The Character of Mia in Fish Tank

Mia is ofter represented by Andrea Arnold through the use of animals throughout the narrative. The vicious and feisty dogs seen on the estate that are constantly seen lunging themselves at people though rage is mirrored in Mia's behaviour. Mia has a very volatile nature, finding it hard to trust those around her, even in her own home where her mother shows not maternal interest in her at all, Mia has grown to be angry and has frequent tantrums, similar to the dogs chained up. Later on in the films, Connor takes the family out for the day and he and Mia catch a fish, that fish can be seen as a symbol of hope for Mia. At the hands of Connor, the fish is caught delicately but it quickly killed by him too, this is similar to Mia's situation. Mia begins to trust and behave differently around Connor as he acts as almost a father figure in her life, complimenting her and showing her affection to the point of a sexual relationship. Mia begins to believe in her own dancing abilities and in the hope of making it as a dancer. However, just as the fish is killed and left for the dog to eat in a disappointing fashion for Mia, so is her relationship with Connor, she is brought back to reality as she discovers that Connor has hidden his wife and child from her and Joanne and that the brief human connection she shared with Connor was a futile attempt at normality, the death of the fish foreshadows the reality of the chance of freedom for Mia. Lastly, the chained up horse we see throughout Fish Tank that evokes a rare but beautiful empathy and softness in Mia's emotions symbolises the entrapment in Mia's life and the inability to be saved, her futile attempts to free the horse is mirrored in her futile attempts to escape the life she lives to become a dancer and the social restrictions placed upon her, ever present social realist film, through being born to a working class family in a deprived area.