Rough Days

Synopsis

The fight for food as David described it was very complex. He could only have leftovers from his brothers only when they felt like fedding him. Before they constantly asked mother if David could come out an play, however, when they asked they also got their beatings. Eventually Ronald and Stan stopped even looking at him in the eye. However, when father was at home everything was a living heaven. Mother wouldn't even scream at David. But, when he left the consequences began to arrive. When father had office hours 24 hours straight, mother would take advantage of it. One day she waited until David and his brothers arrived from school, she would send the others to their boy scout meeting and she would take care of David. She turned on the stove and ordered him to undress himself so that she can burn him. He didn't cry or did any sound because he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing him suffer pain. This is when the fight for food became a cycle. Father would try to sneak peaces of food for him whie he was grounded in the basement. He would steal food before school even started, and he would hear how mother and father argued. By this time mother was pregnant with his fourth child and everything became worse. When the baby was finally born, she used him as a secret weapon. She would bring him to the principal wherever he called him to inform her about the scars David had all over his body. Little by little she became more and more insensitive.

Quotes

"At the house, the dual punishment of hunger and violent attacks continued. By this time, for all practical purposes, I was no longer a member of the family. I existed, but there was little or no recognititon. Mother had ever stopped using my name; reffering to me as The Boy." (50)

Is David so meaningless? Why would anyone treat like someone like that? Who do she thinks she is? There must be some explanation to this behavior this isn't bearable anymore, this is literallt a living hell. At leat she could have the courage to reffer to David as his name but no, she has to be meaningless enough so that his name is "The Boy". Also why only him? Why did this had to happen to him? Why not Stan or Ronald?

"At school I was a total outcast. No other kid would have anuthing to do with me. During the lucnch recesses, I stuffed the sandwiches down my throat as I listened to my former friends make up osngs about me. "David the Food Thief" and "Pelzer-Smellzer" were two of the playground favourites. I had no one to talk to or play with. I felt all alone." (58)

It would've been nice that those kids should place themselves on David's shoes. How would they feel if they knew the truth about David's mother? How much lonelyness do they had to suffer if they only spent one day living like David? In my opinion in this case just the outfit David has to wear everyday says it all. A normal kid wouldn't use the same old clothes every single day wouldn't he?

Final Thoughts

Only this few pages made me thankful of everything I ever had, and everything I have. I am so glad to have a family that loves me and that rejects the idea od beating me. I hope that in the next few chapters David will no longer accept the conduct of mother, and he'll do something about it. He can't sit and keep his mouth shut with  his arms crossed, he has to end this injustice like right know. I hope that Father will reflect on what mother is doing and both of them will escape and live a happy live withought beatings. I really hope that evertything turns out just great. Also I hope that David would still be as corageous as he always should be.