A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer A book called A Child Called “It” is based on real life experiences of the author, Dave Pelzer. This book is not easy to read, as it describes one of the worst cases of child abuse in California. The author is telling us his whole story; from his happy childhood in a complete family, through brutal abuse caused by his mother, and finally to be rescued by his teachers. It is hard to believe that anyone could abuse his or her child as Pelzer describes in his book. His mother, an alcoholic, was abusing him from the age of four until he was twelve years old. Actually, it all started innocently and without the beatings. The reason was quite understandable at first. The author said that he was a loud child who …show more content…
According to Freud´s theory, each stage is some fight which everyone must solve, otherwise frustration would show up, and it could result in an unhealthy personality with fixation in the particular stage. I believe that David Pelzer had to have had an extremely complicated conflict to solve in these particular stages, and in those which came after, furthermore it is highly probable that he could suffer from phallic or latent fixation. Finally, I have to emphasize that Freud believed that the development of our personality stops at the age of five, which means it should be considered a miracle that David Pelzer became a successful man with the abusing in his early …show more content…
Erikson´s theory is significant for giving one goal or theme in each stage which a child can achieve unless he or she wants to suffer a psychosocial crisis. Consequently, Erickson´s theory, in contrast to Freud´s, admits the possibility of solving the psychosocial crisis in a later age. It is without a doubt that David Pelzer had to suffer from a deep rooted identity crisis. The third stage occurs in the age of three to six years, and the main theme of this stage is initiative against guilt. Initiative, in other words independence, is the natural development for this age. In my country, children learn new things, start to act on their own, and are taken into kindergarten. In this stage, the most important part is the acting on their own, as children start to realize what to do in order to achieve their needs. If they are not encouraged in this exploration, they may become people who are ashamed of their
A Child Called “It” brings our attention to mental abuse that adults may inflict on a human being and in this particular case, a child. David’s mother respects the family’s dogs more than she respects her own son. The dogs are fed every day, yet she attempts to starve David. Although David has two other brothers, they learn to call him “the boy” and to pay no att...
He, too, knew David was a "good boy." He did not join in the abuse, but he did not 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.
'You are a nobody! An It!?(Pelzer 140). These were the raw, disheartened remarks that came from the disgusting coldhearted mother's mouth. These painful hurting remarks at her son was how the book got its title and that's what interested me in reading this book. A Child Called 'It', by Dave Pelzer, is a life-changing story about, a young boy who is starved, beat, and tortured by his mother and her cruel games, yet he manages to turn his life around when he grows up. This young boy uses his faith, self-discipline, and will power to overrule his mother's destruction and life damaging obstacles.
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
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.
A Child Called "It", by Dave Pelzer, is a first person narrative of a child’s struggle through a traumatic abused childhood. The book begins with Dave telling us about his last day at his Mother’s house before he was taken away by law enforcement. At first I could not understand why he had started at the end of his tale, but after reading the entire book it was clear to me that it was easier to read it knowing there indeed was a light at the end of the dark tunnel. This horrific account of extreme abuse leaves us with a great number of questions which unfortunately we do not have answers for. It tells us what happened to this little boy and that miraculously he was able to survive and live to see the day he left this hole which was his home, however, it does not tell us why or even give us a good amount of background with which to speculate the why to this abuse.
The traumatic effect of the physical, mental, and emotional abuse marked Pelzer’s life. Through a psychological point of view, it is visible that there are many ways the abuse affected David. David was mistreated in ways that made him wonder why. I was also left feeling perplexed and sometimes feeling frustrated, I wanted to know why David 's mother singled him out for her abuse. Then, I realized that this was the same frustration David has lived with most of his
According to Papalia and Feldman, an estimation of a tragic 905,000 cases were received by child protective services in response to about 3.3 million referrals regarding maltreatment within six million children in the year of 2006. One of the six million children include, David Pelzer. David, in his awe-inspiring novel, A Child Called It, takes the reader upon an unfortunate path as he reflects upon the deplorable life struggles he experienced from the cruel actions of his abusive alcoholic mother. Despite the never ending struggles throughout his daily life at such a young age, David learns to become resilient as time progresses. Keeping in mind that writing this autobiographical
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.
Dave Pelzer, also known as the child that was called “It.” An American author of several autobiographical novels including his most famous 1995 memoir A Child Called It, was actually the recipient of years of child abuse at the hands of his mother, Catherine. Reading his novels, you would think that such graphic content would only be fit in a fiction book, however, the reality of his mother’s so called “games” stands as a memory that Dave carries
Besides telling her child that she hated him and wished him dead Dave’s mother put him through tremendous physical pain and abuse. From a young child till the fifth grade Dave Pelzer had been made to sleep away from the family in the basement in a small army cot. He was starved for days and days on end. His mother longed for any time to severely beat him, it made her day, she would think of morbid things all day to do to him when he got home from school. Among many other things, Dave Pelzer was; stabbed, made to drink ammonia, bleach, and dishwashing detergent, made to sit in a bathroom for hours with many chemicals creating a small gas chamber, put in freezing cold water for hours with just his nose sticking out of the tub, burnt on an open fire on the stove, and made to eat his little brother’s dirty diaper. These were only some of the torturous things his mother could think of to do to her little boy.
...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.
The second stage is autonomy verses shame and doubt. This occurs from about 18 months of age to 3 years old. The basic virtue of this stage is will; can they do things on their own or do they require the help of others? Erikson believed that children around this age wanted to develop a greater sense...
The first stage, which happens between birth and 18 months, is trust vs. mistrust. During this stage, an infant is confused about the world being a safe place and wonders if his or her needs will be met. As a result, the infant looks to the primary caretaker for consistent care and hope that his or her needs can be met. Erikson explains that those that receive constant care during this stage will develop a sense of trust. The basic virtue in this stage is hope. The second stage of this theory is autonomy vs. shame and doubt, which happens between 18 months and 3 years. During this stage, there is an increase in mobility and independence. Erikson explains that it is critical to allow the child to explore their limits and allow failure. The basic virtue in this stage is will. Initiative vs. Guilt that happens between 3 and 5 years is the stage that follows. During this stage, children take more initiative to engage with peers. Erikson explains that during this stage if children are given the opportunity to take initiative, they will develop a sense of security in their ability to lead. The basic virtue in this stage is purpose. Industry vs. Inferiority, which happens between 5 and 12 years, emphasizes school and friendships. Erikson believes that during this stage, children will seek approval from others by displaying skills that are valued by others. Additionally, he believes that if
Erik Erikson was a developmental psychologist known for his theory on psychosocial development. Unlike other theorists of his time Erikson’s theory focused on human development across the lifespan from birth to late adulthood. Erickson believed that development change occurs through out our lives in eight distinctive stages that emerge in a fixed pattern and are similar for all people. Erickson argued that each stage presents a crisis or conflict which results in either a positive or negative outcome (Feldman). In this essay I will identify incidents in my own life that demonstrate each stage of development according to Erickson that I have lived through. I will also interview my Aunt Tami who will share her experiences for the remainder stages of Erickson’s development that I have not gone through thus far.