A Child Called It
by Dave Pelzer
TOPIC(S) and/or EVENT(S)
1.
What my book is about a child Dave, who was
brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother.
A mother who played sick cruel games. Games that left him nearly dead. Dave learned
how to play his Mother's games in order to survive because she no longer
considered Dave a son but a slave, and no longer a boy but an "It."
2.
Why I think the author wrote this book was for
society to see what kind of abuse some kids go through. So that others can see
his story and so they know what really goes on in some peoples lives.
3.
Why I chose this book was because I have been
wanting to read it for a while now and others have told me that it was a good
book. What caught my attention about this book was all the things
that happen to him and I wanted to read it because to me it seems
so inhuman that a person can do that to their own son. What made me want
to keep reading it was his willpower and how he never gave up.
4.
What I found realistic about the book was that
there is abuse, and there is abuse going on all the time. I made some
connections to this book because I know of some people that were abused as kids
in Mexico.
PEOPLE
1.
This book is the story of the author’s horrible
childhood and this book is based on his observations. What the author’s
choices said to me was that he did what he did for him to survive another
day. I think the author chose to write about this because he wanted to show a
problem that some kids are going through.
The authors tone was very depressing.
2.
Dave was a kid that was fairly skinny due to the
fact that his mother didn’t feed him and when she did it was scraps and rotten
things. He also had the same clothes and didn’t get the privilege of taking
showers. He was that kid at school who was the outcast. His mother was an alcoholic
and an abusive parent. She didn’t treat him like a son but rather like a slave.
3.
What made these characters interesting enough to
write about was all of the things that happened to Dave and the horrible things
that his mother made him suffer.
MORE ON CHARACTER/PEOPLE}
1. When
his mother made him eat his own through up. This is an example of indirect characterization.
An example of direct characterization is when his mother put Dave’s arm on the
stove and caused him a burn.
2. The
author’s syntax and diction did change when he talked about the characters rather
than the setting.
3. The
protagonist is a well-rounded character.
4. After
reading this book I felt like I met a complete new person and they were telling
me their story. The whole book was something new and was very sad.
STYLE
1. The
author used a journalistic type of style. He would say like for example the
summer of 1971.
2. He
would mostly focus on the characters and their actions.
3. He
would use his mother’s cruelty to create a tone for each chapter.
4. The
author’s attitude towards the characters was hatred and disappointment at the
end.
5. It
didn’t offer any resources.
ENDURING MEMORY
Something that I will remember for a long time is the
way that his mother treated him. That was something so cruel to me. I honestly don’t
know how a mother can be like that to her own son. Like giving him cold baths and stabbing him,
and right after making him wash the dishes. That is something that I will remember
for a long time.
LAST-MINUTE
BONUS QUESTION
What they key people learned in my book was the way
to survive. Dave found every way to survive everything that his mother Catherine
threw at him.
