Unconventional Traits of Children
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Whereas, children are perceived as human beings that have less experiences, and it makes them perceived as less understanding about other
people‟s feeling. In some stories, children characters are made to be not caring when, for example, when other characters experience something bad
or feel sad. However, children‟s characters in Wilson The Illustrated Mum shows its contrary. Here are some data which prove that children characters
in this novel are caring. „God, look at my neck It‟s getting all wrinkly,‟ she said. She touched the
taut white skin worriedly while we did our best to reassure her
. „I look so old
‟ „You‟re not old at all. You‟re young,‟ said Star Wilson, 1999: 7.
It can be seen from the bold sentence that Star and Dolphin are very caring about her mother‟s feeling. They could possibly say nothing, but they choose
to tell Marigold that she is not old at all in order to give her emotional support and to make her happy. In fact, they and the readers know Marigold
is not young anymore. It is unique since usually children will not say anything or tell the truth when they know someone is in fact old and has
wrinkly skin. However, Dolphin and Star try not to be offensive to their mother. They know how to be caring and to keep her mother feel happy.
Another example of how children‟s characters in The Illustrated Mum are caring can be seen in the below part:
I took hold of her by the arm. She was very cold.
„Marigold, come to bed. Please.‟
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Marigold groaned but didn‟t answer. Her eyes were half open and not
focusing, I knew there was no point persisting. I went and got her quilt and wrapped it round her. Then I patted her icy hand.
„Night, night, sleep tight, make sure the bugs don‟t bite.‟ I whispered, and went back to my own bed Wilson, 1999: 64.
The datum shows how caring Dolphin is. She finds her mother lies on the sofa, sleeping. She tries to make her mother go to bed, but she cannot. Instead
of leaving her, Dolphin gets her mother quilt and wraps it round her mother. It shows how Dolphin cares about her mother. She does not want anything
bad happen to her, for example, her mother can be sick because she is sleeping in a sofa without a quilt to protect her.
Another datum showing how caring the children‟s characters are in the novel can be seen below:
“Oh, don‟t. That makes me feel worse,” said Marigold, crying harder. She cried like a little girl, her mouth open, snot running down her nose.
I fumbled in her bag and found a tissue.
„Here,‟ I said, wiping her face carefully Wilson, 1999: 114.
The conversation between Dolphin and Marigold above shows how caring Dolphin is to her mother. She always tries to reassure Marigold by giving her
comfort and emotional support. When her mother cries, she wipes her mother‟s face carefully just like an adult who is able to make her mother feel
better. It is quite unique as children rarely do something to make other people feel better when they are sad.
This datum also shows that children characters are caring in The Illustrated Mum. It
is that when Star checks her sister‟s uniform.
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She checked herself in the mirror and then fiddled with my dress.
„Sweaty or not, it needs a wash.‟ „No, it‟ll spoil it.‟
„It‟s spoilt already. And the hem‟s coming down at the back. Here, I‟ll find a pin.‟
She tucked the wavy hem neatly into place and then stood up Wilson, 1999: 28.
The above datum shows to the readers that Star cares not only about her appearance, but also her sister‟s appearance. She finds that Dolphin‟s
uniform is sweaty and the hem in it comes down. Then she finds a pin in order to make the uniform look better. Star could have done nothing, but she
chooses to do the best thing she can do to Dolphin‟s wavy hem because she thinks Dolphin needs to be neat when she has to go to school.
One more datum showing how one of the children characters is caring can be identified by this below part:
„Don‟t drink. Eat.‟ I said, and I made us both some tea. Marigold said she didn‟t want any. I tried to prop her up against her
pillow and help her sip a cup of tea but half of it dribbled down her chin
Wilson, 1999: 152. The conversation above is from Dolphin and Marigold. Dolphin shows her
mother how much she cares about her when she is sick. She asks Marigold to eat instead of drinking to give her energy and to make her strong. She also
shows her care to her mother by propping her mother against the pillow and sipping her mother a cup of tea. Logocentrism believes that children could be
ignorant seeing her mother condition, even they could be reluctant to give her mother support or help. Nevertheless, Dolphin shows the opposite.
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2 Sensitive
Logocentrism spreads belief that children are innocent. That is why adults perceive children to be the ones who are not sensitive. Based on Cambridge
Electronic Dictionary, sensitivity means “an ability to understand what other
people need, and be helpful and kind to them.” It can be said that people who are sensitive are the ones knowing easily and quickly what to do when people
need their help. In other words, they are knowledgeable. In most conventional children‟s stories, children characters are depicted
as human beings who do not know what to do when other characters have a problem. They might feel other characters‟ feel when those characters
experience bad things. However, it is rarely shown that those children characters know easily and quickly what to do. To make it worse, they are
helped by magic, fairy godmother, of adult characters in the story. One example is Little Red Riding Hood. The main character, Little Red
Riding Hood, who is eaten by a wicked wolf, is helped by a huntsman. It is not she herself who struggles in making herself out of the wicked wolf‟s
stomach. It is seen clearly that the character of Little Red Riding Hood is made to be innocent or unknowledgeable. Another example is the princess
character in The Frog Prince. After being helped by the frog in finding her golden ball, the prince breaks her promise not to help the frog. While, she
knows that the frog is in trouble and desperately needs her help.
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The effect when children read these kinds of stories is that they will not have sensitivity to understand what others need. They will not know what
and how to help them or struggle to solve their own problems. It can be said children will be unknowledgeable because of those constructed logocentrism
in most conventional children‟s stories. Wilson, on the contrary, deconstructs the image of innocent children in
The Illustrated Mum by presenting children characters that are very sensitive. Dolphin and Star know what to do when they have to face with bad
situations. For example, they will quickly do any effort to make their mother calm when she is in her state. They are also sensitive in helping their mother
to do all the things because they know their mother suffers from an unusual mental disorder.
The last example is that when Marigold tries to punish herself by painting her whole body, Dolphin easily and quickly knows what to do to help her.
She tried to turn it off more tightly and hurt her hand. „Ouch‟
„Oh, you poor thing. Don‟t try any more. It won‟t stop. Star says it needs
a new washer.‟ I cradled her sore hand in the grubby kitchen towel Wilson, 1999: 42.
The datum shows how sensitive Dolphin is to help Marigold. When someone has sore hand, usually children are instructed to do something in order to help
her or him. However, Dolphin sensitively and quickly knows what she can do to be helpful to her mother.
Another example is seen from the below quotation:
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She rolled up her sleeve and started fingering her new cross tattoo, scraping along its lines with her nails.
„Don‟t you‟ll get infected, picking at it like that.‟ I got her antiseptic cream and she rubbed it in slowly. It seemed to
soothe her.
She got washed and properly dressed. I did her hair for her. I combed it up into a chic pleat and anchored it with my green clasp
.
„Close your eyes,‟ I said, and I sprayed her hair thoroughly to keep every single tendril in place
Wilson, 1999: 107-8. It can be seen from the sentences above that Marigold tries to hurt herself.
Knowing it happens; Dolphin quickly gets antiseptic in order to cure the wound in Marigold‟s new cross tattoo. What Dolphin does has good result. It
is seen from the sentence “It seemed to soothe her”. It means that Dolphin can be very sensitive and helpful for her mother in a quick way. Not only
that, she also combs her mother hair to help it properly neat as she knows in that state, her mother can do nothing. That is why she needs to help her.
The quotation below can also show how sensitive the children characters in Wilson‟s The Illustrated Mum are.
I suddenly felt so tired that all I wanted to do was crawl under that duvet and sleep but there was all sorts of other stuff I had to do first. I had
to eat egg and chips for my tea and help Aunty Jane spoon runny boiled egg into two gaping toddlers mouths and give the baby its
bottle.I had to meet Uncle Eddie who was old and grey like Aunty Jane
. He called me Dolly daydream. I had to have a bath and have my hair washed and my nails cut
Wilson, 1999: 201. After Marigold is in the hospital, Dolphin is sent to a care family and her
Foster Mother is Aunty Jane. She lives there temporarily and she knows since it is not her own home, she cannot just lay on her bed. She needs to help
Aunty Jane to do some household things such as spoon feeding the toddlers
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living there and giving them bottle, too. Dolphin at that moment is not in a good condition as she feels very tired, but she is sensitive enough to think she
has to help Aunty Jane. The next example of sensitive children characters can be seen from the
below quotation.
I knew what to do. I knew it was the only thing to do . But I felt I was
betraying Marigold as I stood in the phone box and dialed the three numbers.
„Emergency?‟
‘Yes.
Yes, it is an emergency,‟ I said. „I think I need an ambulance.‟
I was so confused to someone else who started asking me questions. „This person‟s covered in paint,‟ I said. „I won‟t come off. No, it‟s not my
little brother or sister. It‟s my mum. No, she can‟t come herself. She…she
can‟t move. She‟s sort of stuck. And she won‟t speak to me any more. I‟m scared she maybe can‟t hear because the paint‟s in her ears and
every where. We live at Flat B, 35 Beacon Road . Please. Will you
come?‟ Wilson, 1999: 161 From the datum above, it is seen that Dolphin is very sensitive to know what
to do when her mother is really in a bad condition. She calls an ambulance to ask for a help. To make it even better, she explains in detail Marigold‟s
condition and what she has done before to help her. She also explains the address in detail. She could have done nothing if she was not sensitive
enough. She could have asked her neighbor but she knows Mrs. Luft her hateful neighbor will not be helpful. It is clearly seen that Dolphin is
sensitive enough to act in a quick way.
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3 Unselfish
People who are unselfish are the ones who do not only think about themselves or their own advantage. They also think about other people and
what is good and not good for them. The trait is often perceived to be adult‟s trait, not possessed by children. Society sees children as selfish human beings
who always think only abo ut themselves and neglect other people‟s need. It
happens because of the logocentrism which has been spread. In most conventional children‟s stories, children characters are presented
to be selfish. To make it worse, they are depicted as naughty and uncontrolled. When they make any trouble, adults will scold or preach them.
They will be advised not to be selfish and think about other people‟s need. In The Golden Bird by the brother Grimms, children as readers are presented
with a selfish king who asks all of his councils and his gardener‟s sons to find
the golden bird which can bring him more wealth. This situation happens as well in the princess character in The Frog Prince. She breaks her own
promise made to the frog that has helped her find her golden ball. After she gets her golden ball back, she runs away leaving the frog alone.
From those examples, it is clearly seen that those stories construct logocentrism about children. Children‟s stories are supposed to teach
unselfishness. Instead, they show how selfish the king and the princess are as they only think about their own advantage. It is in fact harmful for children,
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as readers; they will unconsciously take the stories for granted as “truth”, if there is no guidance from adults who are supposed to be more aware about it.
On the contrary, children characters in Wilson‟s The Illustrated Mum have deconstructed the logocentrism in which children are seen as selfish
human beings. Dolphin and Star show how unselfish they are through the story. Wilson tries to teach children to think about what is good for other
people and to set aside for a while their own need. “„OK, OK, I‟ll go and get you a birthday cake
,‟ said Star. „Marks and Sparks opens early on a
Saturday. You wait
.‟ She took the housekeeping purse and rushed out…. Wilson, 1999: 9
” The datum shows the conversation between Marigold, Star and Dolphin. Marigold at first does not want to have a cake, but
suddenly she asks it for her birthday. Star, who thinks that her mother will get worse if she does not have her cake, goes to buy a birthday cake. It is shown
that Star is not selfish though she knows it will bother her. She thinks about her mother‟s feeling so much.
Another datum showing how children characters are not selfish in this story is when Star gives her last piece of her chocolate bar to her sister.
„You
can have the rest of my Mars if you like,‟ said Star, thrusting the last
piece of hers in my hand W
ilson, 1999: 31. From Star‟s statement, it is obvious that she is willing to give her chocolate bar to Dolphin.
Logocentrism spreads belief that children will stay selfish. When they have food, for example, they will not easily give it to their friends as they will only
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think about themselves. However, Star is different. She presents positive trait in which she willingly shares her chocolate bars to her sister.
The next example of how the children characters are not selfish can be seen from this below datum.
„Oh Star You scared me so,‟ I said, leaping up and giving her a punch— and then a
hug. „What are you doing back?‟
„I got to the end of the road and then I felt a bit mean about leaving you
.‟ „I‟m all right.‟
„Oh yes, sure You‟re practically wetting yourself. Come on.‟ „What?‟
„You come with me.‟ Wilson, 1999: 79-80
The conversation takes place when Star is asked to take care of Dolphin while her mother suddenly plans to go to a concert, while she has already had
an appointme nt with her friend. Knowing Star‟s plan, Dolphin does not want
to bother her and asks her to go. At first, she goes, but suddenly she comes back because she feels bad leaving her sister alone at their flat. Finally, she
asks her to come with her. It is seen how unselfish Star is. Though Dolphin says it is okay to be left alone, but Star knows how it feels to be all alone,
especially she leaves a ten-year-old girl on her own. This below datum shows that Star one more time is not selfish.
„What are you doing?‟ Star hissed. She hooked me into McDonald‟s and sat me down at a table in the corner. She put her ice cream sundae in
front of me. „It‟s yours,‟ she said. „I‟m over there with Mark, right?‟
She ran back and snuggled up close to him. S he didn‟t have anything to
eat for herself
. I stared down at the sundae. She‟d ordered a butterscotch one too Wilson, 1999: 82.
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The datum above explains that she does not only take Dolphin with her to McDonald‟s, but she also gives her food while she has nothing to eat. She
knows that her sister very rarely comes to this place and enjoys the food there. Therefore, she gives all the ice cream she gets from her friend to
Dolphin and she even does not bother to think about herself.
4 Responsible
To be „responsible for‟ means that to have control, duty, and authority
over person or something for taking care of that person or that thing. Responsibility is one trait that is closely associated with adults. While the
opposition, irresponsibility, is commonly associated with children. It happens because of the “truth” spread in the society. Adults are perceived as human
beings that are limitless and can do all the things, while children are human beings who can make a mess without being responsible to take care of it. In
addit ion, in most conventional children‟s stories, children are not given
responsibility over something. It is always the adults who take control over anything. If children do not get used to be presented how to be responsible,
they will be irresponsible for anything, even for a small mistake they make. In Little Red Riding Hood, it is told that Little Red Riding Hood is asked
by her mother to send some food to her sick grandmother. On the way to her grandmother‟s house, she meets a wicked wolf which intends to eat her. The
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wolf distracts her attention by insisting her to pick some flowers for her grandmother. Being distracted, she picks some flowers and forgets that she
has to go to her grandmother‟s house. As a result, her grandmother is eaten by the wolf.
Irresponsibility is shown by a cook character named Gretel, too, in Clever Gretel. It is told that Gretel is commanded by her master to cook two fowls.
Since the guests are not coming soon, the master runs himself and fetches them. However, Gretel eats the entire fowls because the guests and her
master do not come for quite long time. Those stories in fact become the one that creates logocentrism that children are indeed irresponsible. Wilson, on
the other hand, deconstructs children ‟s trait which is irresponsible by
presenting responsible children ‟s characters in The Illustrated Mum.
„Star You‟ve been such a long time, sweetie‟
„Sorry. There were heaps of people. And I had to walk back carefully because
I didn‟t want the cake to get bashed. I do hope you like it. I
didn‟t know whether to pick the fruit or the sponge. I got the sponge because it was cheaper
—but maybe you like fruit more?‟ Wilson, 1999: 12
From the datum above, it is seen that Star is very responsible for take care of the birthday cake she has bought for her mother. She holds the responsibility
to give her mother birthday cake in good condition. Another datum showing that children characters are responsible for
taking care of something is when Star asks Dolphin to wait her after school. “
„Me too,‟ says Star.
„Good idea, eh? Right, you come and wait for me
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outside school this afternoon, OK?‟ „OK,‟ I said. I did my best to smile
Wilson, 1999: 31.” From the conversation, it can be seen that Star wants to make sure that her sister will come home with her. She feels that she is in
charge of taking care of Dolphin. Thus, she asks Dolphin to wait for her after school and come home together to make sure her sister is safe.
There is another datum showing that children characters are responsible.
“„Well, you don‟t. I can look after myself. I looked after Marigold too. She got all stroppy and weird but I handled it
. I knew just what to do to get her sorted out
‟ Wilson, 1999: 120.” It is seen how Dolphin holds the
responsibility for taking care of her mother when Star is not around. Usually, Star who is in charge to look after her and her mother, but when Star is not
around, Dolphin needs to take over Star‟s responsibility.
5 Independent
Children characters in most of the children‟s stories are depicted as dependent characters. Children become passive as they do not do significant
efforts to solve their own problem. As previously clarified, stock characters such as fairy godmother or noble man often come to give children help.
Another help comes from magic thing or adult characters in the story. The character of Cinderella is one example. It is told that she can go back
to her home because she is helped by a fairy godmother. This condition also happens in The Golden Bird. There are three brothers who go on a journey to
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find a golden bird. In short, it is only the youngest brother who succeeds to find and bring the golden bird to the king. However, all the things he gets are
from the advice of a wise fox which shows him how to get the golden bird. It is clearly seen how the character of the youngest son does not need to do
extra efforts to get what he looks for. By reading those kinds of stories, children, as readers, will be influenced
by the trait of dependant characters. There is possibility that they will not be independent to do something. Children will keep imagining that they will get
any help from their parents, or even a fairy godmother. However, it does not mean that children do not need adults‟ help. They need adults‟ help, but the
help does not come out of blue without first doing an attempt. Conventional children‟s stories “teach” them to be dependent and passive as they do not
solve their problem on their own. This image influences how society sees children in the real life. They will
be seen as always dependent to adults. The effect is that they will not be capable to solve their own problems when there is no adult around them. Yet,
Wilson deconstructs the image of dependent children characters. In The Illustrated Mum, Dolphin and Star are presented as independent children
characters. They can stand by their own feet, look after their mother, and take care of their own need without too much adults‟ help.
Another example of independence shown by the child character in the story is:
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“She got money off Marigold the minute she got it out the post office
and
went to the school‟s special uniform sale and go herself a hideous grey skirt and blazer and white blouses and even a tie
Wilson, 1999: 28.
” This sentence shows that Star does not buy a uniform with her parents. Shopping is not a child‟s activity. Usually, children are accompanied by their
parents when buying school stuff, including uniform. However, Star goes by herself and buys the school uniform she needs.
I trudged on towards Holybrook Primary. Nearly everyone got taken by their mothers, even the kids in Year Six. Marigold hardly ever
took me to school . Mostly she stayed in bed in the morning.
I didn‟t mind. It was easier that way.
I didn‟t like to think about the times when she had
come to the school, when she‟d gone right in and talked to the teachers Wilson, 1999: 31.
The datum shows that Dolphin is still in a primary school. Usually, children get taken by their parents to school, especially primary students. In the
sentences above, Dolphin also says that even year six students get taken by their parents, but she does not. Her mother never takes her to school since her
mother still lingers on her bed in the morning. She walks to her school alone or accompanied by Star, her sister, without adult‟s guidance.
The last example of how independent the children characters in the novel are can be seen from the below datum.
„I‟m often out without an adult.‟
„I‟m not. In fact, don‟t laugh, but this is the very first time.‟
„Now that is weird. Well. Don‟t worry. I‟ll look after you.‟ Wilson, 1999: 181
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Dolphin‟s conversation with Oliver above is when they are going to look for Dolphin‟s biological father. They need to catch the train and go to another
part of region. Oliver says that he never goes out without an adult figure, but Dolphin often goes out without any adult figure. She even promises Oliver to
look after him as she has got u sed to go anywhere without adult‟s
supervision. It shows that Dolphin as one of the children‟s characters in The Illustrated Mum is independent.