The end

David's childhood was definitely one of the roughest I have heard of. I believe that this book allows people to be aware of how common abuse is in our society. David got to the point where even his father being around wouldn't help. He wouldn't even stand up for him anymore, but instead was like everyone else in his family and pretended he didn't exist. His mom was always making new challenges for David. He never knew what to expect. She started this thing of locking him in the bathroom with a poison, made up of ammonia and another chemical. He learned to cover his face with the rag and put his head near the vent on the floor when it was on. His mother though got smart enough and began throwing the rag in the bucket and turning the vent off. He would end up coughing up blood for hours. It got to the point that even in school no one cared about him, and they were all mean to him. Though David was happy while school was going, because he was always guaranteed at least one meal. During the summer once he went without food for ten days. When ever his family went to his old favorite vacationing spot he was left at home or when he did come he was stuck inside with his mother and his new baby brother. One day in fact David's mother made him eat his baby brother's poop out of his diaper while his dad and brothers' were out side playing.

The archetypal setting in A Child Called "It" was mainly a "cave" which in the book was the basement. When he is sent down there he dwells on his life, how to out smart his mom, and how to get food. If you wanted to really use your imagination you could say the rest of the house is the sea, because it is chaotic around his mom. David as an archetypal character may be best described between an innocent embarking on a journey (trying to figure out how best to survive and change his life) or an orphan, because he is unwanted and more like a slave. Then the mother would be more like a wicked stepmother or you could even go as far as to say David's mother is like a king, because she expects immediate obedience. Finally the archetypal actions/events in the book would be all three. First it was a journey, because he is an innocent embarking on a journey to get away from his life as a "slave". It is also a Rites of Initiation due to the reason that he deals with the parent fights often and goes through a lot of trauma after being unwanted and abused by his family. Although it is Sacrificail Rites too, because his journey fails, and he does things he is not supposed to.

http://www.bookrags.com/A_Child_Called_"It"
This link will be helpful if you haven't read the book and can't understand my writing, or are interested in the novella. It gives you the summary, theme, styles, quotes, etc. This website is very interesting and helpful.