hopes his friend Hem will change his mind to look for him.
The last part of the book is “A Discussion Later That Same Day”. At that evening, all the former classmates begin to talk about their stuff which is related to the story.
“Believe it or not, this little story has been credited with improving careers, marriages and lives” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 14).

2. The Analysis of the four characters in Who Moved My Cheese There are four characters in this little story. They are Sniff, Scurry, Haw, and Hem. Actually, “They four characters stand for 3 different attitudes towards life and work” (何小敏,2007年03期).

2.1 Sniff and Surry
“Sometimes we may act like Sniff who sniffs out change early, or Scurry who scurries into action” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 12).
Sniff and Scurry, they simply adapt themselves to the changing situation. They deal with stuff with their simple action. “According to the change, they take proper measures to deal with it. Therefore, they get succeed in looking for methods” (何小敏,2007年03期).
“Sniff can discover the crisis earlier and find the change which has already happened. And Scurry simplifies the complicated things.” (牛学彬,2005.5)

2.2 Hem
“or Hem who denies and resists change as he fears it will lead to something worse” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 12).
On contrary, Haw and Hem are two little people with their experience in living. “Hem does not take any measures but stays where he stands when he finds that all the cheeses are disappeared. He stays there with his experience. Finally, this immutable and frozen thought perplexes him, and enables himself to the predicament”(何小敏,2007年03期). He knows the change, but he rejects to adapt.

2.3 Haw
“or Haw who learns to adapt in time when he sees changing can lead to something better” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 12).
In the beginning, when two men find the cheese disappeared which they believe they will own forever, they two are the same. Like Hem, Haw also stays at Cheese Station C and waits for the miracle----someday the cheese will appear. But when the days go by, Haw finally finds that waiting is not a good measure to this situation. He changes his mind to adapt new situation. A little bit late, he gets what he wants finally. “He fluctuated and hesitated when he confronts with the sudden change. But when he finds that cheese will not appear again, he exerts himself and throws away the old concept” (何小敏,2007年03期). 3. The metaphor in Who Moved My Cheese
Why lots of people learn a lot from this simple story? It depends on its deeper metaphor. All things in this story not only are themselves, but indicate some other things in our real world. When we realize the metaphor in this story, we “realize both the mice and the Littlepeople represent parts of ourselves— the simple and the complex—you can see it would be to our advantage to do the simple things that work when things change” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 18).

3.1 The maze “The ‘maze’ in the story represents where you spend time looking for what you want. It can be the organization you work in, the community you live in, or the relationships you have in your life” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 14). The maze in the story is their living place. They live there; they look for cheese in there to feed themselves. Their job, to some extent, is to seek cheese. The maze is filled with all kinds of odd things, anything can happen here. You should find the right way to forward. Or you will be stuck by the wrong way. It looks like our society. It is also filled with miracle and weird things. Nobody knows what is going to happen in the next second. We all live in the society. We work here, and live here everyday. We are looking for whatever we need in this society. During the “looking” process, we may suffer all kinds of difficulties. We may not correctly get what we really want to, we may stuck by some sudden things, we may be anxious for present situation and have no idea about the next step. Actually, our society is like a huge maze.

3.2 The cheese
What about the cheese in this parable? The cheese is like what we eagerly want to own. “Cheese being a metaphor for what we want to have in life” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 14). It can refer to the job, money, success or other target which we really want to. “Each of us has our own idea of what Cheese is, and we pursue it because we believe it makes us happy. If we get it, we often become attached to it. And if we lose it, or it’s taken away, it can be traumatic” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 14). Sometimes we may already have something, we believe that the thing in our hand is doomed to us; however, someday it will disappear because of some sudden changes.

3.3 Two mice
Two mice with simple thoughts successfully adapt to the cheese’s disappearing. They have no logical theory as we have. But they firstly get what they want. The mice can refer to the people who can quickly discover what they have done wrong and make the right measures to solve the problem, and adapt this new situation soon. This kind of people may not know to regret what they have done, but they can deal with the problem as soon as possible. What they do can reduce the loss.

3.4 Two little men
Two men in this story is the main characters. The author uses lots of words to describe them-- What they think and what they feel. It is because that almost all of us are the people like them. Almost all of us want to live in smooth. When we get some better situation, we will enjoy and not care about others. We do the things day after day. But when something happens, when it causes that we loose everything, we just feel depress, and never encourage ourselves to adapt to the situation. We are afraid to change our attitude towards changes. We are scared of the things after we decide to change. Sometimes like Haw, we encourage ourselves to next step. But sometimes like Hem, we know it is wrong to stay at the place we used to, we know the situation is changing. However, we are afraid the outside world which is out of our control.

4. The cheese in Who Moved My Cheese in ordinary life “THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL

Change Happens
They Keep Moving The Cheese

Anticipate Change
Get Ready For The Cheese To Move

Monitor Change
Smell The Cheese Often So You
Know When It Is Getting Old

Change
Move With The Cheese

Enjoy Change!
Savor The Adventure And Enjoy
The Taste Of New Cheese!

Be Ready To Change Quickly
And Enjoy It Again & Again
They Keep Moving The Cheese” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 74) The cheese plays different role in different situation. That is to say, in different maze, cheese stands for different things.

4.1 Business
In business maze, cheese stands for business chance. Only adapting to changes, people can get better. Business situation is filled with changing elements. Changing is not temporary, but is immutable. Our society is progressing, and everything in it is changing. When people are fired by a company because policy in this company is changing, they are anxious, they are afraid of unemployment. They complain about the company and wait the old company to arrange and harmonize a new job for them. “They were either too comfortable or too afraid to change. Some of our Hems changed only when they saw the sensible vision we painted that showed them how changing would work to their advantage” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 86). When times go by, the situation would go worse. They have no job, no money, and no sense of security. “When they realized the real danger of not changing, some of them changed and did well” (Spenser Johnson, 2002: 86). They will get much more advantage than they stay where they used to be. In managing aspect, if we use the old managing model to manage modern company and machines, our company will be eliminated. Take Microsoft for example, it plays a vital role in software field, not only because of its engineer, but also of its concept to adapt to changes. Microsoft continues to develop new computer system to adapt to the need of customers. If it can not, it will be eliminated because other company will do it. At that time, Microsoft will not stand on the peak of this field. And this adapting is a kind of business chance. You grasp, and then you win.

4.2 Study
There are also lots of changes in our studies. We may have a test, we may not pass it; we may have a teacher who we really do not like. In here, cheese is result of our studies. We want to pass exam, we want to change a teacher to teach us. But we need to change our mind, we may cry for our bad degree of test, how about to work harder with the time we use to cry. We may hate that teacher, and never listen to him, how about begin to find his merits, and then we will like him, and learn more from him. We are students, what we need is learning more knowledge and enhances our abilities. Adapting this change, we will learn more.
On the verge of graduating, we confront with a lot of difficulties which did not exist in the past. Then, job is the cheese in this situation. Lots of college students are looking for job. Someone may still wait; wait someday will have a vacancy for him. Actually, there is no more vacancy in this society. Too many students are looking for job. If we do not adapt to this, we will have nothing finally.

4.3 Life Cheese exists everywhere in our life. Take happiness for example. I read a book called “Alive” which is written by Yu Hua. It writes about an old man who has lost almost everything is still enjoying his life when he gets old. He lost his parents, his wife, and his children. He used to own them, but finally lost them because of some sudden accidents. If somebody else has the same experience, he may not want to live in this world. But this old man adapts to all the things. He lives and gets happiness. Things have already happened, we have no power to stop it, but we have power to adapt it. One door is closed, two doors open. The key is to find the right way to those two doors.

5. Moral in Who Moved My Cheese as conclusion On one hand, “Life will not depend on people’s will, and change will happen in anytime. The best choice is to adapt to the change, and to find new cheese. Facing change, we need to take action firstly, do not complicate simple things. Secondly, we need to keep the concept of changing. We begin to look for new cheese when we still have delicious cheese. Prepare for the new change anytime. In fact, it is more horrible to be afraid to change our inside fear than to look for new change. Whatever change happens, we need to remember to change ourselves, adapting to the change, but hoping it change to what it used to be. If we take different attitudes toward changes and if we take different paces for the actions, it will have different results. The society which we live in is just like a huge maze” (牛学彬,2005.5), there are different kinds of people. On the other hand, change will happen in any second. There is no predictor in the world. No one would know what will happen after the change. Note the change is not the biggest tough we should meet. The biggest one is how to make a decision to accept it and take action as soon as possible, but not be afraid of changing. In short, modern society is great demand for adapting to change. Only can the people with this ability do things better.