David Pelzer

Mothers are thought to cherish their children and protect them from harm, but one boy, David Pelzer, had to defend himself from his mother in order to survive. At a very young age, David started to get abused and tortured by his alcoholic mother.  Pelzer used his courage to get through, as a little boy, his mother's torturous games. Since a very young age, David’s mother quickly started to treat David as an “It” rather than a child. David’s abuse case was the worst in California history. In which his mother starved, poisoned, and stabbed him, along with torturous games. ChildHelp, the national child abuse website states that “Yearly, referrals to state child protective services involve 6.6 million children, and around 3.2 million of those children are subject to an investigated report” (ChildHelp). David put his childhood into a book to show awareness of the subject of abuse, he created, “A Child Called 'It'".

David as a babyhttps://www.bing.comDavid Pelzer used his trait of determination to stand up to the torture his mother put him through. David knew that if he could tell himself he is strong, he could withstand his mother and survive; in his book he includes, “‘Mother can beat me all she wants, but I haven't let her take away my will to survive..she could beat me only if I died, and I was determined not to give in’” (Pelzer 97). David said this aloud to himself to remind himself to push through the challenges he faced with his mother. He is trying to be positive in order to be determined, as he said himself. A hero is a person who tries to withstand and persevere through challenges instead of giving up. He portrayed this by saying to himself that he can survive.  Determination is portrayed again when he gets stabbed by his mother and tries to persevere, “‘You cry, you die, now take care of that wound. I realized that the injury probably isn't life-threatening; I brainwashed myself to block out the pain’” (Pelzer 97). As a child going through experiences as harsh as being stabbed, it shows how he uses his determination to survive. Pelzer told himself that to tell himself he was fine and to not give up. A hero pushes themself past the challenges that stand in their way. David did just that while dealing with a wound, this shows his heroic actions. And so, David tried to push through the challenges he faced and defeat his enemy, who in this case, was his mother.

Diligence was a significant trait David had during his childhood to defeat his mother and her games.  David mentions in his book about how because his mother wouldn't feed him, so instead of just dealing with starvation. David made a move, which was to steal food from the school cafeteria. Unlike most children, David, at a very young age, learned how to use his head and think thoroughly about each plan he made to survive. “My next idea was to rip off frozen lunches from the school cafeteria...I timed my restroom breaks so that the teacher excused me from the classroom just after the delivery truck dropped off its supply of frozen lunches.” (Pelzer 63-64). David didn't ignore the problem, he took action, which is what a hero should do. Most elementary school kids could not be able to think out an idea as thorough and diligent as David could. He didn't have a choice; it was either find a way to survive even if it is illegal or let his mother win. David's diligence was used most when he needed to find a way to eat food, so he planned out a scheme by stealing food at the grocery store. “I knew it would take longer to go from the school to the store because there was a hill, so I allowed 15 minutes. Coming back downhill would be easier, so I allowed 10 minutes. This meant I only had 10 minutes at the store” (Pelzer 59). David is showing how he used the diligence he had to figure out consciously how to get to the store to steal food so he could eat. Typically, kids would try to find the easy way to get what they want. Also, this showed he used the diligence he developed to find a way to eat, rather than giving up.  Even though David’s mission was risky, Pelzer didn't give up he used his courage to complete the plan. David's diligence constructed his heroic self since he used his ability to create well thought out ideas at such a young age, which showed motivation and heroism to defeat his mother.

Davi Pelzer Now https://www.bing.comDavid Pelzer displays determination and diligence during his childhood with his abusive mother, therefore, makes him a hero. David Pelzer motivated himself to keep fighting through the dramatic abuse his mother put him through. Pelzer inspires me and others because although he went through an extremely tortuous childhood because of his family, he still tried to persevere and win the challenges he faced, instead of giving up. He had no support or help, so by having courage, determination, and diligence, Pelzer fought through his rough childhood and his mother and survived. This shows that in any situation that seems impossible, it is always possible. David Pelzer’s actions motivate others, which is the real meaning of a hero. On top of that, he also brought awareness to abuse. Instead of ignoring his childhood and not talking about it, he shared a very personal part of his life to the world so the audience can understand what abuse is, from the words of a victim. David Pelzer's story shows the world the perseverance he has as a hero who has been through an abusive childhood. He shares his life and expresses that no matter the challenge a person going through, they can always defeat it and survive. Most importantly, he uses his book to communicate that he was able to save himself and educates others by spreading how abuse can destroy someone. Pelzer shows that by speaking up for an abused child and by having determination and diligence towards abuse, can save a life.

Works Cited:

Child Abuse Statistics.” Childhelp, www.childhelp.org/child-abuse-statistics/.        

Pelzer, Dave. A Child Called "It". Health Communications, 2015.