Free Essays on A Child Called It

This book chronicles Dave’s childhood from 4 to 12 years of age. His life started off happy; he had a mother, father, and two brothers. They lived a good life; family dinners, vacations, love and affection. But around the time David Pelzer was 4 years old, his mother began a steady decline into the world of alcoholism and mental illness. Her behavior began to radically change. Her once sweet, loving nature became harsh. She would spend all day on the couch in her bathrobe watching television and drinking. For reasons not explained in this book, Dave was targeted for all of his mother’s rage. The â€Å"discipline† began simply by making him sit in the corner for hours at a time. Then the beatings started, and she even pulled his arm out of socket. Dave’s father was a firefighter and stayed at the firehouse until his day off. Dave loved when his father was home because it meant he was â€Å"safe† because his mother had to be on her best behavior. As his mother’s descent into the illness continued, the abuse worsened. She banished him to the basement and made him wear the same dirty clothes day after day. She was very fond of â€Å"games†. No, not Monopoly kind of games, but games borne of her twisted imagination. She would give him a list of chores and tell him that if he wanted to eat that day, he would have all of the chores done in an impossible amount of time. He would go as long as ten days at a time without eating. Dave began stealing food from school, from stores, begging from the neighbors, eating left over food from the dog’s dish, etc. Once his mother caught on that he was getting food from other sources, she began making him puke everyday when he returned home, and God help him if he puked anything up! While the family ate dinner together every night, Dave was forced to stand in the basement. When dinner was over, he would be called upstairs to do the dishes for a meal that he didn’t get any of. The sc... Free Essays on A Child Called It Free Essays on A Child Called It This book chronicles Dave’s childhood from 4 to 12 years of age. His life started off happy; he had a mother, father, and two brothers. They lived a good life; family dinners, vacations, love and affection. But around the time David Pelzer was 4 years old, his mother began a steady decline into the world of alcoholism and mental illness. Her behavior began to radically change. Her once sweet, loving nature became harsh. She would spend all day on the couch in her bathrobe watching television and drinking. For reasons not explained in this book, Dave was targeted for all of his mother’s rage. The â€Å"discipline† began simply by making him sit in the corner for hours at a time. Then the beatings started, and she even pulled his arm out of socket. Dave’s father was a firefighter and stayed at the firehouse until his day off. Dave loved when his father was home because it meant he was â€Å"safe† because his mother had to be on her best behavior. As his mother’s descent into the illness continued, the abuse worsened. She banished him to the basement and made him wear the same dirty clothes day after day. She was very fond of â€Å"games†. No, not Monopoly kind of games, but games borne of her twisted imagination. She would give him a list of chores and tell him that if he wanted to eat that day, he would have all of the chores done in an impossible amount of time. He would go as long as ten days at a time without eating. Dave began stealing food from school, from stores, begging from the neighbors, eating left over food from the dog’s dish, etc. Once his mother caught on that he was getting food from other sources, she began making him puke everyday when he returned home, and God help him if he puked anything up! While the family ate dinner together every night, Dave was forced to stand in the basement. When dinner was over, he would be called upstairs to do the dishes for a meal that he didn’t get any of. The sc... Free Essays on A Child Called It A Child Called â€Å"It† By: David Pelzer I chose the book, The Child Called â€Å"It† because one of my friends told me about the book. The whole story line caught my attention. I was amazed at what was going on in this boy’s life. This book, a true story, is very emotional. The title relates to the book because his mother calls the boy, David Pelzer, â€Å"It†. She does not call him by his real name. His mother treats him like he is nothing but an object. Also, I think the title fits well because it catches people’s attention and gives a clue what the book is about. The author is attempting to teach the readers that no one should treat people this badly. David is an innocent child and does not deserve his bad childhood. David does not even do anything wrong, and his mother continued to treat him like an object. Pelzer succeeded in telling how cruel the mother is. He also teaches that people can be cruel to each other, and that it is important to teach people that kindness can go a long way. The whole book discusses his childhood. Pelzer wrote some sequels to tell the rest of his child life for the interested readers. The story begins when he was first treated badly, in the 1960’s. His mother was a good mother until David’s father and mother started drinking. Its mother changed drastically from the alcohol drinking. The story begins in the kitchen of his house when he is doing his chores. His mother has a time limit on how fast he should do the dishes. If he does not accomplish the dishes in that amount of time, he does not get supper. In addition to the hunger, he receives a beating. The setting is very effective because the reader gets into the story. The setting also prepares you for what the mother does in the future. The main characters are David, his mother, and father. David, the abused child, cannot escape his mother’s punishments. David’s mother is a drunken, abusive mother that refers to h... Free Essays on A Child Called It A Child Called â€Å"It† This was a very touching and inspirational story told by Dave Pelzer. It is about the awful maltreatment that David endured as a child and also how he survived to become a strong man today. The story begins when David was 12 years old, on the day that he was finally rescued from his mother’s abuse. He tells the story from that day first so that the readers know that he does indeed survive. This makes the story all that much more unbelievable. This is a story of survival not one of demise or hate. It introduces the major theme of the power of the human spirit to overcome remarkable odds. The story begins on the day that David was finally rescued. David’s teachers had noticed bruises and scars on him for years. The school Principal had even made an attempt to call David’s mother one day but quickly learned that that caused beatings as well. As David sits in the office on this final day he anxiously awaits what he thinks will lead to another beating. He briefly recalls what had happened that morning before he got to school. His mother had forced him to wash dishes in scalding hot water and he had another ‘usual’ beating when he took his hands out of the sink. Afterwards, David was â€Å"rewarded† for doing his chores by getting to eat his brother’s left over cereal. David also explains how the other children at school treat him. Nobody likes him and many of the popular kids bully him. The children make fun of David because of the stench from the battered clothes that he has been forced to wear to school everyday for tw o years. They don’t trust David either because of him needing to steal their lunch money for food. David was beaten and abused on a regular basis for eight years. His life wasn’t always one of torment though. For many years he and his mother had a wonderful, loving relationship. Then suddenly, after years of drinking, David became a slave for his mother, an â€Å"i... Free Essays on A Child Called It A Child Called â€Å"It† is a story based on a real life boy’s tribulations with his mothers shocking abuse. When he was younger Dave and his families were considered the â€Å"perfect† family. Then, all of a sudden his mother and father started drinking and had problems in their relationship. Dave started getting the worst treatment imaginable. His mother all of a sudden treated him as a nobody or an â€Å"It†. His father wouldn’t do anything about it and it made Dave hate him. She did many horrible things to him that he will never forget. He had two other brothers but they didn’t get any of their mother’s harsh beatings or tortures. David’s mother would starve him weeks at a time without giving him even a morsel of food. He had to steal food from stores and the school to survive. One day he stole hot dogs from the school cafeteria and someone caught him. When he got home his mother made him puke it up and then eat it again. She almost went to the extent of making David eat his baby brother’s feces. Another incident was when David was cleaning the kitchen floor for his mother. She all of a sudden stormed into the kitchen and started yelling at him. â€Å"You’ve made my life a living hell!† she sneered. â€Å"Now it’s time I show you what hell is like!† Right after she said that she took him by the arm, turned on the gas stove, and burned the flesh on his arm. She then proceeded to make him take off his clothes and lay on top of the flames. David’s mother tortured him for no reason except for her own sick pleasure. She would also make him drink ammonia, wear tattered clothes, sleep in the garage, and she even went to the extent of stabbing him and not taking him to the hospital. This story ended with David saying the Lord’s Prayer and praying for God to save him from his living hell. This is one of the best, yet saddest books that I have ever read. There is so much reality in this book, but I never knew that reality w... Free Essays on A Child Called It Running Head: A CHILD CALLED IT: One Child’s Courage to Survive A Child Called It: One Child’s Courage to Survive Abstract This is one of the best, yet saddest books that I have ever read. There are so many terrible things out there that are happening to good people. We just have no idea. One never knows what is going on behind closed doors. I am so lucky not to have experienced anything like this growing up. There is so much reality in this book, but I never knew that reality was ever this horrifying. It brought me to a realization that I have never known before. It is extremely sad that something like this really did happen to such a sweet little boy. A Child Called It: One Child’s Courage to Survive Summary A Child Called â€Å"It† is a story based on a little boy’s tribulations with his mother’s shocking abuse. The first part of Dave's life was idyllic in his memory. He says his family was "the Brady Bunch" that included a loving mother and father with whom he enjoyed wonderful holidays and a happy trip to the Russian River. Everyone on the outside thought that David’s family was perfect. No one in their neighborhood would have suspected anything was wrong. All that changed when Dave was in first grade. For no known reason, his mother singled him out from his siblings and began abusing him. The abuse began relatively mildly. When he and his brothers did something wrong, Dave was the one to receive punishmentat first simply banishment to the corner of a bedroom. Then, his mother began spending her days watching TV and drinking beer. Easily irritated, she yelled at Dave for the slightest reason, or sometimes for no reason at all. Soon, instead of making him go down to the basement, Mrs. Pelzer smashed Dave's face against the mirror, then made him repeat, over and over, "I'm a bad boy! I'm a bad boy!" He was forced to stand for hours staring into that mirror. Dave's father soon joined ...