A Child Called It: Critical Essay

Introduction

'A child called it' represents one of the most heartbreaking stories which narrate the unfolding of events on the abuse which Dave Pelzer suffered from his drunkard mother (Pelzer 24). The story tells how Dave is recounting his struggles of coping with abuses he was subjected to by his mother which he was only capable of surviving through determination, faith as well as the kindness of the strangers (Pelzer 7). This paper, therefore, seeks to describe the types of abuses in the story, identify and also analyze the risk factors for the child and also the family members, describe the most challenging critical that i had to read with regard to my beliefs, values, and morals as well as analyzing a character from one theoretical perspective found in the text.

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The following are the types of abuses encountered in the 'child called it'. They include; Physical abuse: This can be explained in many ways based on the predicament that befall Dave. Dave was physically abused in many ways. His alcoholic mother had to force him into doing a lot of house chores which nobody else did them (Pelzer 28). He could not get a rest. In spite of being born together with other siblings; he was beaten repeatedly with no reason to do all those chores alone. This could affect the health of this child as he was subjected to a lot of child labor (Pelzer 28). Besides, the child was often beaten by his mother to an extend of inflicting injuries on him (Pelzer 26). This made his life hard as even the teachers and the nurse were worried when they could see scars all over his body (Pelzer 12). The school failed to prevent this as Dave's mother could not agree on these allegations. The more she was probed on this, the more she intensified the beating to her child. Not even the police could handle this as the mother did not agree on her mistakes. The boy could not withstand this as he wished that he could be in another place rather than his home (Pelzer 12). He could try to work hard in his home chores in an effort of trying to change the mind of his mother towards him, but the beating kept on intensifying. Another way in which Dave was physically abused is being stabbed by his mother on the stomach by a knife, an act which left him with a severe injury but he helplessly coped with this situation (Pelzer 52).

The second type of abuse that this child was subjected to is emotional abuse. This type of abuse originated mainly from home and extended further to school. Dave was alienated from his brothers (Pelzer 56). His mother could not allow him to play with them. He was forced to do all his activities with his brothers watching. He was even forced to accept a title of a 'bad boy' when he was not a bad boy (Pelzer 31). This child was emotionally affected by the fact that that he was forced to live like a slave in his own family (Pelzer 31). The child was also emotionally abused through being locked into a bathroom by his mother with a bucket which had ammonia gas (Pelzer 64). This suffocated him much as he could only save himself through paving into the vent to obtain some fresh air. This was a very inhuman act as Dave survived narrowly, a situation which affected him mentally. Besides, the child was also emotionally abused through being left out when the family was going for trips as his mother could not go with him. He could helplessly watch his brothers leaving for trips.

Moreover, the child was also abused emotionally through being discriminated and beaten by his classmates claiming that his body produced a bad smell. This affected him as he never felt school a safe place again (Pelzer 80). Lastly, Dave was also discriminated by his mother when it came to Christmas gifts as nothing was bought for him as his other brothers received presents.

Lastly, another type of abuse that Dave was subjected to by his mother is child neglect. Dave could hardly find food at home as his mother starved him. He could even take some days without food, a situation which forced him to eat from the garbage or steal from the grocery (Pelzer and David 12). He could also steal the other children's food in the cafeteria to avoid dying of hunger (Pelzer 31). The alcoholic mother could sometimes force this child to eat the leftovers (Pelzer 62). The child could not even have his school clothes washed as she looked dirty a situation which resulted in other children victimizing him. He could survive with very few clothes (Pelzer 9). Lastly, Dave's parents could not even take him to the hospital while he was sick. All these show how this child was subjected to neglect.

The risk factors for this child and his family included; the health of the child developing some complications out of the mistreatments which he received from his mother which could result in permanent physical deformities (Pelzer 29). The child was also risked from running away from home which could force him to drop out of school, a situation which could be a blow to his education. Some of the mistreatments that he underwent like being subjected to ammonia suffocation could affect his mental ability thus resulting in mental deformities (Pelzer 64). He was even risked from death. The child's family was risked from separating forever as the father of this child was tired of watching his son being mistreated by his mother. There was also a risk factor of development of wrangles in the family as Dave could not find peace with his brothers out of the hardship he had to undergo under their watch.

Based on my morals, beliefs, and values, the critical part which was challenging to read was the part where this young child was locked inside the bathroom in the presence of a bucket with ammonia and Clorox and being forced to breathe the fumes of the gases (Pelzer 64). This was the most terrible scenario as the two are poisonous gases meaning that the mother never wanted the child alive (Pelzer 64). Based on my values, this child could not have undergone this as it was inhuman and risked his life. It was a very terrible scenario that showed little care on the sacredness of life.

The interpersonal interaction theory can explain the character of Dave's mother. The mother of this child turned out to be a bully towards her child making their relationship sore. This mother is very abusive as she could drink to abuse the child through beating him and also mistreating him in many other ways (Pelzer 26). Based on this theory, this mother can be described as the one who sought null reasons of worsening her relationship with his child and between the child and his brothers. She was such a careless mother who could neglect her son while forcing him to become of a character which he wasn't as she forced him to become a bad boy (Pelzer 31). This was a kind of a mother who could provoke even her husband to anger thus resulting in their break-ups (Pelzer 29).

Conclusion

'A child called it' is one of the terrible stories which represent the situation some Childs undergo under the hands of their parents. The events of Dave and his mother can be used as a referencing point on some of the issues which were to be addressed to protect the rights of the children who are being abused worldwide. This calls for the swift measures to be taken towards ensuring that children are not exposed to powerlessness situations that tend to threaten their lives.

Works Cited

Pelzer, David. A Child called 'It': one child's Courage to survive." Deerfield: Health Comm (1995)