All American Boys by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds is about two young teenage boys, one black and one white, who have to face the repercussions of a devastating act that would leave their friends, family, school, and community bitterly divided by racial tension. Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynold both met while staying in the same hotel room while on tour. They both quickly became friends after bonding over their similar racial views. What sparked both Brendan and Jason to start writing a book was the tragic death of Michael Brown. In the novel, Kiely and Reynolds use repetition, imagery, and logos to create the main theme racism.…
In the 1940s the United States was getting ready to get involved in World War II and needed to set an example of good ethics on a global stage to help bring. The book The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc written by, Douglas Brinkley has many examples of ethical decision making that was critical at the time in order for the United States to bring peace to World War II. For instance the author is re-establishing already known information but with a new style of how he obtained the information, which was straight from the sources of D-day survivors. With the decision to tell the story of D-day through the quotes of survivors it helps show how the army generals and rangers would act showing their ethnicity toward the United States and helping resolve World…
Dave Pelzer was born on December 29, 1960 in Daly City, California. He is the son of Stephen Pelzer, who was of Austrian and Irish descent, and Catherine Pelzer. Dave Pelzer was the second of five boys in the family. He has experienced a truly horrific lifestyle. As a child, he endured the horrors of child abuse, this included physical torture, mental cruelty, and was nearly starved to death. His mother referred to him as “it”, he was the only child that was abused. The rest of his brothers lived a happy typical life. Dave, on the other hand, was looked at as the family slave. He was forced to sleep in the cold, dark basement on a cot with no blankets or pillow. He had only one pair of clothes and they were all torn and worn out from over the years. It all started when Dave was about two years old.…
Prior to the twenty-first century, most cases that involved trauma towards a minor were not evaluated close enough to reveal the psychological and social damage children were experiencing. Experts believed children possessed an innate attribute that allowed them recover quickly from oppression or abuse. However, in the novel The Boy who was raised as a Dog, Bruce Perry exemplifies how despairing experiences can psychologically damage a child’s brain and leave permanent damage that guide dysfunctions in behavior and cognition. Perry urges how healing sessions and social interaction with positive role models, are key to help children cope with traumatic experiences that direct their life.…
“A Child Called It” is a heart wrenching, page turner, must read, novel. Child abuse is such an important issue that needs to be spoken about, and that is just what this author did. The author of this novel, Dave Pelzer describes his own cruel life that he was subjected to from such an early age. It becomes obvious, very quick into the reading, that the author certainly went through great trauma. The visual imagery Pelzer shares, such as being forced to eat his own vomit, swallow soap, surviving in a “gas chamber,” as well having his baby brothers dirty diaper smudged in his face, makes it known that his abusive life, unfortunately really did happen.…
Often times it is easier to neglect the inevitability of death, but there is no neglecting the further rebuked notion of murder. The world is quite familiar with this utmost evil and shows no tolerance, but when it comes to the instance of a child who has committed the same crime, the rationale of justice is flipped on its head. There are many conflicts to be raised by two major viewpoints. Those who believe that adolescents deserve mandatory life in prison are understandably hurt and angered by their losses, but they disregard the sheer weight of certain particulars. When a juvenile is convicted of such an act, their age and environment in which they were raised prove to be reasonable mitigation for their horrid conducts.…
The Vietnam War was the “unpopular” war and was intensely criticized by the Australian people for the reasons stated in the poem, Homecoming, by Bruce Dawe. In the poem “Homecoming” by Bruce Dawe, Dawe identifies his personal concerns of the Vietnam War and then presents them through the use of poetic techniques. It is clear to us that Dawe’s foremost concerns are that of the number of dead, the lack of respect and the dehumanisation of the dead, and the careless attitude of the Government towards the War.…
Many people use their childhood as a way to justify the means of their adulthood. This is especially the case when we talk about abused or neglected children. Statistics comes to show that children who suffered from an abusive parent tend to grow up and become the abusers themselves. These children might even become involved in criminal activity. This was not the case for Dave Pelzer. When Dave Pelzer woke up one morning to an abusive mother, he didn’t use this as a reason to behave a certain way in the future. Instead he took it to himself as a duty. He took it to himself that as a survivor of this tragic event to help others and to spread awareness through his memoirs and self-help books.…
This paper examines the diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as demonstrated by David Pelzer in his autobiographies A Child Called It and The Lost Boy, with a focus on the latter book. Dave is the son of alcoholic parents whose mother severely abused him while his father turned the other cheek. Dave has been subjected to torturous mind games, starvation, and physical abuse so horrendous that he is left scarred, bruised, and nearly dead. The staff at his elementary school eventually takes action and David is removed from his parents’ custody. From there, he spends his teenage years in various foster homes while he struggles with the emotional scars left by the trauma he endured. His search for answers to why he was treated this way and effort to understand the frightening nightmares and emotions he experiences becomes a long journey toward self-love and forgiveness.…
In “Homecoming”, poet Bruce Dawe uses vivid visual and aural poetic techniques to construct his attitudes towards war. He creates a specifically Australian cultural context where soldiers have been fighting in a war in Vietnam, and the dead bodies flown home. However the poem has universal appeal in that the insensitivity and anonymity accorded to Precious lives reduced to body bags are common attitudes towards soldiers in all historical conflicts. Although Dawe makes several references to the Vietnam War, the sense of moral outrage at the futile, dehumanising aspects of war is a universal theme. He also speaks on behalf of the mute, dead soldiers who have no way of expressing their suffering and loss of hope. By “speaking for those who have no means of speaking”, Dawe ultimately exposes the brutal hopelessness of soldiers caught up in foreign conflicts and the shocking impact on families.…
I decided to use this book because it really grabbed my attention the first time I read it. This book is such a horrific story; it makes you wonder how he got through what he did. Also it's motivating, because if he got through that and is now a very successful author it means that you can honestly be anything you want to. The book itself was really detailed and it makes you feel his pain, and also it helps you realize the seriousness of child abuse. A detail about the book…
Many foster youth do not graduate from high school, but with the bonds between foster families and the foster children, there will be a long success in their future. Some of them have their own stories that they would love to share with the world. “A young boy suffered from abuse and neglect and responded with outbursts, bad behavior and anxiety. His foster father gave him unconditional love and helped him through disruptive visits with his birth mother that would frequently set him back. The boy healed and improved greatly and yearned for a permanent home. For Christmas this year, his foster father gave him the greatest gift of love the boy could imagine.” “Five siblings were in need of adoptive homes. One of our foster parents recruited three other families to KidsPeace Foster Care, and together, the families adopted all five children through KidsPeace. They all live in the same town and most attend the same church, so the siblings get to see each other often and celebrate birthdays and holidays in a big happy group. One of the mothers candidly tells her unique story and discusses her motivation.” “Teenage mothers to be are often placed in foster care to ensure they learn how to care for themselves and their babies. In this case, the baby was born…
There were kids who were petrified of leaving home and kept it to themselves. Then there were the kids who acted like it was a big joke and fooled around. They turned their big brown name tags around so you couldn’t see their name and age. And finally, there were the kids, who were happy and relieved to leave home because they were abused and treated badly.…
Lost boy is a follow up to Dave Pelzer's book “A Child Called It”. This Novel is an auto-biography of Dave Pelzer. In Pelzer's The Lost Boy, he answers questions and reveals new adventures through the emotional and intense story of his life as an adolescent child in the foster system. Now considered an F-Child (Foster Child), Dave is moved to five different homes. He suffers shame and experiences displeasure from those who feel that all foster kids are trouble makers and worthless of being loved just because they are not part of a "real" family. It follows his experiences in the foster care system. After being taken from his mother Dave goes from one foster home to another describing his life. I believe the title of the book (“The Lost Boy”) relates to Dave to feeling lost, as in alone. He does not have a family.…
Cited: Merryn, Erin. Stolen innocence: Triumphing Over a Childhood Broken By Abuse: a Memoir. Deerfield Beacch: Health Communications, 2004. Print.…