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A. Background of the StudyDave Pelzer w as one of t he t hree most severel y abused children in the
history of California in which t he ot her t w o are dead (Derksen, 2000). He is an
Am erican author, best known for his book of childhood abuse, A Child Called “ It ”. Pelzer is t he son of a San Francisco fireman, St ephen Joseph Pelzer and Catherine
Roerva Christ en Pelzer. Pelzer w as born on December 29, 1960 in Daly Cit y, San
Francisco, California.
As quot ed in his author’s not e, Pelzer is a ret ired air force Unit ed St at es
w ho had ever t aken part in the operat ion ‘Just Cause’, ‘Desert Shield’ and ‘Desert
St orm’. While st ill active in t he air force, he w as involved in act ivit ies in Juvenile
Hall and various program s relat ed t o ‘ Yout h at Risk’.
In 1990, he w as the recipient of the J.C. Penney Golden Rule Aw ard,
making him t he California Volunt eer of t he Year. Pelzer has been recognized
t hrough a number of aw ards, as w ell as personal com m endat ions from
President s Reagan, Bush, and Clinton.
In 1993, Pelzer w as honored as one of the Ten Out st anding Young
Am ericans. He joins a dist inguished group of alumni which includes: John F.
Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Anne Bancroft , Orson W elles, W alt Disney and Nelson
In 1994, Pelzer w as t he only Am erican t o be honored as one of The
Out st anding Young Persons of the World. He also carried t he coveted Cent ennial
flame for t he 1996 Olym pics. Pelzer w as paid t ribut e as t he recipient of the 2005
Nat ional Jefferson Aw ard. Ot her alumni of t his aw ard include Colin Pow ell,
Sandra Day O’Conner and Bob Hope.
In Life Coach M ary (2007), Pelzer was illust rat ed as an author a number
of books such as: A Child Called “ It ” (1993), The Lost Boy (1995), A M an Named Dave (1999), Help Yourself (2001), The Privilege of Yout h (2004), and Help Yourself for Teens (2005).
A Child Called “ It ”, The Lost Boy, A M an Named Dave, Help Yourself, w ere nom inat ed for the Pultizer Prize. A Child Called “ It” has been on the New York Tim es Best Sellers List for over 6 years and Dave’ s books have been on t he
sam e Best Sellers List approaching 13 years com bined.
Plot z (2000) said t hat t his book is current ly t ranslat ed in nearly fort y
languages and has been read by millions throughout the world. In addit ion, A
Child Called It has sold 1.6 m illion copies and The Lost Boy has sold a m illion. As an author, Dave is t he first t o have four #1 Int ernat ional Best Sellers and to have
four books simult enously on the New York Tim es Best Sellers List .
Pelzer’s books have grown many responses from t he readers including
posit ive respons and the negat ive one. Olesha B, Kat e Law rence, and Colin
Forbes st and in posit ive responce. Olesha B is int erest ed in t he charact er of
w ant ed and David always had courage t o st and up from his mot her’ s
punishm ent s. In addit ion, Kat e Law rence sees t he book from the cont ent of the
book. She likes t he book because t he book t aught her about courage and hope.
Colin Forbes has different opinion about t he book. She likes t he st yle of w rit ing
Pelzer used. She likes his first – person st yle. She also likes t hat t he ending w as
put at t he beginning so there was hope in the book.
However, cont roversy about the books appears. lcappyt an (2010)
quot ed t hree fam ily m em bers of Pelzer who deny t he abuse. They are St ephen
Pelzer, Richard Pelzer, and his grandm ot her. Pelzer’s younger brot her, St ephen,
denies any abuse t ook place, and thinks David w as placed in fost er care because
he st art ed a fire and w as caught shoplift ing. And his brother Richard Pelzer, w ho
w rot e t he book A Brot her’s Journey, argues t hat t here w as abuse in the family
but disput es many of David’s claim s and quest ions his et hics and market ing
t act ics. Adding t o the cont roversy, his grandm ot her, Ruth Cole (born in 1910)
rem em bers him as a disruptive kid, only int erest ed in Adrian Fort iz, with big
ideas of imagination and com fort .
The t rilogy books namely A Child Called it, The Lost Boy, and A M an Named Dave are w ell known as m em oir. Among t hree books t ell David’s t rue
childhood to adulthood. Zuwiyya ( in M r. Diamond’s English Club) said t hat a
memoir is a piece of of aut obiographical w rit ing, usually short er in nature t han a
comprehensive aut obiography. It means t hat m em oir can be called as
autobiography because it belongs t o autobiography. Cocoprem e (2011) said that
most aut obiographies are w rit t en from the first person singular perspective. This
is fitt ing because aut obiography is usually a story one t ells about oneself.
However, Pelzer uses exaggerat ion t o att ract t he reader. Pelzer
illust rat ed his mother by “ her voice changed from the nurt uing m other t o t he
w icked wit ch” in A Child Called It. It is a hiperbole t hat David called his m other as
a wit ch.
Pelzer also t old in aut hor’s not e t hat A Child Called it w as writ t en based on child’s perspect ive at t he age of four t o t w elve. In fact , it is not. In A Child
Called it, the lit tle David didn’t afraid being jailed w hereas almost children w ould be afraid t o be sent t o jail. It m eans t hat it is not litt le David who spoke but a
man who had high thinking t hat everyt hing w ould be w ell and he did not afraid
of jail.
In addition, Pelzer divides his st ory to be t hree books. The st ory,
however, will be more pract ice if t he author compiles t he st ory int o one book. It
is such a market ing t actics.
Based on reasons above, t he books are not real autobiography but
rat her novel. In Encart a dictionary, novel is defined as “ a fictional prose w ork
w hich the st ory t radit ionally develops t hrough the t hought s and act ions of it s
charact ers.” In conclusion, these books belong to aut obiographical novel; novel
t hat based on self autobiography.
Dave Pelzer shares his unforget t able st ory of m any abuses he suffered
at t he hands of his alcoholic mother in his first book A Child Called ‘it’. First ly, David’s fam ily w as fulfilled with love and care. Unt il one day his mot her’ s
charact er changed from good t o be bad. David got som e kinds of punishm ent
such as ‘corner t reat m ent ’, ‘m irror t reat ment ’, and t reat ed as ‘prisoner of war’.
David w as also being beat en, broken his arm , punctured his st om ach, forced t o
swallow Clorox and inhale amm onia, even forced t o eat t he baby’ s diaper.
How ever his fat her defended David but t hen he just becam e quiet and
pret ended not to see David to be t ort ured and even blam ed David for causing all
t he chaos. At last , his t eachers at Thom as Edison Elem ent ary School helped him,
report ed his case t o police and t hen set him free from his mother.
The Lost Boy, Pelzer’ s second book, w as David’s st ory as fost er kid w ho
w as looking for the love of family. He moved from one home t o another hom e
unt il five t imes. Those are: Lilian Cat anze and Rudy Catanze, Harold and Alice
Turnbough, Joanne Nulls and M ichael, Vera and Jody, and t he last John and Linda
Walsh. Lat er on, he w orked t o earn money and dropped from Senior High School
t hen joined the U.S. Air Force.
adult nam ed David who had joined the U.S. Air Force. His dream in childhood
t hat supposed him flying as a Superm an finally becam e t rue by flying t he plane.
The book t ells t he presence of t he first female figure in David’s life, Pat sy. They
st ayed t oget her, had a son, and divorsed. David tried t o figure out the source of
w hy he was get t ing bad t reat ment from her m ot her. He did not ent irely blam e
her mot her but forgave her and insist ed on breaking t he cycle of abuse by being
a good father for his son. At t he end of t he st ory, David found ‘a princess’ w ho
w as t he editor of his book and then becam e his wife. That w as M arsha.
Pelzer’s t rilogy A Child Called it, The Lost Boy, and A M an Named Dave
are good books. It can be seen from t w o aspect s: t he author and the w ork. For
t he aut hor aspect s, there are t w o reasons w hy the books are import ant to read.
The first is David’s bravery in w rit ing t he books about his bit t er experience for
being abused child. When David w as in childhood, child abuse had not got
meaningful at t ention from the public. M ost of societ y supposed t hat it w as
parent s’ right to discipline t heir children by any m anner. The act of t his
disciplinary w as not included in child abuse at t hat t im e. What w as happening in
t he fam ily was a secret t hat must be saved. How ever, som e vict im s of child
abuse w ould only keep silent with no act ion t o escape. By t hese t hree books,
Pelzer t ries t o face his problems, t ake ben efit from t he problem and creat e his
own behavior.
The second is David’ s purpose t o break down t he circl e of abuse. M ost
w ere only quiet w hen they got t he abuse t hen som e day t hey w ould apply t he
sam e act t o t heir children. This act is t he circle of abuse because it will occur
from generat ion t o generat ion. Through his third book, A M an Named Dave, Dave searches t he cause of abuse and t ries t o avoid it to break t he circl e of
abuse. David is success in breaking t he circle of abuse by being good father for
his son. Besides, David is also act ive in som e program s dealing w ith child abuse
prevent ion.
The second aspect is from the w ork or the books. Beside t he books have
been New York Best Seller for over six years, t ranslat ed into som e different
languages, and read by millions, the books are int erest ing in t he cont ent . The
first book, A Child Called it, gives inform at ion about one child’s courage t o survive from abuse. The second book, The Lost Boy, t ells about a fost er child’ s
search for t he love of a fam ily. The t hird book, A M an Named Dave, is about t he t riumph and forgiveness. In summ ary, the books give t he readers inspiration t o
survive from t he w orst condition and to be t he best . They are inspired by David’ s
never – ending hope for his own fut ure.
The issue appeared in the books is child abuse in California, San
Francisco, Unit ed St at es. Van der Kolk et all (2001) said t hat childhood abuse and
neglect is a serious problem in t he Unit ed St at es; each year, over t hree million
children are report ed abused or neglect ed. M yers report ed (2008) that by 1974,
1990, report s t opped t wo m illion, and in 2000, report s w ere around three
million. In t he early – t w entiet h first cent ury, report s declined but rem ained high.
Harris (2010) said that when a parent or caret aker act s, or fails t o act in
a w ay t hat present s im m inent risk of serious harm t o a child it is considered
abuse. Violence & Injury Prevent ion Team defines child abuse as causing or
permitt ing any harmful or offensive cont act on a child’s body; and, any
comm unicat ion or t ransact ion of any kind w hich humiliat es, sham es, or fright ens
t he child. Some child developm ent expert s go a bit further, and define child
abuse as any act or omission, w hich fails to nurture or in the upbringing of t he
children. Harris (2010) added t hat m ost of the St at es recognize four t ypes of
abuse: emot ional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect .
Child abuse is an int erest ing issue in Am erica societ y in t he lat e t w ent iet h
cent ury. Therefore, t he researcher is int erest ed in the w ay Dave Pelzer port rays
child abuse in that time. It can be analyzed through Sociology. In addition, the
personalit y development of m ain charact er is also int erest ing. David’ s
personalit y developm ent here can be seen fro m his behaviors. Therefore, t he
researcher will also analyze t he t rilogy t hrough Behaviorist perspect ive. In t his
paper, t he research er decides t o conduct a research focus on child abuse in Dave
Pelzer’ s t rilogy A Child Called it , The Lost Boy, and A M an Named Dave by using Behaviorist approach and Sociological approach. The tit le t aken is CHILD ABUSE IN DAVE PELZER’S TRILOGY A CHILD CALLED IT (1993), THE LOST BOY (1995),
B. Previous Studies
The writ er finds several st udies on child abuse. The first st udy is from
Irish journal of applied social st udies w it h the t it le Child Abuse and Neglect and American Indians (2008). This journal is authored by Nat ional Indian Welfare Associat ion (NICWA) namely Terry L. Cross and David Sim mons. The object of the
st udy is child abuse and neglect . This st udy is specific t o American Indian
populat ion. While t he t ype of research is grounded. The research show s t hat a
range of psychiat ric sympt om s and disorders in child-and adult hood are
assocat ed w t h early t rauma, including depression, post -t raumatic st ress
disorder, borderline personalit y disorder, subst ance use, suicidalit y,
self-mutilation, som at izat ion, sexual behavior problems, dissociate disorders, and
learning disorders.
The second st udy com es from art icle ent itled Child Abuse in America: Slaught er of t he Innocent s (1977) w ritt en by Jam es W. Prescot t . This st udy is limit ed in physical abuse and t he source is Am erican abused children. The t ype of
t he st udy is gounded. This art icle t ells about t he various means by w hich adult s
murder t heir infant s and children: shoot ing, stabbing, bludgeoning, burning,
poisoning, st rangling, suffocating, and using explosives.
The t hird is about sexual abuse in Ireland. It is from Irish journal of
children. The journal explores about few references t o child abuse in Ireland
exist . The evidence is found in the penit ent ials of t he early Christ ian period and
also found in the Brechon Law Text s.
The fourth com es from journal of emot ional abuse. The t it le is Effect s of Emot ional Abuse in Family and W ork Environment s (2005). It is w ritt en by Rachel E. Goldsmith and Jennifer J. Freyd. The st udy is about em ot ional abuse and t he
source is from family and w ork environment . The t ype of reserach is grounded.
This st udy invest igat es links bet w een em ot ional abuse and em otional aw areness.
Furt herm ore, t he writ er also foud a handful of researches about Dave
Pelzer and the books. The first is w rit t en by Yuniat i Kholifah (2011) ent itled A Child St ruggle t o Survive in A Child Called It Novel by Dave Pelzer (1995): A Humanist ic Psychological Approach. The st udy uses qualit ative met hod w ith child
st ruggle as t he object of t he st udy, novel A Child Called it as the source dat a and Hum anist ic Psychology t heory t o analyze. This paper examines how child st ruggle
t o survive reflect ed in A Child Called It book by Dave Pelzer. From t he analysis,
t he w rit er concludes t hat Dave can only complet e t he first basic need by his
st ruggle.
The second is w rit t en by Johan Rifqi (2008) ent itled Anxiet y In Dave
Pelzer’ s The Lost Boy: A Psychoanalytic Approach. The st udy uses qualitative met hod with anxiet y as t he object of the st udy, novel The Lost Boy as t he source dat a and Psychoanalyt ic approach t o analyze. This paper exam ines how the
out come of the st udy show s that David encount ers conflict that encourages him
t o anxiet y and most ly uses rat ionalizat ion as the defense m echanism .
The illust rat ion of the differenciat ions can be seen from t he tabel below:
Studies on Child Abuse
James W. Prescot t physical abuse American abused children
grounded
Kevin Lalor sexual abuse Ireland children grounded Rachel E. Goldsmit h and
Kholifah Child st ruggl e A Child Called it Humanist ic Psychology Rif qi Anxiet y The Lost Boy Psychoanalyt ic
st udies about child abuse. The first st udy is about neglect , t he second is physical
abuse, t he t hird is sexual abuse, t he fouth is emot ional abuse w hile t he writ er is
about child abuse in gen eral and lim it ed in Am erican societ y. Furt hermore, t he
difference is also from t he source of dat a. The first st udy is am erican Indian
populat ion, t he second is Am erican abused children, the t hird is Ireland children,
Called it , The Lost Boy, and A M an Named Dave writ t en by Dave Pelzer. In
addition, four st udies above collect t he dat a gro undly w het her t he w rit er uses
document.
Part t wo is t he researches on Dave Pelzer and the books. There i s
similarit y in t he t ype of research used t hat is qualit ative. Ot herwise, t here ar e
also differenciat ions. In the first research, Kholifah t akes child st ruggle, in t he
second research Rifqi t akes anxiet y, and the w rit er t akes child abuse as t he
object of the st udy. Next , Kholifah uses A Child Called it as t he source dat a, Rifqi uses The Lost Boy, whet her t he w rit er uses t rilogy A Child Called It, The Lost Boy
and A M an Named Dave. Furt herm ore, Kholifah uses Humanistic Psychology t heory t o analize, Rifqi uses Psychoanalyt ic, whet her t he w rit er uses Sociological
and Behaviorist theory.
C. Problem Statement
The m ajor problem of the st udy is t he relat ionship bet w een t he t rilogy
and t he American societ y at t he end of t he t w ent iet h century. This problem can
be broken down into t hree research quest ions. Those are:
1. How was t he phenom ena of child abuse at the t im e of t he production of
t he t rilogy?
2. How w as t he aut hor’ s personal developm ent influenced by the
environm ent ?
D. Limitation of the Study
The w rit er focuses t his research on t he theme of child abuse in Dave
Pelzer’s t rilogy A Child Called it, The Lost Boy, and A M an Named Dave by using Behaviorist approach and Sociological approach. It is because t he
phenom enon of child abuse is alarm ing and the Dave Pelzer’s books are good
books t hat cont ain t his phenom enon. In addit ion, personalit y developm ent
of the m ain charact er t ow ards the abuse is int erest ing to st udy.
E. Objective of the Study
The object ives of the st udy of t he paper are:
1. t o ident ify t he cont ext of the production of the t rilogy;
2. t o analyze t he influence of environment on the personalit y development
of the author; and
3. t o review t he reflect ion and criticism of the author tow ards child abuse.
F. Research Benefit 1. Theoretical Benefit
The t heoret ical benefit of t his paper is t o cont ribut e t he
development of the knowledge, part icularly t he lit erary st udy on Dave
Pelzer’ s t rilogy A Child Called it, The Lost Boy, and A M an Named Dave.
2. Practical Benefit
The pract ical benefit of t his paper is t o give deeper underst anding
G. Paper Organization
This research is classified into seven chapt ers as below :
Chapt er I is int roduction. This chapt er involves background of t he
st udy, previous st udy, problem st at em ent , lim it ation of the st udy, object ive of
t he st udy, research benefit and research organizat ion. Chapt er II is underlying
t heory. This chapt er deals with some theory t hat t he writ er used t o m ake t his
research. Those are: behaviorism , sociology of lit erat ure, and child abuse.
Chapt er III is research met hod. This chapt er consist s of object of t he st udy,
t ype of research , t ypes of the dat a and the data sources, t echnique of the
dat a collect ion, and t echnique of the data analysis. Chapt er IV is social
historical background of Am erican societ y in the lat e t w ent iet h cent ury. This
chapt er show s t he concept of t he product ion of t he t rilogy t hat is Am erican
societ y at t he end of t w entiet h cent ury view ed from social aspect , economic
aspect , polit ical aspect , religious aspect , cultural aspect , and science and
t echnology aspect . Chapt er V is Behaviorist analysis. This chapt er analyzes
how environment s influence aut hor’s personalit y developm ent. Chapt er VI is
Sociological analysis. This chapt er explains the Sociological analysis of t he
t rilogy A Child Called it , The Lost Boy and A M an Named Dave. It also cont ains
t he aut hor’s criticism against t he child abuse. Chapt er VII is conclusion and
pedagogical implicat ion. The conclusion is the answ ers of t he research
