Commentary: A Child Called "It"

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a cure.
The diseases that afflict the family in A Child Called "It" is that of alcoholism and an undefined mental illness. The problem with a mental illness in the family is two-fold. In our society, we have an attitude of, "don't ask, and if you do find out, then don't get involved. It's none of your business." That is to say that many are reluctant to enter the world of another family because they think that it is not their place and that any problems will be dealt with by the family itself.
Another problem with mental illness in the family is that the family itself tries to protect itself from those outside from interfering. This is manifested by the other members of the family trying to compensate for the problem themselves and the nature of the disease is "watered down" and symptoms become indistinct and unrecognizable.
As with many other diseases, those in close proximity to the afflicted run a greater risk of contracting the illness as well. It effects the entire ...

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now and play." (Pelzer 1993)
That episode in and of itself doesn't seem so bad, but for David was the first sign that things were getting worse in a hurry. Discipline methods in the home were very different for him than they were for his brothers and he seemed to know instinctively that this could not bode well for him. As time went on and Dave's parents slipped deeper into their alcoholism, his mother became the disciplinarian and his father just tried to stay out of her way to save his own skin. I will discuss specific events later in this piece.
The primary method for socialization for Dave and his family is the school that David and his brothers attended. Media did not play a ...

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