Mistakes Were Made

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying.

Timmy Failure is the protagonist and narrator of the story. He is characterized primarily by his ability to make infinite mistakes and to fail at everything he tries. Though Timmy fails, he doesn’t perceive his actions as failures because he sees the world in a way that nobody else does.

Timmy is illustrated as blank-eyed and small, and his only distinctive feature is the scarf he always wears. His sense of morality is questionable at best: He has no qualms about lying to his mother, insulting and using his best friend, or judging people like Corrina Corrina without getting to know them. Timmy sees himself as a highly skilled detective, if not the best in the world, and is completely oblivious to the fact that he misses every piece of evidence that he is given. He doesn’t see his own mind as an obstacle to success; instead, he blames his mother, his school, his best friend Rollo, Corrina Corrina, Molly, and even Total. This characteristic shows how much maturation Timmy has to do, setting up his character arc, in which he will grow more aware of the effect of his actions on others.