Analysis Of A Child Called It By Dave Peltzer

Has a book ever made you sympathetic towards a character? A true story, A Child Called “It” by Dave Peltzer is the most heart wrenching novel someone could read. In the book, a little boy described his family to be perfect until his mother is diagnosed with depression and begins to drink. At the age of 4, Dave’s mother starts to abuse him and only him. His brothers never got to experience the bad side of their mother like Dave did because his brothers would abuse him as well. He had to wear the same clothes everyday, he did not get to eat dinner with the rest of his family and he had to sleep in the garage on a coat. Prior to reading this book, I was very uneducated about the seriousness of child abuse. Reading this book changed my perception

The sympathy I felt for Dave was so great, I just wanted to take him away from his mother and have him live with me. At times reading this book I got emotional because it is hard to read and visualize a 4-year-old boy getting neglected, mistreated and torn apart. One of Dave’s jobs was to clean the bathroom, his mother set up a bucket full of ammonia and Clorox then locked him in the bathroom. Later in the day he would cough up large amounts of blood due to the toxic fumes he was inhaling. This made me feel sympathy towards him because he was in a very dangerous and life threatening situation. He did not know anything but hatred from his family. This was so horrible to visualize the trauma he was experiencing while I was reading. Being abused certainly does a lot of harm to ones self-esteem. Growing up, Dave is going to think that it was his fault his mother abused him. Being abused could also cause depression. This is no way to live, especially if you are a child. Children are supposed to have fun and not have a worry in the world. Books like this create an emotional thread between the author and the reader because the author is telling, in detail, about his tragic life. This makes the reader visualize how it would feel to be abused as a child. It also shows the reader the how serious child abuse

For so long Dave’s teachers noticed something was not right with him. He would misbehave, come to school with bruises and lie. The teachers, administration and nurses finally caught on to what was going on at Dave’s house and reported the issue immediately. When Dave and his mother were questioned by administration, his mother would lie about his injuries; Dave would lie as well because he knew if he did not, the beatings would get a lot worse. Therefore, the school did not report anything to authorities. I believe that if a teacher notices a sign of abuse, administration should go above and beyond to figure out what is going on. They should also get the child immediate help. Children are not born to misbehave in such a way as stealing food from other children. There has to be a reason behind their actions and teachers should watch closely. This could change a child’s life forever. This also could give that child a second chance for a better