A Child Called It Sparknotes

A Child Called It, “Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.” The memoir begins in 1973, with Dave Pelzer, a fifth-grade student living in Daly City, California, doing his daily chores for his mother, Catherine. Catherine hits Dave, and Dave thinks about all the abuse he’s experienced at her hands since first grade. Psychological, physical, and verbal abuse Dave has encountered from this repulsive woman over the years. At school, the nurse notices the many bruises and scratches on Daves's body and alerts the principal, who calls the police. A police officer takes Dave away, and Dave initially thinks he’s being arrested. However, the officer informs Dave that he is finally “free”

First, Dave Pelzer is the protagonist and narrator of A Child Called It. He is a survivor of child abuse. During the years of living with his mother, she beats him, burns him, and subjects him to many cruelties. He goes through trauma in many forms, and if it was not for the nurse at his school, he maybe would not have survived this abuse. Second, in Dave's life, the nurse is one of the only adults kind to him. She treats him with understanding and care. The nurse is the first person in the book to recognize that someone is abusing Dave and she plays a big role in bringing the police's attention to Dave's condition. Third, Catherine Rovera Pelzer. She is the antagonist of the book. For years, she abuses her son, for reasons that are never made clear. She hits him, burns his arm, forces him to eat, forces him to vomit, starves him, and even stabs him. Catherine’s actions are the reason this horrifying book was

The biosocial theory is the thought of a link between biological and physical factors that makes you more or less likely to commit a crime. This theory means the worse conditions you grow up in, the more likely you are to commit a crime. This book contradicts this theory. Dave grew up in the worst of conditions. He was abused daily, mentally and physically by his mother. He grew up not only to be the opposite of her and only treat his child with care and love, but he is an advocate for child abuse and helps to stop it daily. Dave grew up and beat this theory. He is no criminal. He helps to make the world a better