A Child Called It Chapter 7 - The Lord's Prayer Summary

This chapter starts by showing David's desperation and loss of faith. He had become numb physically and emotionally. In the fifth grade now, he felt he would live like this forever. He didn't care about his mother making fun of him. He ate at any opportunity, which included out of the well-fed dogs' dish. He wished his mother dead-his father too. His father did not have courage enough to save him and that angered David. David's brothers also began hitting him. He describes his heart as a "stone" and says that hate was all he had left. School was no longer an escape. A school bully named Clifford beat him up at every opportunity. Another child, Aggy, was verbally abusive. On a fieldtrip she told David to jump off the boat. A teacher, Mr. Zeigler, made a special effort to make him feel like a normal boy. David won a contest naming the school newspaper. He enjoyed the praise and Mr. Zeigler gave him a letter for his mother. His mother just verbally attacked him, wishing him dead and calling him "it" for the first time. This really opened David's eyes. Being stripped of his very existence made him rebellious. He started doing his chores carelessly and acted up in the supermarket. On the way home he was made to lie on the floor while his brothers kicked and stomped him. Catherine then gave him the "gas chamber treatment," trying to shove his face in the bucket. That broke him. His only happiness came from his baby brother. David's mother started to alienate her husband, brother, friends, and even her mother. Finally, father left.

Epilogue: Sonoma County California

David stands at the ocean admiring the sky, the sea, and life in general. He compares his life to a piece of wood he sees washed up on shore. He speaks about taking positive control of his life and being the best person he could be. He feels blessed and says that the challenges he faced as a child has made him strong. He also learned about internal motivation. As an adult, he joined the Air Force. He then headed to Guerneville to his "utopia." Back at his family's old cabin with his son, Stephen, they watch the sunset over the Russian River. His son tells him that it is his favorite place. He cries tears of happiness holding his son.



Related Links:

A Child Called It Chapter 1 - The Rescue Summary
A Child Called It Chapter 2 - Good Times Summary
A Child Called It Quiz
A Child Called It Summary
Literature
Literature Summaries



To link to this A Child Called It Chapter 7 - The Lord's Prayer Summary page, copy the following code to your site: