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.