After reading only the first chapter of A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive it is clear why David J. Pelzer, the author of this memoir, has titled the story this way. Pelzer was constantly abused by his mother as a child, and never treated the same way as his two brothers. Pelzer was lucky if he ever had a decent meal. He would ravage through the trash can and dishes to eat any of the left over food on his brother's plates before his mother could see. But if she saw, oh he received a beating like no other. However, he would never stay on the floor after taking a hit, for his mother saw that as a sign of weakness, and beat him even harder. Pelzer was not treated like an ordinary human, but he was treated as an object, thus the first part of the title. Pelzer was merely a pet dog, better yet a barn animal to his opprobious mother. But it was his will to survive that kept him alive. He never gave up on life. Pelzer took the hits and got back up stronger than before. He refused to die. No stab, no punch, no shot, and no knock on the kitchen counter was going to keep this determined child from living his life. Although he lived with an alcoholic monster breathing down his back, watching his every single move, waiting for a mistake to pounce on him, Pelzer was able to persevere and become the successful award-winning author he is today. Very few people could have undergone the inhumane treatment that he received, but it was his courage to survive that carried him. This is why the compelling title of this story is so significant and appropriate.
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