A Child Called “It”

1

This novel had a great impact on me and I learned a lot and felt a lot of emotions from reading this true story. An instance I recall is when David got stabbed by his mother on accident. When it happened she was actually caring and helped him that night and then when she thought he was alright enough to be on his own and to do his chores, then she returned to her normal self. She never even brought him to the hospital. I couldn’t believe when David told his father and he didn’t even have any emotion or concern for his son which to me is sad because when you have a child, your are supposed to give it care and love and help your child in the best way that you can. Both of David’s parents don’t really show any love or emotion no matter what happens to David throughout this novel.2

Another instance I remember is David’s mother deciding that David is no longer her son and doesn’t belong to her family and is only an “it” and he can’t associate with the family and he has to live in the garage. His mom has so much power over him and the rest of the family, she forbids David’s brothers to have anything to do with him and his father doesn’t dare to get on her bad side either. To me that is cruel and unusual to treat a child, a human being and the fact that she abuses him emotionally and physically just makes it worse. I had so many emotions during this novel but the sadness was probably the worst out of it all.3

The final instance from this novel I recall is when David is at school and is taken away by a police officer and doesn’t live with his mom anymore. The cop came to get him after getting a call from the nurse because she had seen the bruises on his body. When the cop comes to get David and places the call to his mother, telling her that he won’t be coming home and will be in care of the police department and at that time the cop tells David that he is free. He is so happy because that’s all he wanted for many years was to be free and he was overcome with emotion and started to cry. I felt like I wanted to cry too because that was such a great thing for David because he suffered so much from his mother. It was a new beginning for David once he was taken away from his mother.4

For many people who read this book, Dave was a great hero because he overcame what he went through and he wrote books about his experience and he made something of himself and is a great man today. I would have to say someone who has made me proud and who I would consider my hero would be my dad. I have many reasons why I look up to him and why I consider him to be an amazing guy and a special person and a hero to me.5

My dad is a great person because when I was only four, my brother was five, and my sister was two, my mom walked out on all of us leaving my dad to raise us on his own. At the time, we lived in Florida but shortly after my mom left, my dad packed up everything and we drove to Minnesota because it was where my dad grew up and he had some family he knew he could count on to watch us when he had to work. I can only imagine it was hard for him, having to work a full time job as a truck driver, raise three young children and pay the bills and that was all by himself. He didn’t get any child support from my mom for many years. So a lot of the money he made went to taking care of his kids. I admire him because even when he needed things for himself such as clothes, he would always put us first and buy us things we needed and even things we wanted. He would try to give us what we could and he wanted his kids to be happy and be able to have fun and to fit in and have what other kids have. We were a lot like other kids except for the face we didn’t have a mom. I learned from my dad to have patience and to never give up because I don’t know where we would be right now if my dad had decided he had enough and didn’t want to raise us anymore or buy us anything else. He has a lot of courage, determination, positive self-image and the strength to never give up, no matter what happens to him, or us. I know what it’s like only having one parent and when I have kids in my future I will try to give my best to my kids even if their dad leaves them like my mom did so many years ago. I know I’ll give them what I can and make them as happy as I possibly can. I also know I’ll never give up on my kids or myself because where would a child be if it’s not for their loving and brave parents. I missed a lot because I didn’t have a mom to be there for me but my dad made up for it by raising us the best he could for so many years. I admire my dad because he did a great job with raising me, my brother, and my sister and I know we all will do great with our lives, thanks to my hero: my dad.6