Blog Post #6 - First Person Perspective

This novel is a tragic memoir of the author Heather O’Neil. She wrote this novel from past experiences and memories from her early childhood. This novel is told from a first person perspective and is portrayed very well as the author has experienced most of the things the main character Baby did. Heather O’Neil wrote this novel through the eyes of a child to portray the harsh environment that Baby grew up in. when Baby was just a kid; she was exposed to heroine and bad experiences from the people she hung out with, as well from her father Jules. The harshness of reality was shown before she was ready.

Thesis: Heather O’Neil’s novel Lullabies for Little Criminals is based is based upon a first person perspective. This shows that Baby becomes accustomed with the harsh reality of drugs and prostitution causing her to loose her innocence. Eventually she became are of he problems she endures at a very young age. Once Baby looses her innocence, it will be hard for her to recover.

As I said in my previous blog post “Having Baby as a first person narrative, brought the story to life as if it was happening to you. As she describes what she is feeling, you can put yourself in her shoes and sympathies with her and understand why she made the decision she did,” If the story did not have a first person narrative, it would be difficult to make a connection with the character because you don’t understand the emotions they are feeling or why they are making the decisions they do.  Heather O’Neil’s past experiences made the story realistic because she had experienced them first hand and was able to write about in in explicit detail.  First person narrative is the best way to write this kind of story because you are showing how the character feels instead of telling the reader. Heather O’Neil makes a lot of comments for Baby saying, “When you’re a kid…”  as if she had already experienced adulthood and knows there is a difference between the two. “Becoming a child again is what is impossible. That’s what you have a legitimate reason to be upset over. Childhood is the most valuable thing that is taken away from you in life, if you think about it.” (O’Neil, 69) Heather is using her own past experiences and characterizing them in the main character Baby.

Blog post #5 Reader Response Theory

Having grown up in a different setting and a different life style then Baby, I found it heard to relate to her experiences.  I grew up with a mother and father who care very much for me and made sure that I had a life that was the best they could give me. Baby on the other hand, had no mother and an absent father who abused drugs. It was difficult finding experiences to mine own, but instead of looking at the bug topics such as prostitution and drugs, I looked at the other things that I could relate to, like fitting in.

I can relate to moving schools and have the excitement of meeting new people in a new environment. I had to move to a new house and a new school because my mom got remarried. Baby had to move to a new apartment and new schools because Jules had misunderstandings with his drug “friends.” “My new school was within walking distance of many more houses, so I didn't have to worry about having enough students. It took up most of the block and was made out of large grey stones, like a museum. I didn't mind changing schools at all and was very optimistic about it.” (O’Neil, 97)

Having Baby as a first person narrative, brought the story to life as if it is happening to you. As she describes what she is feeling, you can put your self in her shoes and sympathies with her and understand why she made he choices she did. Reading through this novel, I like to compare my life to hers. Although they are completely opposite, I find my self-relating to her feelings rather than her experiences.  In elementary school, I was bullied a lot so I felt isolated from everyone else. When Baby was trying to reconnect with her friend Zoe, it turned into Zoe and her friends against Baby. “All of a sudden, without saying where I was going or good-bye or anything like that, I climbed over Greg and out of the car at a red light. I heard Cherie laughing hysterically as I sloshed down the slushy street. Zoe got out of the car and called after me. (O’Neil, 270)

With the society we live in, there are not a lot of thirteen-year-old girls who have been through the experiences that Baby has. Prostitution for example isn’t common for young girls to do to fit in and feel loved and wanted. The way Baby would describe her experiences and emotions with situations, made it feel as if you were right beside her through out the whole book.

Plog Post #4- Feminism

In the novel Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neil, women are portrayed as sex figures or someone who will stay at home to cook and clean while their husband works. Later in the novel, Baby is a prostitute as she starts to hangout and have sexual relations with her pimp, Alphonse. Alphonse is a pimp who suddenly gets obsessed with Baby when he first meets her. Since Baby was not familiar to all the attention that Alphonse was giving her, she really liked it. Alphonse made Baby feel wanted and needed, and not a neglecting relationship that she has had her whole life. He spoiled her, took her out and made her feel like she was the prettiest girl on the street with his compliments. “Do you ever notice how when you walk down the, everybody turns around to look at you? That's because you’re the prettiest girl in the neighbourhood.” Baby felt as if Alphonse was using her for her prostitution. She knew that she didn't need him in her life and could find someone who likes her for her, and not what she can provide. She stated hanging out with a boy from school who made her happy.

Baby had always longed for a mother. She looked for qualities in everyone she met to try to meet a standard. When Jules was in rehab, se stayed with her friend who had a mother that Baby thought was the perfect mother figure.  Baby also found these characteristics in Alphonse. “When Alphonse came into my life, it strangely felt a little bit like he was a mother figure. Every good pimp is a mother. When Alphonse spoke to me, his voice had the same tempo as a lullaby.” With being exposed to two different roles women can portray, Baby has yet to figure out what the role of women should portray. 

Blog #3 - Identifying the Problem

In the novel Lullabies for Little Criminals, the main character Baby has been exposed to drugs, alcohol and thieving almost her entire life. This novel is set in Montreal, Quebec. Baby and her father Jules have been all over Montreal living in different apartments with a different setting surrounding them. Drugs and alcohol never seem to leave the picture, exposing Baby to it at a very young age. Baby experienced many situations that are not normal for a twelve-year-old girl.

Baby’s father Jules has a huge impact on her life.  He has taught her to trust no one, and setting up the idea that if she stays out past 9 o’clock, she must be a prostitute. Having a parent, who is addicted to a hardcore drug, sets their mind in a different perspective. They view things a lot different than someone who is not addicted to drugs. Jules is more like an older brother to Baby than a father figure. He has not cared for her the way a parent should care for their child. He has brought drugs, foster homes, angry “friends” that have had trouble with Jules. Baby thinks her dad is right about everything, because that is an instinct you have as a child. . Dr. Howard Samuels said, “ if parents take drugs, sooner or later their children will take drugs too” If Baby kept listening to what her father was telling her was right, she would end up in the same footsteps as her father, and eventually she did. Baby experienced drugs, alcohol and thieving at a very young age. Baby was not exposed to a typical childhood. She would hangout with kids and adults that were not appropriate for her, only being twelve years old. With her father having no guidance towards her social life, resulted in her hanging out with her drug abusing father, drug dealers and pimps.

As Baby likes to go out and experience things so she could fit in, she finds herself in situations where she has to think on her own and not get the input from her father on what is right and wrong. Baby learns over time what is appropriate and what is not, since she lacked the experience of a normal childhood and education.

Blog Post #2: literary theory

After reading further into the novel “Lullabies for Little Criminals” by Heather O’Neil, I began to analyze it from the archetypal literary theory standpoint. The protagonist, Baby, has made a transformation from innocent yet knowledgeable to an unfortunate victim.  We see that Baby takes a turn for the worse. After her father, Jules gets out of rehab, and he changes completely. He begins to lash out on Baby for an unknown reason, blaming her for his problems and ultimately drives her away. Baby thought that Jules only loved her when he was on drugs. Before rehab, he was interested in her life, trying to help her as much as he could and keeping her from becoming the person he had become. Jules had not been the best father figure. As he tries to do the best he can for her, it leads to trouble putting Baby in dangerous situations and with her moving all the time. Jules is addicted to heroin thus at a very young age he exposes her to them as well. Jules makes the transformation from not being aware of his surroundings and the impact it had on his daughter, to regretting most of the decisions he has made in life.

Baby grew up surrounded by drug attacks and very little parental support. Thought out her whole life she has been exposed to so much bad, but she still remains good at heart. The influences in her life such as Jules and Alphonse has caused to her to make very poor decisions. Baby offers a lot of insight into the world though. As seen in the novel she has thoughts that most 12-13 years old would not usually have. “Suddenly I realized that I wanted everything to be as it was when I was younger. When you’re young enough, you don’t know that you live in a cheap lousy apartment. A cracked chair is nothing other than a chair. A dandelion growing out of crack in your side walk outside your front door is a garden. You could believe that a song your parents were singing in the evening was the most tragic opera in the world. It never occurs to you when you are very young to need something other than what your parents have to offer you”.

When Baby first meets Alphonse, she becomes intrigued by his motherly figure towards her. She had not grown up with a mother, except for Isabelle and Mary.  He was always trying to look out for her, looking out for her best interest. That changed when Alphonse became very selfish and took advantage of Baby for money. Even though Baby was very young, he forced her to become a prostitute so he could make a profit. After a while, Alphonse became obsessed with Baby and began to control who she sees and what she does. It concludes with a sudden conflict between Baby and Alphonse, where Alphonse steals the heroin he forced Baby to use and ends his own life by overdosing.  

This novel portrays many elements of the archetypal literary theory and many symbolisms of imagery can also be seen.

ISP Blog Post #1- Revealing of the Characters

The book I decided to read for my ISP was Lullabies for little Criminals by Heather O’Neill. Before reading the first fifth of this book, I thought I would be about mischievous children doing illegal acts. I chose to read this novel because I was intrigued to read about the life of a twelve/ thirteen-year-old witch such unusual and unnatural living conditions and try to relate them to my own life. I have not grown u with a heroin addict parent, so our lives are drastically different.

The first part of the book revealed a lot about the main character, Baby and her young 26-year-old father, Jules. They were living in a two-bedroom apartment at this time.  With Jules being a heroin addict trouble found then quite easily causing then to pack up and leave every time he sought trouble. Jules was a single father. Baby’s mother died shortly after she was born. It was obvious that trouble would find them anywhere, and shortly into the novel, that is revealed.

Reading through the first section of the book, I guessed the Jules would eventually overdose which would result in his death or rehabilitation. Luckily for his, it was rehabilitation. Baby was sent to a foster home where she encountered new friends. Baby only know what it is like to live with a drug addict and is taking on his role by trying things that her father would. I think that once Jules finds out about the drugs and experimenting Baby has been doing, it will cause him to see that his bad actions are reflecting on her and hopefully cause him to change.

I look forward to reading more about the adventures and struggles Baby has yet to face.