“I’m free?”
Dave Pelzer’s account of the severe child abuse began, quite unusually, with his ‘rescue’. He did not have a clue that it was his last day with his mentally-unstable and sadistic mother; his last day of being a garage-resident; and his first day of freedom.
After his rescue, there was a flashback of how his days turned from the “good times”, to being deprived of food and being excluded from his family. At first, he was scolded the way any ‘bad’ boy would be, but as the days passed, Dave realized that the beautiful mother that he once loved is gone— he now thinks of her as a monster, as she played deadly games on him. In most parts of the story, the brutal-mother-versus-helpless-son conflict continues and worsens.
The story is told from a ten-year old Dave’s point of view. This is reflected in the diction in the story: simple words that are used by a child. Also, his way of thinking is simpler than most of the readers of the book, thus, a dramatic irony can sometimes be distinguished. This irony can be seen whenever Dave fails to comprehend why his mother was tormenting him. Of course, little Dave would focus more on his survival than waste time in thinking of why his mother wanted him to experience ‘hell’ why his brothers enjoy the luxury of being fed, dressed and most of all, loved.
After being deprived of food love, Dave’s ‘worst’ days are still yet to come.