Child Abuse In The Life Of Dave Pelzer

Dave Pelzer was abused for many years enduring a stabbing and prevalent beatings of rage from his intoxicated mother. If that wasn’t enough in itself, neglected by his “hero”; the father who quite possibly could’ve been the only one who could save him. Pelzer was mentally and physically abused from ages 4-12 before his teachers put their livelihoods on the line to save him. He ranks the 3rd worst case of child abuse on California record. Davids only escape from his wasted mother was school and even there he was miserable. Having no friends, olden smelly clothes, scavenging for food and brothers who ignored your very existence made for a grim time. Despite his mothers “games” becoming progressively cruel , father never intervened in Dave's abuse

This made Dave’s situation significantly worse by not putting a stop to the “punishment”. Father trying to ignore what was happening when he was home caused Davids mental quality to degrade rapidly. There was a time when his father was his hope and hero, though now David had no one, leaving him to face his mother on his own.

Stephen, David’s father never exposed Catherine roerva, his wife of her abuse out of fear for how the community would view their family and him. David remembers his family being considered the “Brady Bunch of the 1960’s” before everything went bad. It is suspected that Stephens father wouldn’t have wanted that nor his perception of a hero (firefighter) to change. Stephen NEVER made any attempts outside the house to get help for his clearly

Trying so hard to keep something together that was falling apart came to an inexplicably egocentric conclusion. Dave's father had separated from his mother, saving himself but leaving Dave to be punished. After years of being ignorant to the abuse and harsh battles of words with Rivera, drinking away his issues was no longer effective. He had reached the highest point in which he could take leaving the only way left to go down. He was the epitome of bad parenting, arguably just as responsible for the cruel abuse as his wife. Comparable to a bystander and a bully but on a new extreme in terms of seriousness. This selfishness can be seen reoccurring throughout the years but, perhaps the most in his leaving conversation with Dave. “Father shook his head and said in a sad voice, I can't take it anymore. This whole thing. Your mother, this house, you, I just can't take it anymore. Before he closed the bedroom door I could barely hear him mutter,I...Im...Im sorry. “ His drinking and mental torment is to blame, not poor David who had to hear that he was part of his “hero's” downfall. Dave, neglected by his fearful father, brothers and many others who encountered him left him to deal with his issues for so much longer than