Theme Analysis
Dave Pelzer, the author of this book, emphasizes on the message of survival from the very beginning of the story. Pelzer says "Mother can beat me all she wants, but I haven’t let her take away my will to somehow survive” (pg.4)
Throughout the story Dave was constantly in a survival mode, because of the horrifying things his mother would do to him. She would starve him almost every day, but Dave would go out finding risky, dangerous ways to get even the smallest bits of food to feed himself. When his mother stumbled, ending up stabbing Dave, he tended to his own medical needs. The stab wound even became infected and yet he still managed this all on his own. This shows how strong Dave truly was and how determined he was to "win" or survive in this ongoing battle with his mother.
Dave Pelzer, the author of this book, emphasizes on the message of survival from the very beginning of the story. Pelzer says "Mother can beat me all she wants, but I haven’t let her take away my will to somehow survive” (pg.4)
Throughout the story Dave was constantly in a survival mode, because of the horrifying things his mother would do to him. She would starve him almost every day, but Dave would go out finding risky, dangerous ways to get even the smallest bits of food to feed himself. When his mother stumbled, ending up stabbing Dave, he tended to his own medical needs. The stab wound even became infected and yet he still managed this all on his own. This shows how strong Dave truly was and how determined he was to "win" or survive in this ongoing battle with his mother.