GabbieNF

​ Gabbie

Gabbie Crawley Laurencot Non-Fiction Essay

Almost five children die everyday as a result of child abuse; more than three out of four are under the age of 4. Children who experience child abuse and neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violent crime. David Pelzer was a victim of child abuse, but none of these statistics apply to him. He was a survior of child abuse who came out on top, and did not allow his abuse to ruin his life. His book, __A Child Called "It"__, tells of his stuggles and abuse as a child. David Pelzer proves that all you need to make it through life is strength and courage and to never show your weaknesses.

Even as a child, Dave demonstrated great strength everyday and he dreadfully lived his life. His mother would make Dave sit in a freezing cold bath then sit outside on the cement porch in the dark, still drenched from his bath, for hours as the rest of the family ate dinner, watched tv, and just carried on as a normal family. He demonstrated great strength by not letting this effect him. He figured out that he did not want to be in there with his family, he did not want them as his family. So he sat there and as his brothers would bring their friends in to see their brother sitting in the bathtub freezing and as he sat outside in the backyard like the family dog in the P.O.W. position he was odered to, he just occupied himself with mind games and day dreamed about his substitute teacher. Another incident where Dave showed tremendous strength was when his mother decided to take his limited-food diet to the next level, by not feeding him for 10 days. Dave repeatedly failed to meet the unreasonable time limits his mother administered him to do his chores in, therefore, no food. For those 10 days, his mother tried extra hard to be sure that Dave received no food by clearing all the plates after dinner before he washed them, and sometimes gave the leftovers to the dogs. She also did he regular after-school checks by making him shove his fingers down his throat so he would throw up any food, if he were to have gotten any. To push through such punishments at such a young, vulnerable age showed that Dave really did have a great amount of strength, and everyone needs that to get through any tasks life throughs at you.

Dave did not show a lot of courage when it came to standing up to his mother, though he showed a lot of courage by not giving up as he trudged on day to day. Dave experienced many cruel and unusual punishments that would have put the thought of giving up on many peoples minds, but he just kept going. One especially cruel punishment Dave's mother performed on a regular basis was the gas chamber, which meant locking him in their bathroom with a concoction of Clorox and ammonia in a bucket in the middle of the floor. As the fumes circulated around the room, Dave collapsed and began spitting up. The fumes made his throat feel on fire and he stayed in the room for a half an hour until he mom allowed him to return to his room in the basement where he would spit up blood for an hour. Then there was another incident when Dave's mother said, "You've made my life a living hell! Now it's time I showed you what hell is like!" (page 41, A Child Called "It"). Then, she gripped his arm and held it over the flame of the gas stove as his skin seemed to explode from the heat. Then after she was finished with his arm and he was sitting on the floor crying, she ordered him to lay on the stove so she could watch his whole body burn, but Dave was saved when his brother Ron returned from school because his mother would never perform these punishments in front of her sons. Throughout his life, Dave showed many acts of courage just by not giving up or in to his mother, and dealt with the difficulties, dangers, and pains he was faced with everyday, which helped him become a survivor.

Not showing his weaknesses was one of the biggest tactics Dave used when facing The Bitch. One day, when David's alcoholic mother was yelling at him, as usual, she accidently, or possibly purposely, stabbed Dave in the stomach. His mother did not bring him to the hospital to recieve proper care, therefore, she dressed his wound as he layed passed out on the floor, and that was the only care that he recieved for his injury. During this time, Dave stayed strong. He continued to do his chores, only minutes after his mother stabbed him, as he was ordered by "The Bitch". It took him an hour and a half to wash the dishes as he pushed through the excrutiating pain. For the rest of the time he had the infected wound, he took care of it himself and held in his screams as he put himself through some of the worst he had ever experienced, because he did not want to give his mother the satisfactory of knowing that he needed her to assist him. Another example of him holding in all his feelings was as he got older, around the age of 11, he had totally disconnected himself from all physical pain. Whenever his mother hit him, it was like beating on a rag doll. Even though on the inside his emotions swirled back and forth between fear and intense anger, on the outside Dave rarely revealed his emotions. He held in his tears, refusing to cry because he did not want to give her the satisfaction of his defeat. Therefore, by not revealing his weaknesses, Dave was able to stay on top of the games that were being played.

Based on the many struggles and challenges a young Dave Pelzer had to deal with, it seems that by having strength and courage and by never showing your weaknesses, you can make it through anything if Dave made it through what he faced on a daily basis. The society in the Pelzer household was unlike any other. This book tells of one of the most unfortunate accounts of child abuse you will ever hear of, and it will teach you that their really is a whole other world out there that no one really knows about, and never would have even dreamed would be happening. You would never imagine such neglect occured, but one thing will definately stick with you, one thing that a mother said to her own child, "Get one thing straight, you little son af a bitch! There is nothing you can do to impress me! Do you understand me? You are a //nobody!// An //It!// You are nonexistent! You are a bastard child! I hate you and I wish you were dead! //Dead!// Do you hear me? //Dead!//" (page140).