David st ayed at home since child unt il 12 years old. Next , he cont inued his life in fost er homes from t he age of 12 t o 18 aft er survived from home. Then
he spent his adult hood in larger societ y environm ent . From t hose t hree different environment s, he shapes his behavior and at t it ude.
1. Home Environment
Family is t he first communit y t hat one meet since born. Fam ily usually consist s of fat her, mot her, and child. Fam ily has import ant role in shaping
one’s behavior. The family environment can influence one’s behavior negat ively or posit ively.
It also happens t o t he m ajor charact er David. He get s bot h posit ive and negat ive influence in fam ily environment .
David’s life st art ed out w ell. He lived in Daly Cit y, California, w it h his mot her, fat her, and t w o brot hers. In t hese very early years he said it w as full
of love.
In t he years before I w as abused, m y family w as the “ Brady Bunch” of t he 1960s. M y t w o brot hers and I were blessed w it h t he perfect parent s. Our
every w him w as fulfilled wit h love and care ACCI: 15.
Soon, how ever, t hings t ook an aw ful t urn for t he w orse. This mot her’s discipline t urned int o punishment t hat grew out of cont rol. The
horrendous abuse he suffered at t he hands of his alcoholic, ment ally dist urbed mot her nearly killed him.
M y relationship w it h M om drast ically changed from discipline t hat developed int o a kind of lifest yle t hat grew out of control. It became so bad
at t im es, I had no st rengt h t o crawl aw ay – even if it meant saving m y life ACCI: 21.
David grew up in a home w it h an unloving mot her, a fat her w ho refused t o deal w it h his ow n son’s mist reat ment and brot hers w ho saw David
as t he household maid. It w as not unt il t he love of a t eacher t hat David finally escaped t he abuse of his ow n mot her.
I hated M ot her m ost and wished t hat she were dead ACCI: 78.
David really hat ed his mot her because she abused him by any w ay she t hinks unt il David nearly dead. Therefore, he hopes for mot her’s deat h
and he can free from mot her’s t ort ure.
I also hat ed Fat her. He w as fully aw are of t he hell I lived in, but he lacked t he courage t o rescue m e as he had prom ised so m any t im es in t he past
ACCI: 79.
David also hat ed his fat her because fat her only did not hing w hen he saw w hat mot her did t o him. He had ever prom ised t o rescue David but he
never perform his promise.
The boys w ho lived upst airs w ere no longer my brot hers. Som et im es in years past , t hey had m anaged t o encourage m e a lit t le. But in t he sum m er of
1972 t hey t ook t urns hit t ing m e and appeared t o enjoy t hrow ing t heir w eight around. It w as obvious t hat t hey felt superior t o t he fam ily slave
ACCI: 79.
His siblings w ere also annoying David. They join t o mot her’s game t o underest imat e him and hit him.
David had experienced in abused by his mot her for eight years.
The eight years of const ant t ort ure have sucked my life force out of m e AM ND: 10.
When David w as nine years old he suffers from his mot her’s t reat s. He is t orment ed in t hat house as a child. It becomes a prison t o David.
His t eachers at school called for police t o free him .
The officer smiles w it h relief, as we leave t he cit y limit s. “ David Pelzer,” he says, “ you’re free.” ACCI: 13
a. Significant Ot hers
The most influent ial in shaping his charact er since at home w as his mot her. His fat her only gives him lit t le influence. Beside t hat , t he
aut hor only ment ioned a lit t le about school especially about his t eachers. In t his environment most ly David spent his t ime w it h his parent s.
Because of t hat reason t he lesson t hat he learned most ly comes from t hem, especially his mot her, from her he learned many t hings t hat
import ant affect ed in his behavior. 1
Cat herine Roerva M ot her Roerva w as a mot her of David. She w as a homemaker and an
alcoholic w ho st art ed abusing David w hen he w as four years old.
Once, w hen I was four or five years old, M om said she w as sick, and I rem em ber feeling t hat she did not seem t o be herself at all ACCI:
15.
Roerva played t ort uous and unpredict able games t hat left David nearly dead. She considered David no longer as a son but a
slave; no longer a boy, but an ‘it ’.
By t he t ime I w as eight , m y name w as no longer allowed t o be spoken. She had replaced “ David” w it h “ The Boy” . Soon The
Boy seem ed t oo personal, so she decided t o call m e “ It ” ACCI: 9.
M ot her is port rayed as ugly bot h physically and emot ionally. She is over-w eight and t akes no int erest in her appearance. Far
w orse, she is vicious and physically abusive of David. She made David w ash dishes in scalding w at er, unable t o remove his hands.
Roerva w as ment ally ill. She w as a hit t er. Roerva made David eat his brot her’s feces, drink ammonia, and w ould hold his arm over a
gas st ove. She really hat ed David and absolut ely w ant ed David die. It can be seen from m ot her’s st at ement :
“ if you don’t finish on t im e, I’m going t o kill you” ACCI: 51
Physically, she w as seen t o an evil person but she usually w ore black glasses t o hide her evil face, and show n everybody t hat she w as
regal. Besides, she had dark yellow t eet h. She planned everyt hing against David.
Above m e The M ot her st ands poised, revealing her yellow t eet h and putrid, st eam y breat h AM ND: 46.
Socially, she seemed t o cont rol t he ot her. It could be seen w hen she forced her husband t o keep silent , and t o ignore David.
Ot herw ise, mot her didn’t w ant t o be cont rolled by ot hers.
M ot her now had com plet e cont rol over everybody in the household ACCI: 61.
At home, David’s life is like in hell because he get s t ort ure
from his mot her. His mot her alw ays asks David t o do chores. One lesson t hat can be t aken from mot her is t hat M ot her’s order must be
performed. If David doesn’t do it properly, he w ill get punishment . He also must obey all t he rules she makes. Breaking t he rules means
punishment . Therefore, he became obedience t o mot her. 2
St ephen Joseph Fat her St ephen w as a fat her of David. He is t all and has w ell build
body w it h m uscle and black eyebrow s.
He st ood about five feet t en inches t all, and he w eighed about 190 pounds. He had broad shoulders and forearm s t hat w ould m ake
any m uscle m an proud. His t hick black eyebrow s m atched his hair ACCI: 15.
He w orked as a fireman in San Francisco. He is heroic. As a fireman, his job is t o save people’s life from fire.
M y fat her, St ephen Joseph, support ed his fam ily as a firem an, w orking in the heart of San Francisco ACCI: 15.
He also prot ect ed David carefully. He loved his son very much. But unfort unat ely t he mot her cont rolled him in everyt hing. His once
rigid shoulders w ere now slumped over, because of his habit of drink.
Fat her becam e m y prot ect or ACCI: 23.
His years of drinking and t he st rained relat ionship w it h his w ife have t aken t heir t oll on him. And t he w ife made him a beat en
man. St ephen refused t o deal w it h his ow n son’s mist reat ment , and brot hers w ho saw David as t he household maid.
He ignored David and event ually left , leaving David alone. Aft er leaving t he broken home, St ephen physically became w eaker
and w eaker. Socially, St ephen w as a good hard w orker. He had so many
friends. He ret ired early for he faced many t roubles in his life t hat made him useless. His habit s of drinking dest royed his ow n life.
David t ot ally hat es his fat her because of his w eakness of being cont rolled by mot her. His fat her has been ever promished t o free him
from t hat home. But t hat quest is only a w ish, never performed.
At t hat m om ent I hat ed M ot her t o no end, but I hat ed Fat her even m ore. The m an w ho had helped m e in t he past , just st ood like a
st at ue w hile his son at e som et hing even a dog w ouldn’t t ouch. ACCI: 42
How ever, t he image of his fat her as a hero cannot be brushed from his mind. David learns t o be hero from his fat her.
Sit t ing on the far end of the couch w as m y hero. I knew he w ould t ake care of M ot her and drive m e t o t he hospit al ACCI: 53.
3 Friends and t eachers at Thomas Edison Element ary School
School as a place w here every child spent t heir t ime t o acquire a lot of t hings also has it s influence in form ing t heir charact er. The
influences t hose are carried aw ay by every member of t his environment such as peers and t eachers play an import ant key in
shaping his behavior. In t his book t he school environt ment of t he major charact er is
a place t o get free from home. School w as a heaven for David t hat he w as t hrilled t o be aw ay from M ot her. At home, he couldn’t do
anyt hing he w ant . At school, he expressed his feeling like a w ild child.
School w as a haven for m e. I w as t hrilled t o be aw ay from M ot her. At recess I w as a wild m an ACCI: 45.
David made friends easily and felt so happy t o be at school.
He w as also a clever kid in his class. But one day mot her st at ed t hat David w as t o be held back from t he first grade because he w as a bad
boy. M ot her cont inued t o roar t hat he had shamed t he family and w ould be severely punished.
I m ade friends easily and felt so happy t o be at school ACCI: 25.
In addit ion, w hen mot her seldom gave him meals, David st ole food at school. His clot h w as never changed and his body smelt badly.
His school friends began t o set him aw ay and t o insult him as “ David t he Food Thief” and “ Pelzer- Smellzer” .
“ David t he Food Thief” and “ Pelzer- Smellzer” were t w o of t he playground favorit es ACCI: 36.
At school David w as a t ot al out cast. No ot her kid w ould have
anyt hing t o do w it h him. He learned t o be int rovert from his friends.
At school I w as a t ot al outcast . No ot her kid w ould have anyt hinally, I devised a plan t hat might w ork ACCI: 36.
In t he same opinion w it h st udent s, t he t eachers at first looked
dow n t o David t oo. They saw David as a bad boy w ho liked t o st eal. Soon, t hey knew t hat David got abuse at home and began t o have
sympat hy t o him. They called police and set him free from home.
The police officer explains w hy M r Hansen called him ACCI: 11.
David w as very t hanksful t o his t eachers. Because of t hem, he could be free from mot her. They are t he t rue heroes of escaping
David from abuse. They are merit orious for him. David learned t o be hero from his t eachers, especially t o survive t he abused child like him.
b. Lesson Learned from 4 t o 12
The age of four t o t w elve is t he age w hen David got abuse from his mot her. In his childhood, he got some lessons from people around him at
home. Lessons learned t hat David got in t his age are: 1
Responsiveness During st aying at home, David becomes responsive for
everyt hing t hat w ill happen t o him. He can read w hat mot her w ill do and t ake some act s as t he response before t he worst t hing happens.
For example, w hen mot her gave him food, he had grabbed and eat en t he food before mot her t hrew it . He also suddent ly used his arms and
hands t o prot ect himself from mot her’s beat ing. This responsiveness leads him t o do everyt hing in quick w ay.
as quickly as I can, I sw allow it before M ot her changes her m ind ACCI: 7. I do everyt hing as fast as possible ACCI: 9
David can also read t he condit ion of his mot her alt hough he is st ill a child. He knew w hen t he mot her w ould be kind from t he dress
and t he voice. When m ot her dressed w ell it s mean no beat ing. The voice can be seen from t he t one. The higher mot her’s voice t he
angrier she is.
As a four year old child, I knew by t he sound of M ot her’s voice w hat t ype of day w as in st ore for m e AM ND: 8.
2 Obedience
David should do all her mot her’s order or he w ould get punishment and didn’t get food. Therefore, David has t o be obedient
t o mot her.
I learned t he hard w ay that she takes t hat as an act of defiance, w hich m eans m ore hit s, or w orst of all, no food ACCI: 7.
The obedience appears not because David loves his mot her but because he is afraid of her, for being got more hit s or no food. He
is just like a prison of w ar w ho must do all t he order from t he superior or a slave w ho must obey t he mast er’s w ords. The superior
or t he mast er is mot her and t he oppressed or t he slave is David. The mot her also fright ened David t o kill him if he didn’t cat ch
t he job on t ime. Willing unw illing, David should be obedient t o mot her. It can be seen from mot her’s st at ement t hat she w ould kill
David.
“ if you don’t finish on t im e, I’m going t o kill you” ACCI: 51
3 Survive
Some w ays David did t o survive. For inst ance, David st ole his friend’s lunch boxes t o get food because mot her didn’t feed him, he
used t o imagine t o lose his hunger or t o escape from burden of life.
I alw ays st ole food before school began ACCI: 31
Being st arved, David st ole food. He began st ealing at school from his friends’ lunch boxes. He st ole before school w hen his friends
w ere playing out side. He w ould sneak t o t he w all and made sure t hat no body could see him t hen he grap t heir lunch.
... m y hunger for food w as replaced wit h daydreaming. I fant asized w henever perform ing m y chores at t he house. On m y hands and
knees w hile scrubbing t he bat hroom tiles, I im agined I w as t he prince in t he st ory “ The Prince and t he Pauper” . ACCI: 37
If David couldn’t st eal food, t he safet y w ay is to dream. He dreams of food t herefore he can imagine as if he eat s t he food. In
addit ion, David survived by imagining himself as a prince w ho lives w ell and happy in t he palace w it hout doing any chores.
4 Opt imist ic
M ot her used t o abuse David t hrough beat ing, scolding amonia, burning on fire, breaking his arms et c. What ever mot her abused
David, he w ouldn’t give up t o survive. He w as opt imist t hat he could survive from mot her’s abuse. David’s comm it ment t o survive can be
seen from t he st at ement :
M ot her can beat me all she w ant s, but I haven’t let her t ake aw ay m y w ill t o som ehow survive ACCI: 7.
From t he st at ement above, it can be seen t hat David w ant s t o survive alt hough mot her oft en beat s him. David w ant s t o survive
because he w ant s t o prove t hat he isn’t useless, he is not t rash. He
also w ant s t o lose mot her by surviving. The m ot her w ill not be a w inner as long as David is st ill alive. Being kept w arm and breat h
mean t hat he is st ill alive. 5
Int rovert David doesn’t belong t o fam ily in his home but slave. He w as
separat ed from his siblings. He w as not allow ed t o eat t oget her. He w as also prohibit ed from joining t he picnic. He spent most ly his t ime
at home.
By t his time, for all pract ical purposes, I w as no longer a m em ber of t he family ACCI: 31.
M oreover, he had no friends at school. He w as a t ot al out cast
for having bad smell on body because he never changed clot h. No one w ould play w it h him. He kept st aying alone. Therefore, David
became int rovert .
At school I w as a t ot al out cast . No ot her kid w ould have anyt hing t o do w ith m e TLB: 36.
How ever, t he int rovert is shaped because David doesn’t believe anyone. He hat ed mot her w ho abused him; he hat ed fat her
w ho did not hing seeing his son being abused; he also hat ed his siblings w ho w ere playing happily w hile he w as doing chores.
Because of t hat , he is difficult t o belief someone and becomes int rovert .
2. Foster Care Environment
