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A Child Called 'It' by Dave Pezler Setting: 1-Russian River: The Russian river is a place in California where Dave and his family would usually go for a vacation. He remembers this place as a quiet and peaceful place. He remembers how he and his brothers would play, how his mother would to hug him, and how they would all watch the sunset together 2-School: School was Dave's only refuge away from his mother, and it was the only place he could actually get food and feel safe. Sometimes he would wish to stay at school forever just so he wouldn’t have to stay home with his mother. He dreaded holidays so much. His school was also a place where he felt loved by the nurse and put an end to his abuse. 3-Grocery Store: During breaks at school, Dave would run to the local grocery store and steal food. But this only lasted for a short period of time because he was caught. 4-Basement/Garage: Dave's mother would make him sleep in the garage in an old army cot. Sometimes it would get really freezing down there and he didn’t even have anything to cover him. Dad would occasionally sneak him scraps of food, but if he didn’t he would have to starve. 5-Bathroom This is where mother played many games of torture with Dave. She played 'Gas Chamber' which is a dangerous game where Dave has to stay in the bathroom with many different chemicals causing him to choke. She also made him swallow ammonia and made him sit in a bathtub of freezing cold water for hours. Main characters: 1. David: -Before Abuse: David is the author of this auto-biography. He lived the perfect life up until his mother took up drinking at the age of four. Dave enjoyed school and had a wide imagination. He lived a perfect life and was blessed with perfect parents. Everyday was a new adventure filled with fun. He loved his life and his family. -After Abuse: David came to believe that there was no god because "No just God would leave me like this" Pg.131. He had totally disconnected himself from all physical pain. He refused to shed a tear because he didn’t want to show his mother the satisfaction of his defeat. He no longer dreamed at night, nor did he have an imagination. He felt as if his life had no point "I no longer awoke in the mornings refreshed; I was tired and told myself that I had one less day to live in this world" Pg.
The resolution in the story becomes apparent once Dave realizes that he can communicate with his daughter if he just lets her be
Throughout the novel the characters are put in these situations which force them to obtain information about the people they thought they knew. The center of finding out who everyone is was brought into play through the death of Marie. The story is told by David, only twelve years old, who sees his family an community in a different light for who they truly are under there cover. By doing his own little investigations, often times eavesdropping, David saw through the lies, secures and betrayals to find the truth.
David was a young boy who got beaten everyday. He was very skinny, bony, and was beaten everyday. David wore threadbare clothing, he looked as if he hadn't changed or washed his clothes in months. This was the truth, his mother starved him and abused him. She never washed his clothes to embarrass him. This worked at first when people started making fun of him, but David got used to it. Bullies started beating the scrawny boy up everyday, it became a routine, but he was so frail and weak from being starved he couldn?t fight back. David looked muddled, he had a very terrible physical journey that made him mentally stronger.
The abuse had many negative effects on Dave physically. Dave’s mother accidentally stabbed him and wouldn’t go to the hospital to get him treated. This lead Dave to losing a lot of blood, which is never healthy, and being much slower in doing the chores his mother still made him do. Pelzer could not move much without intense pain so he did not finish his chores in time. When Pelzer didn’t finish his chores, his mother made him go without food. Not having proper nutrients made it extremely hard for Dave’s wounds to heal and after it finally healed, Dave still had a scar in the place he was stabbed. The physical impact of not being fed effected more than just not being able to heal the stab wound. When a child is deprived of food there are many negative effects. Dave was constantly hungry which lead to stealing food, stunted growth, loss of focus in school and desire to learn, and he became weaker and weaker. The situation Dave was in also lead to many psychological problems as well. After constantly being referred to as “the boy” and even “it” Dave began to believe these things about himself, that he was no more than just a boy and he didn’t have special talents or abilities that made him a worthy part of his family. Dave soon left that mindset but grew to hate his family, which isn’t very healthy for a child either. Dave had to develop a strong will in order to survive, which most children
When his parents divorced, his father was the one to move out of the house. When Jeff was 18, Joyce took David and left. Jeffrey was alone in the house with little food and a broken refrigerator until his father and his new wife found out about the situation and moved into the house.
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 her child as “It”. David’s father is caring and understanding, but cannot help David escape. The mother and father drastically change after the alcohol abuse. David also changes in his attitude towards his parents.
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.
Mother is introduced to us from “The Rescue” and we continue to learn of her tortures throughout the book. Mother is a woman who is angry, specially towards Dave, specially when he is in need of punishment. Mother does not take care of her appearance anymore, she walks around in robes all day, watches tv, never bothers to put on make up, and often smells of alcohol. She is vindictive, cruel and abusive, always barking orders, assigning impossible chores and coming up with more sickening ways to break Dave. Mother attacks Dave’s self esteem by making him repeat and believe that he is a bad boy. Dave’s self esteem deteriorates even more as she treats him worse than one would a dog, yet acts towards his brothers with care and affection and even goes on to teach them to look down on Dave.
As a child, David was unruly and problematic, but his loving parents tried very hard to keep him under control. His poor behavior seemed to intensify at age 14 when his adoptive mother died of cancer. Many people who knew David state that he “was especially attached” to Pearl Berkowitz (Hamill, James, Edmonds, Browne, Gottlieb, 1977). Subsequently, David became involved with crimes like, petty theft and bullying. It grew worse when his adoptive father remarried just four years after her death.
It was not just these influences but he also had a deep interest in science and chemicals. He was alone for the early part of his child hood because of his father’s work habits and his mother’s illnesses. This being the case, David found it easy to become engulfed in books but more specifically The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments. The Golden Book was a large factor in most of his early experiments, and even played a part in some of his experiments in the later years. This book contained many science experiments and different types of chemical reactions. He used this book as a guide to learn how different experiments work, and also showed David how he could create his own tests. Although his mother and father were not very supportive he did have one family member that was. His grandfather always backed him up and realized he had a love for science. Then, the boy scouts came along. His father saw this as a way to get David out of the house and create more of a social life. What he did not know is that David was using the perks of being a boy scout to obtain more chemical to further the needs for his
When Dave was younger him and his brothers, Ronald and Stan were happy in a normal family with a loving mom and dad, but as years passed things started to change. Dave’s parents became alcoholics. His father never came home and his mother had lost her brightness and love of life, resorting to alcohol to get through the day. She became miserable to live with. Although she became mean to the kids she focused her anger on Dave. At first she would pit his brothers against him or make him do many chores, but soon her meanness turned to hatred towards Dave.
ending where he decides to leave his house when everyone is asleep. Dave is also mad how everyone is treating him, and how all he ever gets do is work all the time and has never been given anything in his life. Dave is even mad at his family, especially his mother for ratting him out. He did not want to sell the gun and give the money to Mr. Hawkins as his father instructed him to do. He wanted to keep the gun because he wanted to ow...
which leads David to believe that he can't do that as long as he's gay. David
Not much is known about David's early childhood, but it is known that he was a solitary child. He enjoyed playing cowboys and Indians, war games, and other childhood games. He was a chubby kid, and got teased a lot for it. He was also very smart, in 1960; he was given an IQ test, and scored a 118, a “superior” level. One of his elementary teachers described him as a “moody child, very easily upset.” David loved to hide; his father gave him various nicknames like Sneaky, Snoop, and Spy. David loved sneaking through the house, trying to be invisible.
The story begins with Dave telling the reader a little about himself and his old job as a bouncer at a nightclub. He appears to be your average 40-year-old; he talks about providing for his family, playing with his kids, drinking with his buddies, and watching Fraiser. However, throughout the story, the reader gets a more and more in depth look into the mind of Dave.