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This chapt er deals w it h t he sociological analysis of child abuse in Dave
Pelzer’s t rilogy A Child Called It , The Lost Boy and A M an Nam ed Dave.
Sociological approach analyzes human in societ y by w hich t he process
comes from a societ y t o an individual. The w rit er analyzes t he t rilogy t hrough t he
Sociological approach because she finds t hat t he st ory in t he books has a correlat ion
t o t he t heory of sociology and t he social background of American societ y in t he lat e
t w ent iet h cent ury.
This chapt er consist s of t hree part s. The first is the hist orical aspect s t hat
include social, economy, polit ic, religion, cult ure, and science and t echnology; t he
second is child abuse; and t he t hird is discussion. The discussion w ill correlat e t he
t rilogy w it h t he child abuse in American societ y in t he lat e t w ent iet h cent ury and t he
correlat ion bet w een t rilogy w it h sociology of lit erat ure.
A. Social Historical Aspects
1. Social Aspect
cent ury. The aspect s cont ain t he social st ruct ure, t he social st at us and t he
social relat ionship.
The social st ruct ure of American societ y consist s of t hree namely
higher class, middle class, and low er class. The aut hor doesn’t ment ion t he
higher, m iddle, or low er class in t he t rilogy. There is only one st at ement t hat
David’s family is w hit e. The family is reflect ed as Brady Bunch of t he 1960
w het her Brady Bunch is w hit e. The American people judge t hat w hit e people
are higher t han t he black and t he ot her.
In t he years before I w as abused, m y fam ily w as t he “ Brady Bunch” of t he 1960s (ACCI: 15).
David’s family is symbolized as t he Brady Bunch of t he 1960. It w as a
w hit e family of five, a M om , Dad, and t hree sons, w hose lifes w ere fulfilled
w it h love and care. In A Child Called it, David t old t hat he w as happy living w it h his fam ily before abuse. It w as before four years old.
In addit ion, t he societ y differenciat es fost er children from comm on
children. Fost er children are low er t han common children. They are being
humiliat ed because t hey are being t hrow n aw ay by t heir ow n family. The
American societ y underest imat ing on fost er care is reflect ed in t he
st at ement below :
David w as forbidden t o show his ident it y as fost er child t o ot her
people because most of people look dow n on fost er care. It means t hat
fost er children are excluded. They are low er t han ordinary children.
The social st at us of societ y is divided int o t hree: rich, middle and
poor. In t he side of social st at us, most of t he social st at us of t he charact ers
are middle. It can be seen from t he job of t he charact ers, such as secret ary,
school nurse, t he principal M r Hansen, t he t eacher M iss Woods, M r Ziegler
and M rs. Woodw ort h, police officer Sm it h, fireman St ephen Joseph, et c.
M y fat her, St ephen Joseph, support ed his fam ily as a firem an, w orking in t he heart of San Francisco (ACCI: 15).
The jobs ment ioned above are classified int o middle class. The
majorit y middle class makes t heir money by w orking as a law yer, doct or,
t eacher, civil servant , post man, fireman, ment or, social w orker, police,
musicion, and ot hers. They don’t get high salary or low w age but t hey get it s
average.
In t he side of social relat ionship, t he charact ers have a family
relat ionship because it is ment ioned in t he t rilogy about fat her, mot her,
brot her, grandm ot her, aunt and uncle. They live as nuclear family t hat
consist s of a married couple w it h a number of children. They don’t st ay w it h
ext ended family like grandm ot her, uncle and aunt .
The relat ionship among family members w as good before. They lived
happily. Then, t he at t it ut e of David’s mot her changed as she frequent ly
consumed alcohol.
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 (TLB: 21).
The mot her changed from t he kind one t o t he w ild one. M ot her
alw ays got angry because David had a loud voice and he w as oft en caught in
t he act of doing t he w rong t hing opposit es mot her’s rules. For example
mot her forbade her children playing in t he grass.
As a sm all child, I probably had a voice t hat carried fart her than ot hers. I also had t he unfort unat e luck of get t ing caught at mischief, even t hough m y brot hers and I w ere oft en comm it ting t he same “ crim e” (ACCI: 21).
Fat her formerly helped David from mot her’s bad t reat ment . He w as a
hero for David. Wherever fat her w ent , David follow ed him. It is because
mot her w ouldn’t hurt David in t he fat her’s appearance.
Fat her becam e m y protect or. Whenever he went t o t he garage t o w ork on a project , I follow ed him. If he sat in his favorit e chair t o read t he new spaper, I parked m yself at his feet (ACCI: 23).
But lat er, he behaved as he didn’t see anyt hing w hen he frequent ly
quarrelled w it h his w ife. M oreover, fat her accused David as t he source of t he
fight bet w een him and m ot her. David hat ed fat her.
David’s relat ionship w it h his siblings w as not good t oo. They
pret ended t hat t hey didn’t see David t here. M oreover, one of t hem became
accomplice of mot her so t hat David could be punished.
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).
M ot her also didn’t have any good relat ionship w it h grandmot her.
Grandmot her t reat ed mot her bad as young. She had ever locked m ot her in a
room w it hout eat ing. She also underest imat ed m ot her t hat mot her couldn’t
be a nurse as she w ished.
As a child, M ot her and Grandm ot her alw ays had an int ense love hate relationship, w hich m y brot hers and I had seen w henever one of t he w om en had a run in wit h t he ot her (AM ND: 88).
The w orst t hing w as t hat David had no longer become a part of t he
family. He w as not allow ed t o have eat en t oget her w it h family, t o have sleep
in a nice bed, t o have a rest in bat hroom, or t o have fun in picnic. He w as
nobody, he w as called it.
You are a nobody! An It ! You are nonexist ent ! You are a bast ard child! I hat e you and I wish you w ere dead! Dead!” (ACCI: 82)
In addit ion, t he relat ionship bet w een David’s family and neighbor w as
not good. M ot her seldom visit ed neighbor. She and her children spent
almost t heir t ime at home.
David also didn’t have friends at school. no one w ant ed t o play w it h
him because he w as smell and never changed clot h. He w as out cast .
At school I w as a t otal out cast . No ot her kid w ould have anyt hing t o do w ith m e (ACCI: 36).
2. Economic Aspect
The decade of t he 1920s t hat w as as t he Golden Tw ent ies w as
charact erized by w idespread prosperit y. During t he prosperit y of t he Golden
t w ent ies, many Americans made spent money w it h ease. Aft er enjoying t he
Golden Tw ent ies, American had a t errible sit uat ion t hat ’s called t he Great
Depression. The Great Depression w as a severe w orldw ide economic
depression in t he decade preceding World War II and it is st art ed in about
1939 and ended 1945.
The t iming of t he Great Depression varied across nat ions, but in m ost
count ries it st art ed in 1930 and last ed unt il t he lat e 1930s or middle 1940s. It
w as t he longest , most w idespread, and deepest depression of t he 20t h
cent ury. The st art of t he Great Depression w as reflect ed t o t he sudden
devast at ing collapse of US st ock market prices on Oct ober 29, 1929, know n
as Black Tuesday. How ever, t he depression originat ed in t he U.S., aft er t he
fall in st ock prices t hat began around Sept ember 4, 1929.
The Great Depression had devast at ing effect s in count ries rich and
int ernat ional t rade plunged by more t han 50%. Unemployment in t he U.S.
rose t o 25%.
The book A M an Nam ed Dave st at es about t he great depression. David’s grandmot her rose her children in t he great depression w it hout a
husband. Her husband passed aw ay. She felt difficult t o raise t w o children.
Therefore, t he mot her w as grow n by t ight w ay.
Okay, I t hought , m aybe Grandm ot her w as overbearing. When her husband passed aw ay, leaving her t o raise t w o children in t he middle of a depression, Grandm ot her had t o be st ern. ( AM ND: 196-197)
In A M an Named Dave, it isalso st at ed t hat America faced a st at ewide
recession in 1978 and it was difficult t o find a job.
Jobs right now are scarce w it h t he recession and all, (AM ND: 228)
That t ime was recession in America. David dropped out from high school
and didn’t have job. In addit ion, his saving money remained lit t le. He was in
hard condit ion.
In t he sum mer of 1978, at age eight een, in order t o furt her m y career as t op rat ed car salesm an, I decided t o drop out of high school. But m ont hs lat er, after a st atew ide recession, I found m yself as a legal adult , w it h no diplom a, no job, and m y life savings quickly draining aw ay. (AM ND: 34)
M oreover, aft er joining air forces for years, David w as fright ened for
t he new s of personnel cut backs. He w as a boom operat or. He believed t hat
he w ould be among t he first t o be relieved from act ive dut y since t he Looking
Glass w as no longer an operat ional aircraft and boom operat ors w ere not
In the spring of 1992, rum ors began t o float of severe personnel cut backs (AM ND: 226).
Recession is a significant decline in econom ic act ivit y spread across
t he economy, last ing more t han a few mont hs, normally visible in real gross
domest ic product (GDP), real income, employm ent , indust rial product ion,
and w holesale-ret ail sales. There have been as m any as 47 recessions in t he
Unit ed St at es since 1790.
Cycles in agricult ure, consumpt ion, and business invest ment , and t he
healt h of t he banking indust ry also cont ribut e t o t hese declines. U.S.
recessions have increasingly affect ed economies on a w orldw ide scale,
especially as count ries’ economies become more int ert w ined.
In A Child Called it, it seems t hat t he societ y w as a w ell-t o-do people. In t he house, David’s fam ily had car, t elephone, and elect ronic it ems like TV,
st ereo, and radio. It means t hat David’s family w as capable in mat erial.
Spring m eant picnics. M om w ould prepare a feast of fried chicken, salads, sandw iches and lot s of dessert s t he night before (ACCI: 19).
David’s family also frequent ly w ent for picnic. They used t o go for
picnic in spring. M ot her used t o prepare for meal t he night before.
Spring meant picnics. M om w ould prepare a feast of fried chicken, salads, sandw iches and lot s of dessert s t he night before (ACCI:19).
David’s family used t o go t o Russian River in summer. They w ent
t here by car.
Alt hough David’s parent s w ere prosperous enough, his m ot her
w it hheld him some food, appropriat e clot hing and ot her basic m at erial
necessit ies of life.
Because M ot her had m e wear the same clot hes w eek aft er w eek, by Oct ober m y clot hes had becom e w eat hered, t orn and sm elly (ACCI: 30).
By t hen, M ot her w ould “ forget” t o feed me any dinner (ACCI: 30).
In The Lost Boy, David’s needs were seemed t o be fulfilled by his fost er
parent s. He got some money from count y t hat given t o fost er parent s t o buy
him some needs including clot h. Lilian, his first fost er parent , didn’t afraid t o
spend t he money cost ly $127 for David’s needs.
I’ve got a check here for $127 from t he count y t o buy you som e clothes (TLB: 61).
However, t o find fost er parent s at t hat t ime was very difficult . The fat e
of t he fost er children was poor because of t he lack number of fost er parent s.
There was an organizat ion t hat helped t he needs of children. One of t hem is The
Arrow Project .
Anot her organizat ion is The Arrow Project , a nonprofit organization t hat addresses t he needs of children and fam ilies in several st at es by providing fost er care, diagnost ic and educat ional services and other int erventions (TLB: 188).
In addit ion, fost er children who are approaching eight een should t hink
about t heir fut ure of how t o st and by t hemselves because t hey wouldn’t be in a
ward of t he court anym ore. This was proved by David’s st ruggle for finding some
I soon added a job at a w at ch repair shop, w here I w orked about 20 hours a w eek for $10, 25 t akehome pay (TLB:159).
It can be concluded t hat David lived in hard t ime w it h difficul
economy condit ion. The t ime w hen t he books w ere w rit t en w as at recession
t ime. The book also ment ioned about great depression.
3. Political Aspects
The Unit ed St at es is a federal const it ut ional republic in w hich
t he President , Congress, and judiciary share pow ers reserved t o t he nat ional
government , and t he federal government shares sovereignt y w it h t he st ate
government s. Polit ic can be divided int o t w o namely domest ic policy and
foreign policy.
Domest ically, American policy is broken dow n int o t hree: legislat ive,
execut ive, and judiciary. Legislat ive pow er is vested in t he t w o chambers of
Congress, t he Senat e and t he House of Represent at ives. The execut ive
branch is headed by t he President and is independent of t he legislat ure. The
judiciary branch, composed of t he Supreme Court . The judiciary’s funct ion is
t o int erpret t he Unit ed St at es Const it ut ion and federal law s and regulat ions.
This includes resolving disput es bet w een t he execut ive and legislat ive
branches.
There are major differences bet w een t he polit ical syst em of t he
great er pow er in t he upper house of t he legislat ure, a w ider scope of pow er
held by t he Supreme Court , t he separat ion of pow ers bet w een t he legislat ure
and t he execut ive, and t he dominance of only t w o main part ies.
The t w o polit ical part ies, t he Democrat ic Part y and t he Republican
Part y, have dominat ed American polit ics since t he American Civil War. These
t w o part ies have w on every Unit ed St at es president ial elect ion since 1852
and have cont rolled t he Unit ed St at es Congress since at least 1856. Among
t he t w o major part ies, t he Democrat ic Part y generally posit ions it self as left
-of-cent er in American polit ics and support s a modern liberal plat form , w hile
t he Republican Part y generally posit ions it self as right -of-cent er and support s
a conservat ive plat form.
Ideology held by t he U.S. is capit alism and met hod of t he dist ribut ion
is imperialism, and t his is t he U.S. foreign policy. In dealing w it h ot her
count ries, t he Unit ed St at es use t he mission of offering cooperat ion,
friendship and assist ance. The cooperat ion, friendship, and assist ance w ere
in a variet y aspect such as in educat ion or cult ure. Ot herw ise, America w ill
send it s t roops and int elligence t o know how t he pot ent ial, st rengt h,
w eakness, and an import ant part of a count ry. No doubt , America w ill also
How ever, American foreign policy is illust rat ed in t he book A M an
Nam ed Dave. The book A Child Called it and The Lost Boy do not ment ion polit ical aspect . The polit ical aspect ment ioned is only foreign policy not
domest ic policy. It is st at ed about Saddam Husein’s invasion t o Kuw ait in
w hich America involved in t his w ar. America supposed t o help t he w orld t o
solve t he cont rovercial.
The Invasion of Kuw ait w as a major conflict bet w een t he Republic of
Iraq and t he St at e of Kuw ait . Kuw ait w as a close ally of Iraq during t he
Iraq-Iran w ar. In 1990, Iraq accused Kuw ait of st ealing Iraqi pet roleum
t hrough slant drilling. In addit ion, t he w ar w as caused by Kuw ait reject ion t o
get a rid of Iraq’s debt . The invasion st art ed on 2 August 1990, and w it hin
t w o days of int ense combat .
The invasion of Kuw ait w as w on by Iraq. Kuw ait became t he 19t h
province of Iraq by t he name of Al-M it la Saddamiyat on August 28, 1990.
Aft erw ards, Kuw ait asked America help and t hen it lead t o Gulf War.
In helping Kuw ait , t he Unit ed St at es sent t roops t o Saudi Arabia.
David as one of American t roops sw ept aw ay his problems in marriage and
concent rat ed t o his t ask involving int o t he w ar. David received count less
briefings, varying from chemical w arfare defense t o his t ask of refueling t he
In August 1990, Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuw ait shifted my priorities. (AM ND: 216)
David had import ant role in flying his plane. The various fight er
aircraft could not fly t o t heir t argets w it hout David’s plane’s fuel. David’s life
w as also skat e. The possibilit y t o die w as big because t he Boeing t anker David
flied had t he makings of a prime t arget. It cont ained gas w hich be easily
exploded if it got a hit .
Because it w as a flying gas st at ion in t he sky, if enem y aircraft hit David’s plane, he w ould be vaporized from t he explosion (AM ND: 216).
Wit h many problems he facing, David never gave up. He w ould
concent rat e t o do his t ask and t ry his best . He w ould complet e his t ask and
convicing himself t o come back home safely. He would gat her w it h his family
again.
I had t o set aside m y m ixed em ot ions about my m arriage and focus on doing m y part and com ing hom e alive (AM ND: 217).
How ever, David felt difficult t o leave his son. He ensured St ephen his
son t hat he w ould be back. The enemy w ould not be able t o make him die.
They w on’t shoot us dow n, St ephen. If t hey do, w e w on’t blow up. I’ll use m y parachut e. Once on t he ground, I’ll evade. They’ll never t ake m e prisoner. If t hey do, I’ll escape. If I can’t escape, I’ll be fine. I’ll com e back. No m at t er what happens, I’ll com e back. (AM ND: 217)
David sent t o Arab Saudi in 1991. America fight ed t ow ard Iraq w it h
t he coalit ion had st ronger air st rengt h t han Iraq’s. Therefore, t he mission of
As it t urned out , t hough, aft er t he first couple of w eeks, t he coalit ion m aint ained air superiorit y over Iraq, and t he missions becam e routine (AM ND: 218).
David involved int o Gulf War is reflect ed in t his book. His mind w as
full of St ephen. He w as afraid of St ephen being hurt ed. He couldn’t sleep
soundly during t he w ar.
Aft er that m orning, and on ot hers t o follow , I never slept as soundly as I did w hen I served in t he gulf w ar (AM ND: 218).
On February 27, 1991, Coalit ion forces succeeded in liberat ing Kuw ait
from Iraq and President Bush declared t he w ar over. David came back from
Arab Saudi in M arch 1991.
I ret urned from Saudi Arabia in M arch 1991 (AM ND: 218).
The realit y bet w een America and it s people can be draw n as w hat
David had experienced w it h t he mot her w ho could force David t o do
everyt hing she ever w ant ed. The mot her is symbolized as America w ho can
force someone and David is as t he people w ho is forced t o obey rules.
4. Religious Aspects
The largest religion in t he US is Christ ianit y, pract iced by t he majorit y
of t he populat ion. Christ ianit y w as int roduced during t he period of European
colonizat ion. Among Christ ian believers, m ost of Americans now days believe
in Prot est ant s t hen follow ed by Cat holics and t he ot her Christ ian branch.
Previously, t here w ere no dist inct ions as Cat holics or Prot est ant unt il by t he
medieval Roman Cat holic doct rines and pract ices, especially in regard t o
salvat ion, just ificat ion, and ecclesiology.
The t erm ‘Cat holic’ w as first used t o describe t he Christ ian Church in
t he early 2nd cent ury t o emphasize it s universal scope. Cat holic simply
means universal. This church w as led by t he Pope. It w as official form of t he
early Christ ian church. How ever, many ot her Christ ians use t he t erm Cat holic
t o refer more broadly t o t he w hole Christ ian Church or t o all believers in
Jesus Christ .
Cat holicism w as by far t he largest Christ ian group. Wit h more t han
one billion adherent s, Cat holics const it ut e about half of t he w orld’s
Christ ians. Cat holicism is t he majorit y religion of It aly, Spain, and nearly all
Lat in American count ries. One day, some Cat holics leave t he church and
move t o Prot est ant churches. From t he survey, it w as apparent t hat most
Cat holics w ho leave t he Church do so because t hey aren’t get t ing t heir needs
met and found more appealing or sat isfying alt ernat ives in Prot est ant
churches.
Agreed t o stat ements above, t he w rit er found t hat most of people’s
religion in America is Christ ianit y. Ot herw ise, t he charact ers in t he book are
most ly Cat holics not Prot est ant s. Cat holics believe t hat t here is only one God
Test ament as t heir script ure w hile Prot est ant made some changes from t he
Old Test ament t o t he New Test ament . Som e Christ ians believe in t he original
script ure, t he Old Test ament . Therefore, t he charact ers in t his book believe
in Cat holic. Cat holic is t he religion t hat believed by t he charact ers. It can be
seen from how t hey w ent t o Cat holic church.
Four days lat er, on a foggy M onday m orning, I parked M r Turnbough’s car in front of t he sam e Cat holic church Ron, St an, and I had briefly at t ended w it h our aunt years ago as preschoolers. (AM ND: 97)
A church is a building or st ruct ure t o facilit at e w orship and t he
meet ing of Christ ianit y. Tradit ional church buildings are oft en in t he shape of
a cross and frequent ly have a t ow er or dome. Ot her comm on shapes for
churches include a circle, t o represent et ernit y, or an oct agon or sim ilar st ar
shape, t o represent t he church’s bringing light t o t he w orld. Anot her
common feat ure is t he spire, a t all t ow er on t he ‘w est ’ end of t he church or
over t he crossing. M ore modern church buildings have a variet y of
archit ect ural st yles and layout s.
Christ ians usually go t o church every Sunday for w orship. Some of
t hem believe t hat go t o church every Sunday is obligat ion and some ot hers
believe t hat it is not a must but rat her alw ays keep Jesus Christ in t he heart .
Christ ians celebrat e t he Christ ’s Day, Sunday, t he day of His Resurrect ion. All
Cat holics must refrain from menial labor on Sunday and w orship God by
Besides, David w as religious for having a bible. The bible is
ment ioned as t he place t o keep his brot her’s let t er.
For now all I could do w as replace m y brot her’s let ter in my Bible, and pray for the best . (AM ND: 121)
The Bible is a canonical collect ion of t ext s considered sacred in
Christ ianit y. Different religious groups include different books w it hin t heir
cannons. Int erest ing fact is t hat t he Cat holic Bible cont ains seven books of
t he Old Test ament not cont ained in t he Prot est ant Bible. These books are:
The Wisdom of Solom on, Tobit , Sirach, Judit h, 1st M accabees, 2nd
M accabees, Baruch. Addit ional part s of Est her and Daniel are also not in t he
Prot est ant Bible.
These books are somet imes referred t o as the ‘Apocrypha’ by
Prot est ant s or t he ‘Deut erocanonical’ books meaning ‘also canonical’ by
Cat holics. These books w ere not w rit t en in Hebrew , but in Greek inst ead.
The Cat holic Church, t hrough t he int ercession of t he Holy Spirit , discerned
t hat t hese books w ere divinely inspired and included t hem in t he Bible in t he
year 382 AD. at t he Council of Rome, under Pope Damasus I.
M oreover, David’s family celebrat ed Christ mas since t he Holy days of
Christ ians are Christ mas, East er, New Year, Pent ecost , Saint s’ Feast Days. It
is t he day w hen Christ ians believe of Jesus w as born. it is celebrat ed
Virgin M ary as a fulfillment of t he Old Test ament ’s M essianic prophecy. In
t his day, people w ill decorat e t heir house w it h pine t rees. The out side of
houses may be decorat ed w it h light s and somet imes w it h illuminat ed
sleighs, snow men, and ot her Christ mas figures. Other t radit ional decorat ions
include bells, candles, candy canes, st ockings, w reat hs, and angels.
The children believe t hat in Christ mast eve, Sant a w ill come. Sant a
Claus, also know n as Saint Nicholas, Fat her Christ mas and simply ‘Sant a’, is a
figure w it h legendary and myt hical w ho, in many w est ern cult ures, brings
gift s t o t he homes of t he good children during t he lat e evening and
overnight hours of Christ mas Eve, December 24. Sant a Claus is generally
depict ed as a port ly, joyous, w hit e-bearded man - somet imes w it h
spect acles - w earing a red coat w it h w hit e collar and cuffs, w hit e-cuffed red
t rousers, and black leat her belt and boot s.Therefore, t hey w ill be happy
w ait ing for Sant a’s arrival.
As Christ m as Day came nearer, my brot hers and I becam e m ore and m ore excit ed. (ACCI: 18)
5. Cultural Aspects
In t his aspect , t he w rit er w ill show t he w orld view of American societ y
in t he lat e of t w ent iet h cent ury. The cult ural aspect is broken dow n int o
norms, w ay of life, and value-syst em. Social fact s include cust om and
t radit ion. Physical fact s such as fashion, art hefact , and lit erat ure.
View ed from ment al fact s, t he w rit er breaks it int o t hree. First , t he
societ y believed t hat people had t o mind t heir ow n bussiness. They t ook care
of t heir ow n house and ot her people had not a right t o int erfere. At t hat considered discipline, parent al right s, but w e had t o do som et hing. Any one of us could see w hat w as going on. It ’s somet hing you don’t forget . Ever.” (AM ND: 233)
The people couldn’t help children w ho got bad t reat ment because
t here w eren’t a great Penal Codes t o prot ect kids. Penal Code is a st at ut e
w hich list s and defines prohibit ed conduct s or crimes and t he punishment s
in t ot al denial or believe parent s are doing not hing m ore t han ‘disciplining’ t heir children. (AM ND: 149)
The t hird, t he societ y had also seen Fost er Child blindly. They looked
dow n t o fost er children for not having parent s.
Ot her tim es I’d happily st at e, “ I’m a fost er child!” I was proud t o be a m em ber of m y new fam ily. I began t o repeat t his saying until one day one of t he older fost er children pulled m e aside at school, w arning m e not t o t ell anyone “ w hat” I w as because “ a lot of folks don’t like our kind.” (TLB: 50)
In social fact s, American used t o drink alcohol. People used t o keep
t heir problems w it hout sharing and solving t hem. They alw ays ran aw ay
from t heir problems by drinking alcohol and t hey didn’t t ry t o solve t he
problems. Therefore, drinking alcohol is a cust om and becomes t he habit of
American societ y.
“ I underst and. Don’t be t oo judgment al. Like I said, it w as a different era back t hen; for your parent s, and t heir parent s before t hem. What ever problem s w e had w ere sw ept under t he rug. Fam ily skelet ons w ere kept locked in t he closet ...” (AM ND: 114)
American t radit ion t o celebrat e Holy Days is also reflect ed in t he book
A Child Called it. David’s family used t o celebrat e Thanksgiving, Christ mas, and Hallow een.
That year Thanksgiving dinner was a flop. In som e kind of gest ure of good fait h, M ot her allow ed m e t o eat at t he t able w it h t he fam ily (ACCI: 87-88).
Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrat ed in t he Unit ed St at es on t he fourt h
Thursday in November. It came before Christ mas. All members of t he family
The day aft er Thanksgiving, M om w ould disappear t o t he basem ent , t hen bring up enorm ous boxes filled wit h Christm as decorat ions (ACCI: 17).
Christ mas w as celebrat ed on December 25. It w as t he day w hen Jesus
The t radit ion in playing Christ mas song is seemed in A Child Called it. David’s family played t he song by st ereo. The song w as Whit e Christ mas t hat
Hallow een is a t radit ion of celebrat ion t he night of Oct ober 31, and is
mainly celebrat ed in t he Unit ed St at es. Hallow een symbol is carved pumpkin
w it h fright ening face called Jack-o'-lant ern.
For our fam ily – during t hose good years – t he holidays st art ed w it h Hallow een. One Oct ober night , w hen t he huge harvest m oon w as in full view , M om hurried t he t hree of us out of our house, t o gaze at t he “ Great Pum pkin” in t he sky (ACCI: 17).
Hallow een is ident ical w it h t he devil, w it ches, ghost s goblins and
creepy creat ures of West ern cult ure. David’s mother bought St an Hallow een
record t hat cont ained scary st ory.
I could hear t he sounds of St an’s Halloween record t hat M ot her had bought for him several years before. Ghost s and ghouls howled, and doors creaked open. Aft er t he boys had carved t heir pum pkins, I could hear M ot her in her soot hing voice telling t hem a scary st ory (ACCI: 70).
Physical fact appears in t he book t hat is lit erat ure. David ment ions in
t he t hird book A M an Nam ed Dave t hat he w rot e A Child Called it and The
Lost Boy.
In t he fall of 1992, w hile doing a series of fact checks for A Child Called “ It” , I cont act ed my element ary school t o discover t hat one of the t eachers w ho had not ified t he aut horities, M r Ziegler, w as st ill t eaching. (AM ND: 229-230) David t old about his first book A Child Called it when he checked for t he originalit y of t his book t o his t eacher at Element ary School. It w as
informed t hat A Child Called it had been w rit t en in 1992. A Child Called it is t he book t hat t alk about his experience in get t ing abuse based on t he child’s
“ The Lost Boy, t oo?” Pat sy inquired, m y second book, w hich Jerry had about insist ed that I w rit e. (AM ND: 250)
The Lost Boy also ment ioned in A M an Nam ed Dave. It was t old t hat David w as t aken advant age by Lincoln. His books A Child Called it and The
Lost Boy w ere never published. They w eren’t in t he st ores because it w eren’t copyright ed.
6. Science and Technology Aspect
Tw ent iet h cent ury w as a t ime t hat st art ed w it h horses, simple
aut omobiles, and freight er but ended w it h luxury sedans, cruise ships,
airlines and space shut t le. In addit ion, mass media, t elecom unicat ions and
informat ion t echnology made t he w orld’s know ledge more w idely available
t o people. It is show n in Pelzer’s t rilogy from w hat t he charact ers had and did
in t he st ory of A Child Called It, The Lost Boy and A M an Nam ed Dave. In David’s house, t here w ere t elephone, t elevision, st ereo, and radio.
The policem an asks for m y address and t elephone num ber (ACCI: 12).
For communicat ion, David’s family had t elephone. The t elephone
t hat connect ed t o cabel from home t o home w as put at home. It w as not
handphone or mobile phone t hat could be brought anyw here.
For informat ion, David’s family also had t elevision. The t elevision w as
oft en w at ched by his mot her w hile fat her w as at w ork. She almost spent her
t ime by w at ching t elevision w hile drinking alcohol.
While she t old us st ories, Bing Crosby sang “ Whit e Christ m as” on t he st ereo (ACCI: 18).
Besides, David’s family also had radio for media of informat ion. It
also w as used as ent ert ainment . The radio w as used t o play music.
They oft en drank from mid aft ernoon, until m y brot hers and I clim bed int o bed. I rem em ber w at ching t hem dance around t he kitchen to m usic from t he radio (ACCI: 23-24).
There is also st ereo in David’s house. The st ereo played at Christ mas.
The st ereo w as also used t o play romance song t o dance David’s fat her and
mot her.
While she told us st ories, Bing Crosby sang “ Whit e Christm as” on t he st ereo (ACCI: 18).
In t ransport at ion, David’s m ot her had her ow n car. The aut hor
ment ions t he car in t he book A Child Called it by using t he t erm ‘st at ion w agon’. The st at ion w agon used t o be driven by mot her. She used it t o drive
and pick children up t o and from school. The st at ion w agon w as also used t o
have family picnic.
Furt hermore, David had a bicycle. He got t he bicycle in Crist mast from
his grandmot her. He rarely used t he bicycle w hen st ayed at home. In
cont rast , he used it oft en w hen he st ayed in fost er home.
The yellow and candyapplered M urray bicycle wit h it s m et allicred banana seat w as my prized possession. (TLB: 63).
David also had minibike and car. His fost er parent John accept ed
David’s w ish t o buy m inibike. The minibike w as used for racing in t he m iddle
of t he lifeless st reet w it h his friends. Paul alw ays w on. Out of t he hundreds
of races, David w on only one.
When I w ant ed t o buy a minibike, John said yes (TLB: 161).
Becoming car seller, David saved his money and bought a car for him.
He had his ow n car finally.
M y heart seem ed t o skip a beat when I parked my car at t he old Safew ay superm arket. (TLB: 178)
There w ere also planes. David flied planes aft er joining U.S. airforce.
By flying a plane, David’s dream in childhood t o be superman w ho can fly is
answ ered.
M y body slid from m y seat , and I t hought for sure I’d fall out of the plane as t he Boeing 727 made a sudden sharp roll t o t he right (AM ND: 31).
In addit ion, t here w as also found bus st at ion. It means t hat t he
t ransport at ion had developed w ell.
In addit ion, David had Daisy BB gun. How ever, David w as surprised for
get t ing a permission from his fost er parent s t o have a gun. It w as not safe for
a t eenage t o have a gun. Therefore, his fost er parent John had t o t each him
gun safety. David could only shoot against paper t arget s under John’s
supervision.
One day w hen I t im idly asked John if he could drive m e t o t he local sport shop so I could buy a BB gun, he replied, “ Let ’s go.” I w as st unned (TLB: 161)
.
Besides, Paul’s parent s had camera. Paul used it t o make a movie.
The movie w as like a James Bond w it h David as t he lead act or.
Paul’s parent s had a 16m m cam era, so Paul decided t o m ake a Jam es Bond st yle m ovie, cast ing m e as t he lead act or. (TLB: 163)
B. Child Abuse
Child abuse is a serious problem in t he Unit ed St at es. From t he lat e
ninet iet h cent ury t o now , child abuse has been prevailing. Each year, over t hree
million children are report ed t o have been abused (Van der Kolk et all, 2001). By
1974, some 60,000 cases w ere report ed (M yers, 2008). In 1980, t he num ber
exceeded t o one million. By 1990, report s t opped t w o millions, and in 2000, t he
report s said t here w ere around t hree millions.
There are some informat ion about child abuse but t here are cert ain
people w ho believe t hat most abuses are not hing more t han parent s exert ing
separat ing abusing and disciplining child. This happens because t he old people
t aught t heir children t hrough harshness. In addit ion, t here w ere no enough
Penal Code (PC) t o prot ect children. How ever, a movement t o prot ect children
grow s rapidly now adays.
Child abuse is defined as any recent act or even t he failure t o act in order t o
keep a child safe. A child may be defined as a person under t he age of 18. These act s
may be commit t ed by parent or caret aker w ho is responsible for t he child’s w elfare.
Abuse is one reason w hy children are placed in fost er care. The cases of child abuse
are handled by a mult idisciplinary t eam w hich includes medical personnel, law
enforcement officers, t he schools, social w orkers, and t he court s. School
personnel may be t he first t o not ice and report t he signs of abuses.
There are four kinds of abuse: physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect
abuse, and emot ional abuse. Physical abuse is charact erized by physical injury,
usually inflict ed as t he result of a beat ing or inappropriat ely harsh disciplining.
Sexual abuse includes molest at ion, incest , rape, prost it ut ion, or child’s
pornography. Neglect abuse can be physical, educat ional, or emot ional.
Inappropriat e punishment and verbal abuse are also forms of emot ional or
psychological child abuse.
Abuse is usually done by t he person w ho has close relat ion w it h t he
abused like fat her or mot her. In some cases, abusers do not have t he educat ion
and provide inadequat e parent al role models for fut ure generat ions. In
addit ion, abusers are usually t he people w ho had ever been abused.
Children w ho suffer from abuse oft en cont inue t o be affect ed t ill adult s.
Anxiet y and depression can result in poor academic, w ork performance and in
failed adult ’s relat ionship. Abusive behavior can be passed dow n, w it h abused
children grow ing t o become abusive parent s. Therefore t hrough his t rilogy A
Child Called It, The Lost Boy, and A M an Nam ed Dave, Pelzer t ries t o w arn and break t he abuse circle. He also encourage t he abused children t o survive and
t he people around t o be aw are of children abuse.
In A Child Called it, Pelzer t ells some kinds of abuse he had ever experienced. The abuses included physical abuse, emot ional abuse and neglect
abuse. Physically, David w as beat en, broken his arm and punct ured ont o his
st omach and burned on t he st ove. He got many bruises on his body. It w as
discovered as t he school’s nurse invest igat ed and t ook a not e about David’s
body.
She count s t he slashlike m arks on m y face, looking for any she m ight have m issed in t he past . She is very t horough. Next , t he nurse opens m y m out h t o look at m y t eet h t hat are chipped from having been slam med against t he kit chen t ile count er t op. She jot s a few m ore not es on t he paper. As she cont inues t o look me over, she st ops at t he old scar on m y st om ach (ACCI: 9).
David oft en got beat ing from mot her. The more David did mist ake, t he
When I came t o school t he next day, he saw t he result s of M ot her’s beat ings (ACCI: 10).
Accident ly, m ot her had ever broken Davids arm. One day, mot her
grabbed David’s arm t hen she lost her balance and break David’s arm.
As M ot her grabbed m y arm , she lost her balance and st aggered back a st ep. As
knife t o David’s st omach and supposed t o kill him.
Out of t he corner of m y eye I saw a blurred object fly from her hand. A sharp
Emot ionally, David’s mot her mocked him as a bast ard child, lit t le son of
His mot her neglect ed David for not giving meal and fine clot hes. His
mot her also didn’t pay at t ent ion t o David’s healt h.
Because M ot her had m e w ear t he sam e clot hes week aft er w eek, by Oct ober m y clot hes had become weat hered, t orn and sm elly. She hardly bot hered t o cover m y bruises on m y face and arm s. (AACI: 30)
By t hen, M ot her w ould “ forget” t o feed me any dinner. (ACCI: 30)
In M arch 5, 1973, school personnel report ed t he abuse t o police.
Aft erw ards, David w as brought t o fost er home by Aunt M ary as t he mot her.
This st ory w as t old in The Lost Boy. Aft er t he t rial, he moved t o five different homes. His fost er parent s w ere: Lilian - Rudy Cat anze, Alice - Harold Turnbough,
Joanne – M ichael Nulls, Vera – Jody, and Linda – Jody Walsh. David w as in w ard
of t he court unt il eight een. Then, he searched for job and finally joined U.S. Air
Force.
How ever, in A M an Nam ed Dave, Pelzer t ries t o reveal t he cause w hy
David got t he abuse. In t hat book, it is st at ed t hat his mot her abused him
because she had experienced harshness from her mot her t oo.
From w hat I had learned, people like M ot her abused t heir children in t he sam e m anner t hey w ere abused; t hus becoming a product of t heir environment . (AM ND: 196)
Besides, t he mot her felt oppressed t o look aft er children alone w hile her
husband w ent for w ork all day along and she suspect ed her husband t o have an
affair w it h some ot her w oman. She admit t ed t hat she drank because of t he
Digging furt her t hrough t he file, reading a rare int erview M ot her had given
t he circle of abuse by forgiving mot her. Unlike his mot her, David t reat ed his son
very w ell.
C. Discussion
The social aspect reflect ed in A Child Called it , The Lost Boy, and A M an
Nam ed Dave can be seen from t he social st at us of t he charact ers w ho w ork as t eachers, headmast er, nurse, police, and fireman. These professions belong t o
middle class. The t rilogy also t ells t hat t hey live adequacy and do not look rich.
or t he ot her class. The only difference t hat st ands out is t he fost er children look
inferior t o t he common children. Beside from t he charact ers, t he social class can
be seen from t he charact erizat ion. The mot her has a bad charact er like mad and
lazy, screaming, drinking alcohol, and cussing. The person w ho has t hat
charact er is uneducat ed. In addit ion, it can be seen from t he ungrammat ical
st ruct ure used by mot her in speaking such as 'em'. Since educat ed person w ill
speak t he st andard language, it means t hat t he mot her is uneducat ed because
she uses slang.
The problem reflect ed in t his book is bad social relat ion among family
members and t heir relat ionship w it h t he neighbors. The fat her spends his days
for w orking and rarely being at home, w hile t he mot her and children most ly
st ay at home and not mingle w it h neighbors. The disappearance of fat her in t he
middle of fam ily makes t he mot her feels heavy in parent ing. The mot her is so
irrit able w hen she sees her children doing a small mist ake. Even mot her w ill give
punishment bot h physical and psychological punishment t o t he children. This
condit ion causes child abuse. M oreover, t he American societ y have individual
charact erist ic. They mind t heir ow n home w it hout int erfering ot hers. In t his
case, t he neighbors see t he abuse in David’s home but t hey do not hing. Because
In econom ic aspect , t he set t ing of t ime in t he t rilogy is American societ y
faced recession. In recession, it w as difficult t o find job and t he people lived in
povert y. The difficult y in econom ic aspect can cause child abuse. Parent s can
ignore children’s needs such as food, clot h, medicine or educat ion because t hey
don’t have money. The t rilogy t ell about fat her’s job as a fireman w ho spends
almost his t ime for w orking; w hile mot her is a housew ife w ho almost st ays at
home w it hout earning money. In t his case, mot her forget s David’s needs on
food and clot h. She also ignore about David’s heat h. Beside t hat , t he depression
of t he lack of m oney can encourage t he parent s’ emot ional and t hey w ill be
easy t o get angry and hit t he children. Similarly, mot her almost hit s David
because of t he depression.
The polit ic applied by goverment also cont ribut es t o child abuse. The
goverment decides t o creat e w ar w hich causes t he recession and great
depression so t he societ y get s difficult y in economic and increases st ress and
emot ionally hit children t o pour out anger. From t he set t ing of t ime, it w as
invasion t o Kuw ait in August 1990. American government forced t he people t o
get involved in t he w ar t o help Kuw ait .
How ever, religion prevent s abuse. It can be seen from t he set t ing of
place t hat is church. When David’s fam ily rout inely w ent t o church, t he fam ily
w arning t o avoid bad at t it ude. On t he cont rary, w hen David’s family rarely w ent
t o church, t he fam ily became t enuous. There no int imacy occurs. The husband
rarely st ayed home w hile t he w ife oft en spent t ime by drinking and w at ching
TV. M oreover t he mot her even t ort ure children because she forgot t he religion
know ledge.
The cult ural aspect of American societ y at t hat t ime cont ribut es t o child
abuse t oo. American perspect ive t hat considers violence as a w ay t o discipline
children makes child abuse as a common. In addit ion, American societ y have
individualist ic personalit y t hat makes child abuse case increasing from year t o
year. The child abuse dow n from generat ion t o generat ion and w ill cont inue
because t he habit of American societ y t hat harbored problems and runs on
alcohol. From t he plot , it can be seen t hat David’s mot her w as abusive because
she w as abused by her mot her. She ran t o drink and applied her burden t o
David by abusing him.
The cont ribut ion of science and t echnology t o child abuse can be seen
from w hat t he charact ers had and did in t he st ory of Dave Pelzer’s t rilogy A Child Called It, The Lost Boy and A M an Nam ed Dave. American t echnology at t he end of t w ent iet h cent ury w as developed in some aspect s. Because of t he
appearing of t v, mot her oft en spend her t ime t o w at ch t v. Therefore, she forgot
inspired by an art icle t elling a mot her w ho abused her child. She imit at ed t he
w ay t o abuse t he child.
The above descript ion show s t hat t he t rilogy reflect s t he social realit y
t hat surrounds t he aut hor at t he t ime t he aut hor w rot e his w orks. Various social
aspect s can be t raced t hrough t he element s of t he w ork in t he charact er and
charact erizat ion, set t ing of place and t ime, plot , st yle, and t heme.
The social realit y st rongly reflect ed in t he t rilogy is social aspect and
cult ure aspect . Social aspect t hat clearly reflect ed is social relat ion in w hich
among family members has a bad relat ion and t he neighbors don’t pay
at t ent ion t o t he abuse; w hereas cult ural aspect includes t he individualism of
American societ y, violence against children t hat is not regarded as abuse, and
public disdain for American fost er child. Those aspect s give a big cont ribut ion t o
child abuse.
Besides reflect ing social realit y, t he t rilogy can also be an expression of
t he aut hor's crit icism of cert ain issues on t he environment . Through t he t rilogy,
Dave Pelzer crit icizes parent s and societ y. Parent s are expect ed t o educat e t heir
children properly w it hout violence and societ y are required t o be more
concerned w it h t he phenomenon of child abuse so t hat t hey can prevent it . In
addit ion, Dave Pelzer also encourages t he vict ims of abuse t o survive by
