Weaponization Of Food In A Child Called It

The Weaponization of Food In the autobiography, A Child Called “It” by David Pelzer, the discussion of food and its weaponization is a common theme throughout. The novel follows the story of David and his fight to survive his mother, Catherine Roerva, as she grows evermore abusive and hostile. In what began as a seemingly perfect family, unseen horrors are happening in plain view. In her descent into alcoholism, she continuously uses food as one of her many means of torment and manipulation against David. The effects of this torture break him down to but a husk of his former self.

The first instance of withholding food is shown in the second chapter when David is denied his dinner and is instead assigned to do chores around the house when Catherine lies, and tells him he has been held back. This marks a stark change in what would become a spiral within her. From this point on, she becomes colder and colder with David, which transforms into physical abuse. The denial of food becomes a pattern when in chapter one, David says, “Mother enjoys using food as her weapon”. Which illustrates how this new form of punishment has become the norm for him. David knows her game, but is powerless to stop it. Her humiliating torture breaks him down as he decends from a son to a inconvenience.

For several days he would steal parcels from his classmates’ lunches. However, after noticing the missing items, he was eventually turned in to the principal, who informs his mother. This event leads to longer periods of starvation and more severe beatings. David then resorts to stealing frozen meals from the cafeteria, swallowing frozen hot dogs and tater tots as fast as he can. That afternoon, Mother discovers his thievery, and forces him to vomit, “Mother rammed her finger into my mouth, as if she wanted to pull my stomach