It would be confusing if there was no perspective in stories. It’s like reading a calendar without days and months, you can’t figure out how past and future relate. In a book, the details wouldn’t add up and no one could ever make heads or tails or the message. In the book, “Twerp,” by Mark Goldblatt, the story is told from the eyes of Julian Twerpski, a young boy figuring out society, school, and family. While we witness many social injustices through Julian’s experiences, we only see one side of the issue. To some, it may just seem like the main character’s views controlling the plot. But to myself and others, it leaves us curious and eager to view the fictional world through another’s eyes. In order to comprehend any issue you must learn all sides of the story, often authors omit aspects of a conflict or storyline and this then affects our perspective and opinion.
For instance, in “Twerp,” the reader can infer from the details provided that things aren’t great at home. Julian’s mother is constantly undermined by Julian’s dad and does not stick up for herself. Amanda, is Julian’s headstrong is always focusing on women’s rights and fair treatment yet we never get to see her perspective. The family drama always has to be read between the lines. Goldblatt fails to recognize the conflict and leaves us speculating and doubtful. It would be effective to see or hear her opinion so we could have hope for the situation. Also, Mark Goldblatt doesn’t give us a sufficient reason as to why she doesn’t help her mother. One thing the author could add is her reaction to this problem or her at least acknowledging it. Those details would include her perspective and give her more depth as a character.
Another perspective that the author excludes in “Twerp,” is Lonnie’s. Lonnie is a very important secondary character and yet we never get a glimpse of his thought process or backstory. In the book, Lonnie is portrayed as a flawed hero that makes reckless decisions. Also, we learn that Lonnie pushes Julian to make bad decisions, which eventually leads Julian on a path of self-discovery. It would be captivating to see Lonnie’s reasoning behind hurting Danley. In that situation, Lonnie and Julian did the injustice and the reader is left clueless as to why they did that. Although they apologized, we never understood the deeper reason behind the incident. If they author had included it maybe we would feel sympathy or anger towards the characters. It seemed as if the mistake never amounted to more than a fault, and more insight on the bullying could have made the path of self-discovery even better.
Lastly, Eduardo’s perspective was not included in the storyline of Jillian and Jake. Eduardo witnessed both sides of the situation, Jillian and Julian’s. He actually got to understand the conflict and end it, but we never hear his opinions on the problem. He was a true intellect and Goldblatt’s writing almost seemed indenial of that. He knows the crime Jillian committed and how Julian dealt with the consequences. If we heard his perspective on the conflict, the readers could have known what they should make of Jillian. In the beginning, Jillian was written as a clever young lady dealing with her romantic feelings, to us it didn’t add up that she ditched Julian. If Goldblatt had shed some light on Ed’s experience we might not have been left with a shallow and confusing picture of Jillian. There is always more to a story and in this case having only a character know the whole story doesn’t help the reader form a conclusion. Even Julian deserves a little insight on what Eduardo thinks because the issue had a direct negative effect on him. Angling details and events is essential in writing, but leaving out a main ingredient in a book is unhelpful and makes us think less of the plot and stories.
In any given situation, there is always more than one truth and as a writer it is up to you if you would like to include both truths. In addition, focusing on some perspectives can reflect bias or opinions for writers and activists. Going into any book you know you cannot be one-hundred percent satisfied with the resolution or even be sure of what happened. That being said, it is the writer’s job to leave us with just enough and keep the consistency of the story the same. Twerp covered a variety of issues and therefore many unique perspectives weren’t included.
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