Tell Me I’m Here follows chronologically the events Deveson and her family experience as their son contracts schizophrenia and later dies from the illness. At the beginning of each chapter is an epitaph which sum up the attitudes and values of the chapter. In Chapter 4 “The Search for a Cure” part of the epitaph says, “Go, and catch a falling star”. This impossible task is compared to Deveson’s own search for a cure for her son. She finds it an impossible task mainly due to the ignorance in society surrounding the illness. The sympathy that readers feel for Deveson as she tries all means to cure her son persuades them to change their views on mental illness and recognize that ignorance must be removed.
In the epilogue Deveson summarises all that she has tried to convey throughout her text. In one section she states, “It is indefensible that families of mentally ill people are still left to flounder in isolation and despair.” She repeats “It is indefensible” several times as she passionately pleads with the reader to change their views on mental illness and recognize the need for support and help which is lacking so greatly in the community. This emotional outpouring strongly conveys to the reader the urgency of the situation and the need for change which they have been persuaded to accept.
In the documentary Deveson achieves this same effect through her interviews with the families of those who suffer from mental illness. One mother who is shown crying pleads, “ They are our loved ones and we don’t want to lose any more of them…Please listen to us!” This is a powerfully emotional statement and strongly persuades the viewer to be aware of the extent of the situation which ignorance has caused and as a result are led to change their own views on the issue and remove their own ignorance and prejudice attitudes.
The point of view Deveson uses in Tell Me I’m Here is very unusual for an expository text. She uses first person point of view which allows her to share her thoughts and feelings directly to the reader. This first person narration can be split into three different types, auto biographical, factual reporting and social commentary.
The autobiographical aspect of the text deals mainly with her won thoughts and emotions at different situations. Her use of emotive and descriptive language is very effective in persuading readers to share her values and attitudes presented. For example at one stage she says, “I feel pain howling through every part of me”. This, the reader is aware of is caused by the lack of help available to her and her son Jonathon. Her family also is described as suffering tremendously when she says, “Our whole family was like a ship engulfed in a terrible storm”. Both of these use very emotive language, and the last example uses figurative language as well to emphasise to the reader the trauma faced by both the family and sufferers due to ignorance in society. This encourages readers to feel shame and guilt for their own ignorance and persuades them to change their attitudes to ones of compassion and sympathy for those suffering due to the stigma surrounding mental illness.
The documentary also acts to induce guilt in the viewers particularly through the use of montage. One example gives a quick succession of close ups of video and titles such as “brainwash”, “basketcase”, “Schizoid”, and “Psycho”. These hurtful misconceptions have been the popular view of mental illness for years. Society has seen sufferers as violent monsters much like those portrayed in horror films and feels shame at believing or accepting these attitudes which they aim to change.
The factual reporting in Tell Me I’m Here aims to inform and educate the reader. At one stage Deveson says “With schizophrenia the fundamental processes in the brain are disturbed”. This dismisses any popular ideas that the sufferer or family is to blame but rather it is seen as a medical illness. Readers are led to feel sympathy rather than fear toward the mentally ill through no fault of their own must endure such great suffering.
The social commentary Deveson uses to pass direct judgments on society’s attitude toward the illness. At one stage she says “This legalism is absurd.” When trying to get Jonathon committed to prevent him from harming himself, the police and medical profession offered no help or support to do so. Again this is due to the ignorance surrounding the issue which the reader is positioned to see as wrong.
Often throughout the text Deveson portrays medical and legal professions negatively. She recalls one doctor who said “There’s no such thing as schizophrenia” even though from her own experience readers know there is. The police are also blamed for not offering any help as she often rings them but they refuse to come, or when they do show up two hours later when Jonathon had already hone. This angers the reader who once may have believed it was these people’s job to help and yet they refuse. The ignorance which has caused such suffering needs to be removed and the readers understand this and also feel this need.
Other sources Deveson uses are from experts and other sufferers- one example is when the expert R.D. Laing sadly asked “Why can’t our hospitals be more hospitable?”. This conveys to the reader the lack of help available and encourages them to believe what Deveson says is true since this credible expert also shares her views.
Tell Me I’m Here is a very successful expository text in persuading the reader to share the attitudes presented. Readers are encouraged to change their own attitudes from fear to compassion and remove any ignorance they have held. This is largely done through Deveson’s use of point of view and other evidence she provides which convince the reader about the suffering endured due to the ignorance of society. The documentary Spinning Out also conveys these ideas strongly through the use of film language and interviews. Both texts shape the viewers/ readers response so that they may understand the urgency of the situation and the need for change to prevent further unnecessary suffering.
