Child abuse is a devastating social issue in american society that affects the child both physically and mentally. Authors , directors and poets from a first hand perspective of the victim or from a bystanders try to convey this message in several different sources. In the novel A Child Called It by David Pelzer , the poem “ Hush Little Sister” by Yerzinia and the short film ReMoved directed by Nathanael Matanick all explore the complex issue of child abuse.
In the book A child Called It by David Pelzer, it is told through David's perspective of a victim of abuse from his alcoholic mother. The abuse from his mother causes David to develop depression. He states that, “Mother had even stopped using my name; referring to me as “The Boy” (Pelzer
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David does whatever he has to in order to avoid giving into his mother's horrendous demands and to survive her torture. “Mother can beat me all she wants, but I haven't let her take my will to somehow survive. (Pelzer 4)” . After David is stabbed by his mother, she does not take him to the hospital so he receives no legitimate medical assistance. He then takes matters into his own hands and cleans the wound himself. Even when he is starved he finds ways to get bits of food. David steals food from his peers, a nearby grocery store and even digs through the trash for leftovers, by showing how David has overcome these obstacles the authors intention is to reassurer other children that there is a way out . Also no matter how bad the abuse is the author David Pelzer expresses that the abuse can be overcome and there is help out there. In the end of the book David's principal reports the abuse to authorities and he finally receives help and is taken away from his abusive …show more content…
The poem mentions several times how no one “listened to my cries” and he even states that “I don't think I would have died, If someone had only bothered to listen to my cries” (Yerzinia 10). Another interpretation from this poem is how abuse can be a heavy burden that a child carries with them for the rest of their lives. Yerzinia explains in the brief paragraph that he lost his sister due to the abuse from his family “my older sister, who died from the abuse” (Yerzinia 1). However this shows how truly encouraging a child's will to survive can be, because even though he lost his sister to the same abuse he experienced, Yerzinia survived it, he states that “I was rescued at the age of twelve” (Yerzinia
Dave Pelzer’s book “A Child Called ‘It’” told his story of growing up in an abusive household. Pelzer’s family at first was just like any other, his parents loved each other and their children and they would do many fun activities together. As time progressed a change happened and his mother began to always punish Pelzer rather than any of the other children. The small punishments soon began to grow and become more and more serious. Soon, Dave’s father and siblings could not help him out of fear that their mother and wife would turn on them. Dave was banished to the garage where he would have to sit at the bottom of the stairs waiting until his mother called him to do his chores. Usually Pelzer would be starved for very long periods of time
First, David’s mother gave him enough courage to keep hope his father would be all right after the Nazis arrested him. Because their own house was no longer safe from Nazi invasion, David’s family was staying with friends. However, Nazis burst into the house they were staying in on...
A Child Called “It” is a story based on a real life little boy’s tribulations with his mothers shocking abuse. The first part of Dave's life was idyllic in his memory--he says his family was "the Brady Bunch"--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 punishment--at 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 The Mother, as David called her, in her drinking. He, too, knew David was a "good boy." He did not join in the abuse, but he did not to stop it, either. David was treated like a slave in his own home. His mother treated him as if he wasn’t even a member of the family like a nobody or an “It”. She first referred to him as, “The Boy, then it quickly changed to It”. Nobody at his school liked him, they called him "Pelzer Smelzer" because his mom never washed his clothes and made him wear the same thing every day. After school, o...
... Uncle Frank. Then I got out and watched him go down the tracks. He was going toward town…”. He chooses to tell his parents what he knows, or at least part of what he knows, about Uncle Frank. This shows that he is developing in the area of honesty. Before, David would have kept all this to himself, rather than face his parents with knowledge he knows will displease them.
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.
1. In the book, the father tries to help the son in the beginning but then throughout the book he stops trying to help and listens to the mother. If I had been in this same situation, I would have helped get the child away from his mother because nobody should have to live like that. The father was tired of having to watch his son get abused so eventually he just left and didn’t do anything. David thought that his father would help him but he did not.
A Child Called It depicts David Pelzer’s life and his incredible will of survival from an “It” to a man. David was emotionally and physically abused up until the age of 12, by his mother (Catherine) who was not only an alcoholic but a master of defamation. The cruelty David endured at the hands of his mother led him to believe he was nothing more than a worthless misfortune; he began to despise himself even more and started to believe that he was the cause of the abuse he suffered.
David growing up as a child lived in a house where there was no love shown or caring relationships. He grew up not knowing what good relationships looked like or felt like. David did not think too highly of his dad or aunt and always had
...g and filled with detailed solutions for each act of child abuse. The book allows the reader to visual themselves in each situation and knows how to react towards such each incident. It helped me understand why adults abused as children act the way they do when it comes to social interaction. Personally, I have attained new information that I was unaware of. In the beginning, I have always believed that child abuse only involved physical or sexual abuse. I did not know that emotional abuse actually existed. I was unaware of the fact that emotional abuse gravely affects children as they grow up. This book may open up the minds of people who are unaware of or refuse to believe that child abuse is occurring daily in our society because it is so informative and persuasive at the same time. If one needs to educate themselves concerning child abuse, consider this book.
Dave Pelzer’s book, “A Child Called It” (1995), discussed unforgettable accounts of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California’s history. The book is a captivating, yet intimidating journey through the torturing childhood of the author, himself. The child, David (Dave) Pelzer¸ was emotionally and physically tormented by his mother who was unstable and addicted to alcohol. He was the victim of abuse in his own home, a source of ridicule at his own school, and stripped of all existence. This book left me in suspense as I waited with anticipation for the end of this little boy’s struggle to live. Throughout this paper, I will focus on the events that took place in this book and discuss my personal feelings and the effects this story
March 5, 1973 started out as another horrible day for Dave Pelzer, his mother screaming at him to begin his chores. Dave was no ordinary child, he was abused horrifically by his mother. On this same day he was released from the clutches of his mother into police custody. Dave then uttered the words “Im free?” (pg 14) in displief that he was free from the evil in his life. This quote in the book shows how life altering his mother’s anger was on Dave. High levels of child abuse occur every year and have had mental and emotional effects on children, this essay is going to argue how cruel and life altering child abuse is. Foster Homes have saved children from child abuse for years, more than 6.6 million children suffer from child abuse each year.
Like all children, Dave Pelzer, the main character in the book “ A child called it” .He looked at his parents as great people and respectful .At first his parents to protect. His father was his hero or so he thought at first, Dave begins to notice a difference in his family since soon after many things began to change, in her family. Dave began to realize that things changed.When His relationship with her Mom drastically changed from discipline that developed into a kind of lifestyle that grew out of control.
The term child abuse was once as rarely heard as that of pink elephants. However rare the term has once been, it is now a term used consistently throughout the news and various other publications today. Along with the progressing decline in society's morals, has come the rapid increase of crime. One such crime is child abuse. Although child abuse is common, the act is defiling. As a result of the abuse, children who fall victim to this often need psychological treatment and counseling. Often, the child is never the same as he or she once was before. The dictionary defines child abuse as: "the physical, or emotional, or sexual mistreatment of children" (Dictionary.com). Everyday thousands of children are the victims of this abuse. The abusers range from parents, friends, total strangers, to even day-care workers.
But then, his mother changed. Slowly at first, but drastically. Her behavior became unusual and her drinking increased heavily. She became easily frustrated, and it seems that her biggest source of frustration was Dave, the loudest and wildest of her children. And thus, Dave's nightmare began. Pelzer is never clear on what caused this harsh change in behavior; most likely, he doesn't know and never will. Dave struggles to stay alive in a home where he treated basically like an animal and a slave. Catherine
David changes his mind about Uncle Frank through the traumatic experiences regarding the discovery of Frank’s secret actions. Uncle Frank used to be David’s idol and David adored him. But that all changed when David’s housekeeper and baby sitter, Marie Little Soldier, becomes violently ill and is in need of a doctor. Wes Hayden, David’s father, calls his brother Frank, who is the town doctor, to come and see her. Strangely enough, Marie Little Soldier refuses to be alone in the room with Frank. Later on, Marie tells David’s mother horrible things that Frank has been doing to Native American women. David’s mother, Gail, tells Wes as David overhears. She says, “ ‘Wesley, your brother has been raping these women. These girls. These Indian girls…’ [David states] I was beginning already to think of Uncle Frank as a criminal…Charming, affable Uncle Frank was gone for good'; (47, 49). David always thought goodly of his uncle, until he heard these ghastly statements. All the attractiveness and appeal of Frank dissipated once David learned of his filthy behavior. David knew this information would change him forever. He takes anoth...