A child called It door David Pelzer

1. Bibliographical features: A child called ‘it’ Dave Pelzer
The international Bestseller
2000
Great Britain by Orion Media
148 pages 2. Plot: The book starts with the end of the story: the rescue; the moment that David became free of the hell of his mother. First he was blessed with the perfect parents: during the ‘good years’ he had a nice times with his family. But the mother of David became sick in her head. She considered him as a ‘Boy’ and no longer as a member of the family. David was isolated; he didn’t receive food, had to steel to survive and was heavily punished. There were different severe incidents, like ‘the kitchen stove’, the ‘gas bathroom’. He had to eat ‘partially-digested food’ and he was injured by a sharp knife by his mother. When his father was at home, David felt some protection, because then his mother didn’t do such things. Unfortunately his father didn’t always protect him. His wife won the most of the time. A substitution teacher started to understand the problem and made a report. After a period the parents of David separated. His brothers didn’t give him any help in his hard times. His mother called him ‘it’. He was a slave for her. But thanks to his prayers, his faith in God, his strength and some teachers at school, he was released from this situation after a long time. 3. Theme: * The book is handling over child abuse. It is a very delicate subject but in A child called ‘it’ the author is the child. It is a true story. Dave Pelzer had to face the reality of being ‘a boy’ and not the son

from his mother. (She is no longer carried about David’s existence p 91) (Mother had even stopped using my name: I was ‘the boy’ p 45) * The second theme is about the problem of being afraid of what will happen in the case
Dave will speak and say the reality to other persons. (I was too afraid to speak up. p31) (I didn’t had the guts to tell the lady the truth. p109) * In this book you will also find the theme about the follow-up of problem children in
schools. (Miss Moss, my teacher, began by questioning me and I lied. She worried about the condition of my clothes and the bruises on my body. P47) 4. Characters: The mother of David intrigues me the most because there is a great evolution in her character. She goes from a fine woman into a nightmare. She is named Catherine Roerva. (My relationship with mom drastically changed into a kind of lifestyle that grew out of control p 27) It shocks me that children have to live in such situations. It’s horrible. * In the first part of the story: the good times: - She is completely dedicated to her family, she is a good cooker, and she plans everything
for all the feasts like Halloween, Christmas…and the vacations. ( ...was a woman who glowed with love for her children p16) * In the second part: the bad times: - She has no respect for her son. (She assigns David to do various chores; she beats him and doesn’t feed him) (I wanted just an once of respect: one little bit of dignity. p93) She makes a difference with her other children. (The boys were no longer my brothers. p118) (My brother’s saved their own skin. p28) (I could hear Mother talking to Ron upstairs, telling him how proud she was of him, and how she didn’t have to worry about Ron becoming like David – a bad boy. P39) - She menaces his life (She is no longer carried about David’s existence. p 91) (She gives him a spoon of ammonia. p66) (She locks him in a “gas chamber”. p95) - She lies (She lies to the school principal to protect herself and her plan. p48) 5. Style: “Every day seemed sprinkled with magic. One day after dinner, Mom and Dad took the three of us to watch the sunset. All of us held hands, as we crept past Mr Parker’s cabin to get to the river. The green river water was as smooth as glass. The blue jays scolded the other birds, and a warm breeze blew through my hair. Without a word, we stood watching the fireball- like sun as it sank behind the tall trees, leaving bright blue and orange streaks in the sky. From above, I felt someone hug my shoulders. I thought it was my father. I turned and became flushed with pride to find Mom holding me tightly. I could feel her heart beat. I never felt as safe and as warm as that moment in time, at the Russian River
This paragraph is situated in the good times. p 22

True these words you can feel the warmth of a family, and especially the warmth of a mother. “Mother smacked, punched and kicked me until I crumpled to the floor.” P 34 “Mother then ordered me to climb up onto the stove and lie on the flames so she could watch me burn.” P 37
This paragraph is situated in the bad times. The mother changes completely from attitude and her behaviour is out of control. She acts like a brutal being. She is not worth to be a mother. Even worse, she gets more children during the story. 6. Personal opinion: * When I choose the book, I didn’t realize that the story would be so terrible, so awful. There are no words for this! Probably, I would never read this. * The description of the bad acts of the mother, like the ‘stove incident’, the ‘bathroom incident’ and more others, is so detailed that I am impressed by what human beings, and especially a mother can do to her child. * In an other way, I find that such things must be told and read to open debates about child abuse. It helps children to come out with their problems. But it was hard to read and it isn’t for sensible hearts. I didn’t enjoy reading this book, but I will never forget the true story about David Pelzer.