Analysis Of You Don T Know Me By David Klass

Everyone's family members should be the most important people in your life. They give eachother comfort and advice whenever they need it. Without a proper family, some people might not be where they are today. In “You Don't Know Me” by David Klass, John’s everyday life is shown through his own eyes. Throughout the book John’s perceptions on different things change a lot, but his perception on his family seems to be stuck in place until the very end. Because of how John is treated by his stepfather he generally thinks negative things about him. Johns opinion on his mother is a little mixed, but he still has negative opinions of her. While reading the book, the readers will constantly be brought into question for if Johns perceptions on his family seem fair, or if he is being a little to harsh just because of circumstances.

Johns stepfather, Stan, has moved in with his mother after his real father left him. He is involved in criminal activities and seems to be stressed out easily, so he takes his anger out on John which impacts him in a negative way throughout his life. John says that he doesn’t call the big bedroom his parents bedroom because: “He is not in anyway a parent to me, and never will be.”(Klass 82). Because of Johns constant abuse by Stan, he does not consider him to be a parent. John knows that a parent should positively impact his life rather than in a negative manner. After John was beaten by his stepfather he thought to himself: “It hurts to cry like that when you don't want to do it, in front of someone you hate.”(Klass 33). John basically feels uncomfortable sharing his emotions with Stan, because he knows that instead of making John feel better, he will put John down and gain pride from John