Literature Analysis #2

Cristal Espindola

December 3, 2013

English 2

Mr. Ostini

Literature Analysis #2

1. Exposition: In Pelzer’s real life story entitled A Child Called “It” he tells a story about a boy who was beaten and starved by his alcoholic mother. David Pelzer was the son of Catherine Roerva and Stephen Pelzer. He lived with his parents and four brothers Richard, Ron, Stephen, and Kevin. David has a great life but it slowly starts changing.

Rising Action: David and his family take trips every summer. David plays with his brother and he stays up too watch cartoons with them. There a happy family who get along with each other and are very close; however, things start to change. David’s mother starts slowly singling him out and starts punishing him.

Climax: David was practically the family’s slave. Only David got treated like this not his brothers. David’s mother decided that David wasn’t doing his job right so she stabbed him. She made David continue his chores and acted as if nothing had happened.

Falling Action: David continues to get tortured and not feed by his mother. He starts stealing food at school because he doesn’t get any at home. This led him to moving schools. David got picked on by his classmates and was bullied. Things were only getting worse for him.

Resolution: He continues to get beaten and tortured. Is there hope for David? Will things get better? Does he end up dying? Find out by reading this amazing book.

2. The theme of this book is neglect and survival. I say its neglect because his mother says, “You are a nobody! An It! You are nonexistent! You are a bastard child! I hate you and I wish you were dead! (Pelzer.140) It’s also survival because David says, “Mother can beat me all she wants, but I haven’t let her take away my will to somehow survive” (Pelzer.4) David Pelzer wrote this book to let the reader see a different perspective on how life is for children who are abused. He also wrote it to show that after many downfalls and living in a dark place, there is still hope for a better tomorrow.

3. I chose to read this book because my best friend told me she loved it. The title of the book made me question was it was entitled that, so I chose to read it. I continued reading it because I was curious to find out why David was tortured and if he did anything to stop it.

4. This book is realistic; it’s the life of the author, David Pelzer. I didn’t make connections to how David was tortured by his mother; however, I made connections to the way he was feeling. While reading the book I felt as if I was there with him because the language used in this book was powerful. David Pelzer did an amazing job expressing himself.

5. The tone in A Child Called “It”, is wisdom, anger, and worried. A tone I chose was wisdom because David says, “As a small child, I probably had a voice that carried farther than others. I also had the unfortunate luck of getting caught at mischief, even though my brothers and I were often committing the same ‘crime’” (Pelzer. 29). This explains how David knew what was going around him and he also found out ways to avoid his mother at times. Another tone I chose was anger, I chose this because David Mother says, “You have made my life a living hell … Now it’s time I showed you what living hell is like!” (Pelzer. 41). David’s Mother has a lot of hate toward David, the same way David has a lot of hate toward her. The last tone I chose was worried because David says, “She told me that if I didn’t do the dishes on time, she . . . shed kill me” (Pelzer. 89). David never knew what his mother was going to do next to torture him, he was always worried.

6. Imagery: “SMACK! Mother hits me in the face, and I topple to the floor (Pelzer.3).

Imagery: “Another blow pushes my head against the tile counter top” (Pelzer.4).

Imagery: “I visualized every inch of the hamburger. The meat dripped with grease, and thick slices of chesse bubbled on top. Condiments oozed between the lettuce and tomato” (Pelzer. 48).

Flashback:”In the years before I was abused, my family was the “Brady Bunch” of the 1960s” (Pelzer. 17).

Flashback: “Back then our house was full of pets-cats, dogs, aquarium filled with exotic fish and gopher tortoise named “Thor”” (Pelzer. 20).

Flashback: “We lived in a modest two-bedroom house…I can remember looking out of our living room bay window on a clear day…”(Pelzer.17).

Irony: “Mother was as solid as a rock” (Pelzer. 50).

Metaphor: “The garage was colder than a winter night” (Pelzer. 76).

Simile: “My stomach was growling at me like a animal” (Pelzer.81)

Personification: “It felt like all the merchandise on the self was talking to me at once telling me to steal them” (Pelzer. 68)

Characterization 

1. Direct: “I knew she was going to kill me, if not today, tomorrow. That day I wished my mother would have mercy and kill me quickly” (Pelzer. 153).  Direct: “I knew if I wanted to stay alive. I would have to think ahead. I could no longer cry like a helpless baby” (Pelzer. 43).
Indirect: David’s mother says, “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!” (Pelzer. 140).Indirect: David’s mother says, “You are all mine now. Too bad your father’s not here to protect you” (Pelzer. 152).

       2.   The author’s syntax didn’t change when he referred to the character.
3. David is the protagonist, in the book, A Child Called “It”. David is a static and       round character because throughout the book he stays the same. He’s always scared of his mom and is worried in what way he’d get torture next. David is a round character because the book is first-person, so the reader knows a lot about him.
4. After reading the book, I felt as if I met the character. Not only as if I met him, but while reading the book I felt that I was there with David. The author of this book, David Pelzer, did an amazing job and had a way with his words that made me feel as if I were there with David going through the struggles. It honestly made me cry.
Enduring Memory
I will always remember when David’s mother told him, “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!” (Pelzer. 140). This is important because I think for a kid to hear this, it would scar him forever. With this quote David Pelzer made me have hate toward his mom, so it was very powerful. Another quote is “Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul” (Pelzer. 98). Pelzer’s childhood was very dark and negative. This quote is my favorite.