Summary Of Lullabies For Little Criminals 'By Heather O' Neill

821 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Lullabies for little criminals main issues to arise

The novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals by heather O’Neill is written in a unique way that engulfs the reader from beginning to end. O’Neill does not leave much room for boredom or loss of interest for the reader as they embark upon the journey with the antagonist, Baby. Having read the novel and analyzed it from a few different perspectives, the one that I found most helpful was by viewing the story from a Reader Response theory. I have a blog post solely dedicated to my analysis from this perspective. I found that the Reader response theory allowed me to discover aspects about myself I did not pay much attention to, or had never realized at all. These included the realization that the I live is ridiculously sheltered. Comparing my life to that of a twelve year old girl …show more content…

It minimized the significance of my “end of the world problems” when my biggest concern right now is the stress of post-secondary schooling whereas Baby’s biggest worry was where she would sleep that night, or if she would ever see her father again.
The thesis statement of the novel was: children who are neglected by people they care for during their childhood will find potentially harmful ways to cope on their own. I believe O’Neill intended for this to be the theme throughout the novel based upon all of the threatening situations the reader finds Baby in. With her father- the man who began the novel as her best friend- either high on heroin, abusive towards her because he is not on heroin, or AWOL due to his use of heroin, Baby is quite often left to fend for herself. She finds companionship in the most troublesome boy at the community centre, despite there being several other children who would have gladly been her friend as well as a better influence upon her. Baby also

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Lullabies For Little Criminals 'By Heather O' Neill

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    Baby is an innocent young twelve-year-old, who undergoes negative changes throughout the novel. O’Neill was inspired to write Lullabies for Little Criminals because she experienced how quickly the border between adulthood and childhood could be erased by taking in

    Read More

  • Lullabies For Little Criminals Character Analysis

    387 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the third section of the novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals, there are five major points that include the introduction of a new influential character that dynamically changes the protagonist, and examples of allusions, irony, and another major theme in the novel. The protagonist realizes that she is a prostitute and that she changed to an extent that she cannot stay further from her father anymore. Throughout the section, Baby’s character and personality develop as she slowly transitions into an adult. For example, she starts referring to readers as “little kids” randomly in the middle of a chapter when she is a little kid herself. In addition, Baby sings the song “Desperado,” a popular French song at the end of each chapter, which emphasizes

    Read More

  • Another Place at the Table: Synopsis

    1299 Words  | 3 Pages

    Working as a teacher serving at-risk four-year-old children, approximately six of her eighteen students lived in foster care. The environment introduced Kathy to the impact of domestic violence, drugs, and family instability on a developing child. Her family lineage had a history of social service and she found herself concerned with the wellbeing of one little girl. Angelica, a foster child in Kathy’s class soon to be displaced again was born the daughter of a drug addict. She had been labeled a troublemaker, yet the Harrisons took the thirty-hour training for foster and adoptive care and brought her home to adopt. Within six months, the family would also adopted Angie’s sister Neddy. This is when the Harrison family dynamic drastically changes and Kathy begins a journey with over a hundred foster children passing through her home seeking refuge.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Till The End Of June By Cris Beune

    1196 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book, Till the end of June, by Cris Beam. The overall theme is about foster care. Foster care in relation with the kids, the parents who take care of the kids, and the corporations that oversee the foster parents care and guidance. The book is broken up by parts, each part has different foster parents caring for different foster children. A lot of the book is regulations that both the kids and the parents must undergo. A lot of kids have come from dysfunction homes and are either forced to foster care or our put there by the choice of the parent(s). I believe the author was trying to accomplish the fact of what the kids and parents go through in tough situations.

    Read More

  • Lullabies for Little Criminals

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    Baby narrates her story through her naïve, innocent child voice. She serves as a filter for all the events happening in her life, what the narrator does not know or does not comprehend cannot be explained to the readers. However, readers have reason not to trust what she is telling them because of her unreliability. Throughout the beginning of the novel we see Baby’s harsh exposure to drugs and hurt. Jules raised her in an unstable environment because of his constant drug abuse. However, the narrator uses flowery language to downplay the cruel reality of her Montreal street life. “… for a kid, I knew a lot of things about what it felt like to use heroin” (10). We immediately see as we continue reading that Baby thinks the way she has been living her life is completely normal, however, we as readers understand that her life is in fact worse then she narrates. Baby knows about the impermanent nature of her domestic security, however, she repeatedly attempts to create a sense of home each time her and Jules move to another apartm...

    Read More

  • The Struggles of a Gifted Student in "And Still We Rise," Miles Corwin

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    Corwin highlights the corrupted foster care system through detailed progression of the central character, Olivia. She is one of the most brilliant students in the novel and views school as a positive distraction from the daily physical abuse she encounters at home. In a sense, intelligence saves her. She manages to disconnect her emotions and use her intellect to excel in and out of school. With a molested mother and lack of father figure, Olivia becomes a ward of the county. Children who enter foster care often have been exposed to condition...

    Read More

  • Separation Anxiety and Attachment in Infants and Toddlers

    2903 Words  | 6 Pages

    Susie’s mother opened the door to let Molly, Susie’s babysitter, inside. Ten-month old Susie seemed happy to see Molly. Susie then observed her mother put her jacket on and Susie’s face turned from smiling to sad as she realized that her mother was going out. Molly had sat for Susie many times in the past month, and Susie had never reacted like this before. When Susie’s mother returned home, the sitter told her that Susie had cried until she knew that her mother had left and then they had a nice time playing with toys until she heard her mother’s key in the door. Then Susie began crying once again.

    Read More

  • Americanized: Poem Analysis

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... The mother's approach is a source of terror for the child, written as if it is a horror movie, suspense created with the footsteps, the physical embodiment of fear, the doorknob turns. His terror as he tries to run, but her large hands hold him fast, is indicative of his powerless plight. The phrase, 'She loves him.' reiterates that this act signifies entrapment as there is no reciprocation of the ‘love’.

    Read More

  • Isolation And Loneliness in A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    who wanted to enter her life, she is left alone after her father’s death. Her attitude

    Read More

  • A Literary Analysis Of Carley's 'Foster Child'

    876 Words  | 2 Pages

    Literary Analysis When you hear the phrase “foster child”, what does that mean? Do you see it as an unfortunate child who got taken in by a lovely family? Do you take it as the happy ending that was always meant to be? Well in this case, it’s both. Carley has lived with her mother her entire life.

    Read More

  • Ellen Hopkins Idental

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, in the beginning of the novel the reader is notified of a car accident that occurred several years ago causing the girls’ mother to become emotionally detached and the family to disconnect. The reader observes the abuse the girls endure through their politician of a mother’s neglectful ways. Kay, the girls’ mother, will remove herself from their lives for months at a time which sends Raymond, the father, into a depression that can only be cured by sexual contact with Kaeleigh. Furthermore, the reader witness the rape incidents between Raymond and Kaeleigh from both girls perspectives. Toward the end of the novel we come to a point where one of the twins, Raeanne, is caught having sex with another boy by Ian, Kaeleigh's best friend and secret love.

    Read More

  • The Heroic Journey In Tessa Hadley's Short Story 'Valentine'

    1460 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since it is apparent that she kept the child, her life would obviously change from this “reward” as taking care of a child would take a great deal or all of an individual’s effort. Stella at first thought she could return home and go back to school; she would return to her old life. However, she reflects, “But I wasn’t that clever, was I? Had I forgotten everything they’d taught us at school? That you only had to do it once, just once, to get into trouble” (Hadley 51).

    Read More

  • Matilda Wormwood's Isolation

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    The love and support from Miss Honey encouraged Matilda to get smarter and work harder in her life, encouraged her to be happier with herself no matter the social stigma placed upon her by her family. This allows Matilda to be two different people- one person around Miss Honey, and another around the

    Read More

  • Nature Vs. Nurture: Personal Narrative

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    One child we were introduced to was a young girl named Jeanie. Jeanie lived with her father, and her other siblings in an old, run-down house. Her father was a nasty man, who abused Jeanie and her siblings. He beat them, gave them little food, and he never let them go outside of the house. So they never really had any human interaction.

    Read More

More about Summary Of Lullabies For Little Criminals 'By Heather O' Neill

Open Document