Using Different Point of View
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Here are some data revealing children‟s opinion about tattoo, parents, mental illness, and divorce. The first is children‟s perception about tattoo. In
this story, there are two groups of people who agree and disagree about tattoo. The ones who agree are Dolphin and Oliver. They see tattoo as a
beautiful and artistic things. They do not care about society‟s way of seeing tattoo where it sees tattoo as a bad thing and people who have it are bad as
well. Moreover, they want to have tattoo when they get older. The data supported are below.
„I think your mum is so beautiful,‟ said Oliver.
I stared at him hard to make sure he wasn‟t taking the mickey. But Oliver looked totally earnest
, blinking rapidly, his long tufty fringe way past the rim of his glasses.
„I think she‟s beautiful too,‟ I said. „I especially love her tattoos. They look so special. They‟re not a bit
like the usual ordinary red and blue sort
.‟ Wilson, 1999: 70
The datum above explains that Oliver loves tattoos. He thinks that Marigold‟s tattoos are special. In addition, he wants to cover his body with tattoos when
he is grown up. It is proven by
his sentence, „My tattoo,‟ said Oliver. „Oh I can‟t wait till I‟m grown up. I want to have tattoos all over Wilson, 1999:
136.‟ It indicates that Oliver as a child, see tattoo from an honest and pure perception. He honestly thinks that tattoo is a beautiful and artistic thing. The
way Oliver thinks is just like children in general that they love something colorful and artistic.
One more datum showing that children love tattoo is Dolphin‟s hope below.
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No, as I got older my mousey hair would darken and I‟d be raven black at twenty, with my own green eyes outlined with sooty lashes.
I‟d have clear white skin with just one exquisite secret tattoo on my shoulder,
a little black witch Wilson, 1999: 156.
One more datum showing that children love tattoo is Dolphin‟s hope above. The datum shows how Dolphin wants to have one exquisite secret tattoo
when she has grown up in her 20s. She does not care about society‟s perception about tattoos. She knows people see Marigold as a bad person
having so many tattoos, but she is not afraid to have tattoo when she is older. The way children see tattoo is also shown by another datum below. Brian
and other students in Dolphin‟s class love tattoo which Dolphin makes for Brian. Even though it is only a drawing, not the real tattoo, but it is similar to
a real tattoo.
Well, I had to bribe him a little, inking a Death by Harley skull and bike tattoo
on his forearm. It‟s the tiredest tattoo in the book—million of guys all over the world flash identical biceps
—but Brian thought it dead original and seriously cool
. Some other kids started clamouring me to tattoo them too
Wilson, 1999: 128.
The datum highlights on the words original and seriously cool and clamouring me to tattoo.
It is told that Dolphin at first inks Brian a tattoo and the result is that Brian, as another child character in the story, thinks the
tattoo is cool. After that, other kids in the class room together ask Dolphin to ink them tattoo as well. It shows the enthusiasm of children about tattoo. Just
like Oliver and Dolphin, they see it as a beautiful, creative and artistic thing. They are very honest as they do not take society‟s consideration about tattoo.
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However, as previously explained, there is one group of society that sees tattoo as a bad thing. Here, Dolphin describes those people‟s opinion,
including Star who does not agree about tattoo that Marigold has. „You said it was sick and pathetic getting yourself tattooed again and
again. You said you‟d save up for laser treatment to get them removed. You said
,‟ Star said, her voice raising. „I said a whole load of stuff to make you happy, darling. But I love all my
tattoos. They‟re all so special to me. They make me feel special.‟
„They make you look like a circus freak,‟ said Star.
There was sudden silence. We stood looking at each other in shock and embarrassment, hardly able to believe what Star had just said. Even Star
seemed astonished.
„OK, I‟m a freak,‟ said Marigold shakily. „I don‟t care. I don‟t have to conform to your narrow view of society, Star. I‟ve always lived my
life on the outside edge ‟
„Now you‟re sounding like some corny old film. Why can‟t you act normal?
Wilson, 1999: 13‟ The conversation between Star and Marigold indicates that Star is influenced
by the society‟s point of view in seeing tattoo. She says that her mother is
like a circus freak and it is very mean to say that. It indicates that people with tattoo, based on the society‟s perception, are freak. It is affirmed by
Marigold‟s saying that Star has a narrow view of society and it proves Star has been influenced by the society in seeing tattoo from a narrow perception.
Tattoo is not always bad and people having tattoo are not always bad. Her mother acts “differently” because she has mental disorder not because she
has tattoo. Society has thought and talked about Marigold and her tattoo and it influences Star in thinking about her mother‟s tattoos as well. Marigold
also understands that Star hates all of her tattoos and to make her happy, she
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is willing to cover her body with paint. “„…But it will be better better better,
no more tattoos, Star hated them, she hated me, but now they‟re gone,
until the laser , could I use a razor? No, too red, I want white, pure light,
th at‟s right…” Wilson, 1999: 158.
Dolphin also tells how another character disagrees about tattoo. It is Miss Hill who sees tattoo as a bad thing, especially for children. She asks Brian to
remove the tattoo Dolphin draws for him. Moreover, she warns all children in
the class room not to have silly pictures all over themselves which mean
tattoo. Miss Hill here is clearly under society‟s value in seeing tattoo as a bad thing.
Another example can be seen from the below quotation.
„Brian Barley What is that black all over your arm?‟ She
didn‟t appreciate Brian‟s skin art. She sent him off to the cloakrooms to have a good scrub with soap
.
„And I‟m warning anyone else stupid enough to ink silly pictures all over themselves, I‟m quite prepared to bring a bar or carbolic soap and a
scrubbing brush to school and
I‟ll scrub it off myself Wilson, 1999:
129.‟ From the data above, it is seen how certain child characters think about tattoo
differently and how society sees tattoo. They are observed by Dolphin and Dolphin reports those opinions to the readers.
The point of view of children is also about parents. More specifically, Dolphin as the narrator, tells how she feels to be a child without a dad. She
dee ply wants a family with a mother and a father figure. From Dolphin‟s
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point of view which is very honest, Wilson wants the readers to understand how it feels not to have a father figure and how child wants to have a father
badly. It seems reliable and more believable when it is told from Dolphin, the child character, instead of a third point of view as the readers can feel like
real how she badly wants a father. The next example is from the datum below.
I shushed, I settled, I stopped. I liked Mr Harrison so much…Whenever
he was on playground duty they clustered round him and hung on his hand, like he was their dad. I wished he was my dad.
I wrote a story called MY DAD Wilson, 1999: 132.
The datum above presents how Dolphin as a child without father figure wants a father. She imagines if Mr. Harrison were her father as he is lovable and
kind to all children. It shows how she deeply wants a father. Another datum below also shows how much she wants a father by imagining in her deep
heart a father figure like Star who finds her biological father.
Deep deep down I‟d always had this dream that one day I‟d meet my dad,
my Micky, and he‟d be almost as good as the real first Micky and he‟d love me because I was his little girl, his Dolphin…
It was such a deeply embarrassing dream that I hardly ever dared think it.
I could feel my face going red. I knew it was sad and pathetic Wilson, 1999: 175.
Even though Dolphin feels embarrassed to think about a father figure, she still imagines that someday she has a father.
I liked a bright happy book too about a mum and a dad . The colours
glowed inside the neat lines of the drawing. I traced round them with my finger. I tried to imagine what it would be like living n a picture book
world where monsters are quelled by a look and you feel safe back in your own bed and you have a spotty mum and a stripy dad with big
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smiles on their pink faces and they make you laugh Wilson, 1999: 67-
8. The datum above shows how Dolphin wants a complete family. Deep inside
of her heart, she wants to have a mother and a father who can make her laugh. It is shown from the way she chooses a story. She chooses a story
about a mother and a father which becomes a signal that she is longing for a perfect family with a mother and a father figure.
The next thing that Dolphin tells to the readers from her point of view is the matter of divorce. From the conversation she has with Oliver, it is seen
how children hate divorce since it means their parents have to live separated. Moreover, when their parents finally have another girlfriend or boyfriend,
they hate it more. From this kind of point of view, the readers can understand how painfu
l to be the victim of divorce since it is delivered from children‟s honest perspective.
„So does mine,‟ said Oliver. „Headaches and crying and stuff. I have to extra quiet and make her a cup of tea and give her some aspirin.‟
„Really?‟ I said, my heart beating. I hadn‟t realized other mums could act like that too.
„It‟s since she and my dad split up. He‟s got a girlfriend.‟ Oliver whispered the word girlfriend as if it was
shocking. „I don‟t like her.‟ „So? My mum had lots of boyfriends. Star and me have hated nearly
all of them
.‟ Wilson, 1999: 71
The above datum reveals how children hate divorce and the effect of divorce itself. Oliver tells her mother often gets headache since she splits up with his
father. He also tells Dolphin that he has to be very quiet and make her a cup of tea and some aspirin to his mother just to make his mother calm. It signals
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the burden a child has after the parents split up. Oliver needs to take care of her mother and taking his father‟s role. In addition, he hates the fact that his
father has a new girlfriend after splitting up with his mother. This supported as well by Dolphin saying she and Star hate nearly all of Marigold‟s
boyfriends. This bad situation is commented by children‟s way of seeing about divorce and it is revealed that they are painfully hurt by the effect of
divorce. Dolphin also reports how Star thinks about divorce. She wants to yell at
her biological father who has left Marigold when she is in need a husband. She thinks her father is a bad father since he leaves Marigold and Star. Star
says this kind of opinion because she feels suffering by the absence of a father figure in her family. She also thinks that Marigold becomes crazy
because her father leaves her. It indicates the effect of divorce that is got both by woman and child. “„Wouldn‟t you like to meet him, though? What would
you say?‟„I‟d say what sort of a father are you, walking out on Marigold and driving her crazy
,‟” Star paused Wilson, 1999: 76. From all the data above, it is seen that children in fact have way of
thinking and seeing something that adults might not understand. Dolphin as the narrator reveals those ways of thinking and seeing.
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