A Child Called It1. In the book, the father tries to help the son in the beginning but then throughout the book he stops trying to help and listens to the mother. If I had been in this same situation, I would have helped get the child away from his mother because nobody should have to live like that. The father was tired of having to watch his son get abused so eventually he just left and didnt do anything. David thought that his father would help him but he did not. 2.
When David, was stabbed he went to his father for help. His father just told him to go back and to do the dishwasher. Father said that he would not tell Davids mother that he told but he should get back to work. 3.
The abuse that I thought was the most difficult was the gas chamber. He had to sit in the bathroom with the ammonia and it was really hard for him to breathe. The only reason he survived was because there was a vent in the bathroom. I think that I could have also survived this because I am good at getting myself out of bad situations. I can think quickly.
4. I think I probably would have given up when the mother stabbed me. I think it would have been too painful for me to care anymore. I would have suffered too much.
5. I think that the difference between 30 years ago and now is that it could be stopped now. David could have been taken from his mother to live somewhere else because she was not a fit parent. He could have lived with his father.
6. I think that his mother just randomly decided to abuse David. Since she was an alcoholic she did not always realize what she was doing to him. She also probably didnt want to do all the things around the house and thought it was too much to do so she had David do all the chores.
She punished him by doing dreadful things. 7. When the mother wanted David to lye on the stove and burn, David decided to see if he could trick her. He watched the clock and decided to see how long he could keep her from making him get on the stove until his brothers got home. He succeeded and from then on he decided that he would not give up and he would always try to outsmart his mother. He said that as long as he was alive, he would not give up.
8. I think that a lot of parents are really good at hiding that they abuse. They tell their children that they cannot tell anyone and I think that the child is too scared to say anything to anyone so nobody ever finds out about it and nobody can help the child. 9.
If David was sitting next to me in a classroom and I did not know that he was abused but he had cuts and other things I probably would not say anything to him. If I did know that he was abused I would tell someone about it and feel terrible. I would try and be friends with him because he already is having a hard time and its always better to have someone to talk to. 10.
If you think that a someone is being abused, you can call the USA National Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD or The Child Abuse Registry at (714)940-1000 or toll free at (800)207-4464. There are also many other Hotlines you can call if you suspect someone being abused. 11. It took me about 3 days to read this book. I really liked it because it taught me a lot about child abuse and how some kids really suffer.
I was so interested in this book that I just kept on reading. It also made me appreciate how lucky I am. I would like to read the sequel to this book.
