Child Abuse By Dave Pelzer: Chapter Analysis

Chapter 1 I find this very shocking a mother or any person in general would have such a cold heart to be treating their own child like this. The torture and the harm she has cause this boy can really damage him now and in the future. He’s so innocent and to get treated this way isn’t fair hoping he turns out to be alive. Dave is regularly beaten by his mother who drinks too much. He is often starved of food. He is told to say his bruises were the result of an accident, and with fear he listens. He is neglected in other ways; his clothes are old and torn, and he is not kept clean. The school authorities are well aware of the abuse, and he has been examined many times by the nurse. Up until now they have taken no action, and it is not made clear

He writes, “Mother can beat me all she wants, but I haven’t let her take away my will to somehow survive” (p. 4). This theme will be developed in the chapters that follow, as a counterpoint to the horrific story of child abuse. Chapter 2 The previous chapter was told from the tail end of Dave's abuse, when he was twelve years old. Now, the book flashes back to when Dave was a very young child, before the abuse even began. These two chapters differ from each other, as evidenced by the title of this chapter, "Good Times." This suggests that Dave separates his life into two distinct eras: the "good times," when his family got along and his mother loved him, and the "bad times," after his mother began to abuse him. This chapter also differs from the previous one in its tone and mood. The previous chapter employed a tone that was urgent and inspiring, as the gravity of the abuse that Dave has suffered sets in for both readers and for the teachers at Dave's school. Now, the tone makes an sudden switch to light hearted, happy memories as Dave remembers a time before his terrible

Dave's mother, Catherine Roerva, is one of the most interesting characters in this memoir–primarily because of the different ways she is presented before and after she began abusing her son. All readers know about her is what Dave chooses to tell us. In the first chapter, she was a mysterious, hostile figure who struck fear in Dave's heart, yet who he tried to defend because he was afraid of the consequences. Now, all of the sudden, she is characterized as a warm, loving woman, who treats her son well and cares about her family. These two personals juxtaposed leave readers with one main question at the end of Chapter 2: what changed? What made Dave's mother suddenly start treating him so poorly? How did she become an entirely different person? This chapter leaves readers for the worst, wishing that things could stay as happy and carefree as they were for these few pages, but knowing what the outcome will actually be. That Dave went from a beloved son to being treated like an animal makes his abuse even harder because at one point, his mother did seem to love