Analysis Of Heather O 'Neill's Lullabies For Little Criminals'

The novel Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill is narrated by Baby -- the 12 year old protagonist and daughter of a single father and heroin addict, Jules. Baby never knew her mother and is unaware that she has any other family. They live in various shabby hotels in Montreal’s red light district. This paper is an exploration of the pathway effects caused by lack of familial support and how Jules addiction created a milieu that leads to Baby being ostracised by society. Suggestions are offered to alleviate their struggles.

Baby encounters stigma from authority figures and classmates, further contributing to her low self-esteem. For example, after a school teacher informed Xavier’s parents that, Baby is a troubled child from a broken home - Baby is unwelcome at his house. Lauren was Baby friend; however after witnessing Baby’s home life she humiliated and excluded Baby. Furthermore, they were many instances where the social workers and teachers could have intervened and made a positive difference in Baby’s life.

In order to escape the stress of life, Jules uses drugs. “Due to the fact that my mind is my own worst enemy. In a way I am perpetually and permanently in a state of rehabilitation. In an attempt to recover from the shock of being born . Some people are too sensitive to withstand that.”

The moment she gave birth something sunk into her mind, that she could never fully comprehend until that moment. As she holds her child in her arms, taking extra precautions, so that her child doesn’t get hurt, she realizes that it is now her job to take care of her baby. That her biggest concern is no longer herself, but the child who was not in her arms yesterday. That yesterday’s problems are no longer of concern to her. That it is her job to provide and raise a human being.

Unfortunately, I was not surprised that Johnnetta and her sister Sonya fell into prostitution as well as substance abuse because living on the streets was to be expected due to their upbringing. In Michael’s case, it was heart wrenching to see him falsely confess to abusing his sister solely because he was overwhelmed by the fear of his father. Although he had been separated from his parents for some time, it was upsetting to imagine the kind of differing emotions, both angry and devastated, Michael experienced after finding out of his father’s murder and suicide. Although the stories of their childhood gave me similar feelings to what I have when I hear of any abuse, it was a breath of fresh air to hear of the successes of two victims. I was taken aback

That is because the mass amount of people affected by addiction and the emotional turmoil it causes. By relating to those feelings, the author creates an understanding and persuasion towards the

When Montag starts to question his society, he begins to take action in order to change the continuous cycle of destruction this dystopian society faces. Montag’s wife, Mildred has been sucked into the addiction of technology along with the rest of this society. Due to over-stimulation from the wall TV’s and other technology surrounding them, they are not able to sleep. To sleep, they continually use and abuse pills, because they are so distracted by the technology around them, they forget how many they take and do not stop until they overdose. As well as over-stimulation, the people in this society also use prescription pills as an escape mechanism from the bleak and fast paced society in which they live.

Jeanette said,“One night when I was almost ten, I was awakened by someone running his hands over my private parts,” (Walls 103). The actions of her parents cause Jeannette’s trust in her parents to deteriorate. According to The Future of Children, poverty has many physical effects, but mental effects play a larger role in the lifestyle of a person. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn states, “Emotional outcomes are often grouped along two dimensions: externalizing behaviors including aggression, fighting, and acting out, and internalizing behaviors such as anxiety, social withdrawal, and depression” (Brooks-Gunn 62). Jeanette and her siblings suffer from the “internalized behaviors” as stated by The Future of Children as a result of the family’s continuous poverty throughout the children’s lives.

By creating characters in the novel who are excluded and labelled the author demonstrates how cruel society can be to people. The purpose of this essay is to show how the author reveals the experiences of marginalised characters in society. Joseph Davidson is an introverted, fourteen year old boy who feels that he is trapped within his own world of chaos, and he too is a marginalised character in the book. It is suggested by the author that other characters believe that Joseph’s mother smothers him too much and his father has

As I read the case study of Almeada and baby Anne, I was inspired by her case manager Barbra LaRosa, she provided social care and became the “bridge” between Almeade and the systems. One function of bridging is to narrow the gap between the services being offered and the needs of the individuals who are receiving those services. (Woodside, M. R. (2015). An Introduction to the Human Services, 8th Edition) Ms. LaRosa applied social care to Almeada while she was pregnant with baby Anne, she recognized Almeada's problems in living and since she worked at the school, and Almeada had not returned from summer break, she reached out to her to see what was going on and learn more about her life.

Because the lack of family support and guidance, Connie lies to her parents of her whereabouts, and she sneaks away to local hangouts. While being out, she unfortunately catches the eye of Arnold Friend. This man will erase Connie’s innosense and expose her to how cruel the world can actually be. Many literary

But Socks was mistreated after a baby comes out. But after all, the family gets to love Socks again and the baby and Socks become good friends. This story of envy and sadness, and feeling lonely is important to older sisters and brother because they think they are nobody in this world after the baby is born, because the baby gets all the loving and you don’t. I personally admire Mrs. Risely because when Socks having a lonely and sad time after baby came, she loved him more than anyone, and she was nice

An important relationship throughout the novel is the one Baby and her father have. They are on an emotional roller coaster filled with difficulties, such as the strong reactive responses they have towards each other. Additionally, Jules evidently pays more attention to his drug addiction than he does to Baby creating feelings of neglect. She reminisces about the time that “Jules and I used to ride the bus together and talk about everything. […] I wish he had loved me as much as he had then” (O’Neill, 169).

Her personal experience is socially and theoretically constructed and emotions play an essential role in the process of identity formation. Her identity is not fixed, which is portrayed by inquisitiveness that her own mother and Aunt thought she was possessed, enhanced and made this story an enriching experience. The family is the first agent of socialization, as the story illustrates, even the most basic of human activities are learned and through socialization people

While reading the story, you can tell in the narrators’ tone that she feels rejected and excluded. She is not happy and I’m sure, just like her family, she wonders “why her?” She is rejected and never accepted for who she really is. She is different. She’s not like anyone else