A_Child_Called_It

A child called “It” is a book that tells the horrible child abuse that Dave Pelzer, the author, suffered on his early years. The book is easy to read, no to complex to understand, he wrote it from the child perspective. Although I simple written it will keep you wondering what will happen to this young boy. This book could be use as an inspiration for many people that suffer from aggressive behavior from relatives. Dave tells the true story of a cruel and alcoholic mother that uses her own son as a slave to satisfy her most sadistic feeling, she tortured him every time she could, making him seat outside like a prisoner of war, forcing him to eat his own vomit, sometimes not letting him eat anything for ten days, exposing him to Clorox and ammonia, leaving young Dave nearly dead. How his mother changed from being the care loving mom to the brutal and intoxicated monster. And when there was nobody that could help him, no father, no brothers, nobody, not even hope or faith, this young boy found the wiliness to survive and courage to face her mother and never been called an “it” anymore. The school nurse stands in silence beside Mr. Hansen. They all tell me goodbye. Now I know I am going to jail. “Good,” I tell myself. “At least she won’t be able to Beat me if I’m in jail.”(Pelzer, page 12) I think this passage is short but strong because we can see that young Dave is willing to go to jail rather than being at home, so we just can imagine that suffering it must be for him just to go home, where the monster is waiting for him with another type of torture. Standing alone in that damp, dark garage, I knew, for the first time, that I could survive. I decided that I would use any tactic I could think of to defeat mother or to delay her from her grizzly obsession. I knew if I wanted to live, I would have to think ahead. I could no longer cry like a helpless baby. In order to survive, I could never give in to her. That day I vowed to myself that I would never, ever again give that bitch the satisfaction of hearing me beg her to stop beating me. (Pelzer, Page 43) I feel this passage is strong because his mother just torture him and burned him on the stove; it was one of the first brutal ways of punishment from his mother that we see in the book. In a moment of hopelessness he could think and realize he has the strength to survive and beat her on her own games. This is the first time, Dave show us the wiliness to survive and the courage that is needed to do it. Swearing that he will never surrender to her, he will use any method to try to overcome her. A little boy is giving us inspiration to fight. Sitting on the far end of the couch was my hero. I knew he would take care of Mother and drive me to the hospital. I stood before Father, waiting for him to turn his page and see me. When he did, I stuttered. “Father … Mo… Mo… Mother stabbed me.” He didn’t even raise an eyebrow. “Why'” he asked. “She told me if I didn’t do the dishes on time, she… she’d kill me.” Time stood still. From behind the paper I could hear father’s labored breathing. He cleared his throat before saying, “Well… you ah… you better go back in there and do the dishes.” My head leaned forward as if to catch his words. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. Father must have sensed my confusion when I saw him snap his paper and heard him raise his voice saying, “Jesus H. Christ! Does Mother know that you’re here talking to me' You better go back in there and do the dishes. Damn it boy, we don’t need to do anything that might make her more upset! I don’t need to go through that tonight….” (Pelzer, 91-90) I feel this passage is strong because we can see that Dave’s father is already afraid of his wife. Afraid of whatever she will do to him or to Dave. I feel like his father is a coward, no brave enough to face Dave’s mother and tell her what is that she is doing wrong. Everything that she thinks is ok is making poor Dave’s life a daily misery. It makes you feel upset, when Dave is desperately looking for help when there is nobody there for him not even his father but only himself. A reviewer seems to propose the story as strong and genuine. “Incredible story of a boy who lived through terrible abuse. Heart-wrenching and very intense. Not a story for the weak hearted, it will be hard to read, but still very intense and real.” (Meagan L. Christenson). The story has several passages where his mother shows sadism and brutal behavior to only Dave. The story makes you feel depress sometimes but it is hard to put the book down, it makes you wonder what happen next. An anonymous reviewer summarizes the message of the book. “This book is a perfect example of how the human spirit can provide strength in the toughest of situations. David's spirit helped him to survive through his mother's emotional and physical abuse. He refused to let his mother win. He had no one to help him so he learned how to fend for himself. His courage and determination saved him from all of the suffering that he endured at such a young age.”(anonymous) on different parts of this book we can see that young Dave is humiliated, disgraced, dishonored by his mother, but he tries to encourage himself to defeat his mother. Even though he lost faith and hope, he finds the strength to be free. In conclusion, this book is worth reading because it is a true story, the book is easy to read, and it is not difficult to appreciate it. It keeps you wondering what happen next. It is inspirational because has a message of freedom, it tells us that we have the strength to overcome any abuse, each one of us has the control over any of these situations. Even Dave almost died by the sick games of a cruel and alcoholic mother, he knew he couldn’t give up, he didn’t surrender, he had the strength and courage to face his mother and not been an “it” anymore. Bibliography Pelzer,Dave. A child called “It”, Omaha Press 1993 www.amazon.com Meagan L. Christenson, February 17th, 2010 www.amazon.com anonymous, November 7th, 1999