Child Abuse
Laurnece Perrine once said, “ Literature, then, exists to communicate the significant experience”. A Child called "It" is an emotional story about a young boy's feelings about when his drunken mother physically and mentally abused him. It is an unforgettable true story about one of the most severe child abuse cases in the state of California. Dave Pelzer's autobiography describes his feelings about his mother, and all of the sick things she does to him." In the coldness of the garage, my entire body trembled from both the cold anger and intense fear. I wanted to scream, but I refused to give Mother the pleasure of hearing me cry." Dave suffered for years. Catherine Pelzer was once a wonderful Mom, but a serious drinking habit and illness took over her life. She would hit, slap, burn, starve, poison-anything to hurt Dave. Dave had to lie to anyone at school who asked about any bruises or cuts. His mother, of course, didn't want anybody knowing what was going on. One time she said, " Tell 'em you ran into the door." He felt so alone, and had no friends at school. People always made fun of him. "David the Food Thief" and "Pelzer-Smellzer" were two of the playground favorites. Personally, I think child abuse is horrible and destructive. I always knew that child abuse existed and that it was real. However reading Dave Pelzer's account of the very damaging childhood he endured almost made me cry because I never thought that a mother could be so mean to her own child and go as far as trying to poison them. How do you do something like that to a child, to your child? I cant say that I know what it is like to be in that situation but after reading something like that it makes the reader want to keep their eyes open for a friend or any loved one. And for the people who have been in that situation or still is, this book gives you hope for the future and helps you keep your head up high. "Mother can beat me all she wants, but I haven't let her take away my will to somehow survive."
David Pelzer’s experience is also significant because although people are aware of child abuse, many times they don’t help right away until it becomes really serious "The secretary leads me into the teachers'...