Dolphin is a poem of contrasts. Discuss ( by Carol Ann Duffy up to 10 mass)
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Answer:
The technique of contrast is successfully used in the poem to highlight the sufferings of the dolphins displaced from their natural habitat (the ocean) and confined to a pool. The poem begins on a happy note of swimming and dancing but soon highlights the stark contrast between their natural habitat and the pool. The tone abruptly changes from happiness to utter despair. The dolphin thinks about his happy life in the ocean and his present life in the confinement of the pool. The dolphin says their element (water) remains the same in both the places. But there is a stark contrast between the two places. In the ocean he was absolutely free. He was not confined by any restrictions. There was no boundary wall as the sea was vast and limitless. There was no one to control his movements. There was no one to make him perform any tricks. His life was not monotonous. On the contrary his life in the pool is not free. The pool has a boundary wall. Unlike the ocean the pool is limited. The dolphin encircles the pool monotonously. He is the same forever. There is nothing new. Every day he performs the same tricks. The dolphin looks at other dolphins in the confinement, whose shape, restricted movements and the thoughts are similar to his. There is a man to control them with hoops. They are enslaved and destined to perform tricks to entertain the visitors. Instead of the constant movement of waves in the ocean there is a constant flow of water through a pipeline into the pool to create an artificial atmosphere for the dolphins to survive in the pool. The word guilt is used for this constant flow of water into the pool in order to maintain this artificial atmosphere, emulating an ocean. The poem contrasts the pool with the ocean. The pool is artificially created and lacks the expanse and environment of the natural sea. A dolphin s skin is very sensitive to the environment. The dolphin gets information about the surroundings through its skin. Through the skin it is able to detect minute changes in the environment. When they lived in the ocean their skin responded spontaneously to the stimuli but in the pool it takes days to translate their stimuli in to truth and the truth is that they are confined to an artificial habitat. In the confinement a man makes them to perform various tricks such as jumping through hoops and balancing coloured balls on their noses. Their life in the ocean is described as blessed and the present monotonous life as not blessed . The dolphin says that the pool they live now can never be as vast and deep as their previous world , the ocean. The narrow pool limits their dreams. Their dreams about independence are over in the shallow waters of the pool. When they were in the sea their skin reflected the natural sunlight and shone like silver under the sun. Now it is an old memory. They could enjoy the vision of the moon while they were in the ocean but now in the place of moon, they have coloured plastic balls. In the place of music they have the single note of a whistle. This single note of music refers to the whistle blown by the man who makes dolphins perform the tricks. The lamentation of the other dolphins turns the heart of the narrator (the dolphin) to a stone. There is a stark contrast with the life of joy the dolphins had in their natural habitat and their present life in the pool where a man controls their movements. The poem compares the life of the dolphin in the ocean and its present life in the confinement of the pool. Thus the poet uses this literary technique very effectively to highlight the plight of dolphins that are exploited by human beings