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

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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

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