Disha Sangani
Gregory
Period 6
1/22/03
David Pelzer’s conflict in A Child Called “It”
The memoir A Child Called It, by David Pelzer, is about a young boy who encounters terrifying incidences of child abuse by his own mother. He is on his own since no one is there to help him or save him from his mother. Without a doubt, David encounters his most terrifying conflict at age ten when his own mother stabs him on his chest; however, with his courageous spirit and quick thinking, he’s able to save himself.
The conflict initiates when his mother asked him to wash the dishes. She warns him to finish cleaning the dishes in 20 minutes otherwise she would kill him with the knife she had in her hand! Suddenly, his mother stabs David on his chest, and he starts to bleed heavily which eventually causes him to faint. After he wakes up, instead of taking him to the hospital, his mother tells him he now had 30 minutes to wash the dishes or she wouldn’t feed him at all! He goes to his father so that he can take him to the hospital but to David’s surprise, he tells him to go back in the kitchen and wash the dishes. As David washes the dishes excruciatingly, he realizes he needs to take control of the situation.