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.

The second part of the book

The second part of A Child Called "It" dug deep into the abusive childhood of David Pelzer. He goes on to explain how his mother went crazy and abused him. After a while it got so bad that he was called "The Boy" and wasn't even part of the family anymore. David was even sent to the basement to sleep on a cot with no blanket. The only time he felt safer is when his dad or other people were around. David's mother even burned his arm on a stove and was going to make him stick his whole body on there, but he outmaneuvered her and bought himself enough time for his siblings to get home. His mother would do very cruel things to him, but not his other brothers. One example of this is David couldn't eat breakfast unless he finished his chores his mother would make up for him to do with an impossible time limit, he had the same crappy lunch every day, and no dinner. He though was forced to clean up after their dinner, but her mom would do things like poison the leftover so he couldn't eat it. She would always beat him, but his will to live and not back down to his mom is what kept him alive. She once even "accidentally" stabbed David in the stomach. Another point in the story she even went as far as to not buy him new clothes so he always wore the same clothes, he couldn't shower, and he couldn't look at his family members without his mother's permission. So far the book is a heart wrenching real life story.

My Reading History

To me, reading is a time of peaceful solitude. My favorite time to read is late at night before I go to sleep, but I also tend to read whenever I am bored which is often. I have read so many books that I refuse to type them all and there is none in particular that I feel anyone reading this needs to necessarily know. I really don't have a favorite book. I am fond of mysteries and books similar to Twilight. I suppose I will read anything that is put in front of me that I can understand, this only includes modern English. In addition to I prefer to read novels that have an intense beginning and continue to hold my attention throughout the entire book. I carry on being my nerdy little self and read often.

I don't really have a least favorite book. The books I least like are those that are in old English. I don't understand the point of students having to read these books when no one even talks that way anymore. I do realize that it is an important factor in our history, but why can't we put it in a language that everyone can understand? Beyond that I am really not picky on which books I prefer it tends to be a little on the random side.

The beginning

A Child Called "It", by Dave Pelzer was published in 1993. The book is interesting if you take pleasure in depressing novellas that go into detail on abused kids. Having said this, I thoroughly enjoy the short book thus far. In the first fifty pages it is hard to tell what the main character, David, has learned seeing how it is just introducing his childhood. David seems to not comprehend why his life turned upside down, just the fact that it did. The first chapter the conflict is getting away from his mother's abuse, but in the end he is free from his mom. The second chapter on the other hand is just an introduction. So it is confusing on why is life is so bad this far into the book.

http://www.davepelzer.com/ - This website explains the author's life and gives you a better understanding of his writing and why he writes.