“A Child Called ‘It’”, by Dave Pelzer, is a novel about the author’s fight through a disturbing and abused childhood. The novel starts with Dave telling us about the last day at his Mother’s house before he was rescued by law enforcement. At first, I could not understand why he started the novel with the end of his story, but after finishing the novel, it was clear to me that it was easier to read it knowing there actually was a light at the end of the tunnel. Pelzer’s story tells us what happened to him and that unbelievably he was able to survive and live to see the day he left his horrible home.
Catherine Roerva Pelzer, Pelzer’s mother, is depicted as Mom, Mother, and The Bitch. Pelzer tells us about “Mom” soon after his chapter of “The Rescue.” He tells us about “The Good Times” when Mom and Father were a happily married couple, when him, his brothers and parents were all a normal family. Mom was a dedicated nurturer and housewife. She wore dresses, she always had makeup on, and she was always cooking delicious meals for the family. Mom would go out with her sons whenever father …show more content…
Pelzer stresses early on in the novel the theme of survival: “Mother can beat me all she wants, but I haven’t let her take away my will to somehow survive” (Pelzer 4). This was his thought in March of 1973, when his problem was finally about to end, although he did not know it was coming to an end yet. The nature to survive is obvious many times in the novel. Pelzer was a helpless child, and a lot of the time he knew what it meant to have hopelessness and to feel desperate. But in spite of this, he never stopped doing what he could to save his own life. Even when he was being deprived of food he worked out resourceful ways of getting the littlest bits of food. Pelzer even discovers how to take care of his own wounds after Mother stabbed him “accidentally.” Although he was beaten extremely badly, his motivation to keep going was never
Catherine Roerva Pelzer, Pelzer’s mother, is depicted as Mom, Mother, and The Bitch. Pelzer tells us about “Mom” soon after his chapter of “The Rescue.” He tells us about “The Good Times” when Mom and Father were a happily married couple, when him, his brothers and parents were all a normal family. Mom was a dedicated nurturer and housewife. She wore dresses, she always had makeup on, and she was always cooking delicious meals for the family. Mom would go out with her sons whenever father …show more content…
Pelzer stresses early on in the novel the theme of survival: “Mother can beat me all she wants, but I haven’t let her take away my will to somehow survive” (Pelzer 4). This was his thought in March of 1973, when his problem was finally about to end, although he did not know it was coming to an end yet. The nature to survive is obvious many times in the novel. Pelzer was a helpless child, and a lot of the time he knew what it meant to have hopelessness and to feel desperate. But in spite of this, he never stopped doing what he could to save his own life. Even when he was being deprived of food he worked out resourceful ways of getting the littlest bits of food. Pelzer even discovers how to take care of his own wounds after Mother stabbed him “accidentally.” Although he was beaten extremely badly, his motivation to keep going was never