Sociology
The book is an autobiography of David Pelzer. He writes about his struggle to stay alive in a home where he is treated like a slave and an animal. The book begins with the people at Dave's school finally report Dave and his condition to the authorities. The whole book is a flashback, except for the very beginning, when a policeman is taking the boy away from his mother, to freedom. His mother was the "perfect" mother, when he was younger than four. She taught them something new every day and took them on many fun family vacations. Then, singled out one of her children to be the family slave, but it didn't stop there. She also played cruel games, with the boy. Some of her favorites were the gas chamber, and the starvation tease. She played "games" with David; these games were sick and twisted. Although David had to learn how to cope and "play" these games in order to survive.
There were three main characters, Dave, (the boy,) his mom, and his dad. The writer makes me believe that these people are real by describing them in very fine detail.
I like Dave, because he seems really kind to everybody that he knows how to be kind to. Also, he tries to be honest, and is almost always hopeful and wishful. He is innocent, and smart. Here is a quote about him thinking about his relationship with his brothers:
"After the boys had carved their pumpkins, I could hear mother, in her soothing voice, telling them a scary story. The more I heard, the more I hated each and every one of them. It was bad enough waiting, like a dog, out in the backyard on the rocks while they enjoyed dinner, but having to lay in a cold bathtub, shivering to keep warm, while they ate popcorn and listened to mothers' tale made me want to scream."
As the book progresses so do the amount of abuse David receives from his mother. David was fortunate enough to remain hopeful throughout his abuse and was eventually taken from the custody of his...
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