Lullabies For Little Criminals Character Analysis

In the second half of the Canadian novel Lullabies for Little Criminals, author Heather O’Neill continues to illustrate and conclude the development of the themes of loss of innocence and love. Baby’s negative life decisions, such as delinquency, prostitution, and drug addiction are elements of her need to feel a sense of belonging and affection. Unfortunately, the lack of her family’s presence causes her to seek appreciation in the wrong places. Although Baby may be innocent, she is also vulnerable as she is so oblivious to real life. As her exposure becomes greater, her character slowly begins to deteriorate in the last half of the novel. She begins to do drugs, disobey her father, and when she meets a pimp named Alphonse she claims

Throughout the story, the readers begin to realize that love is sometimes just an ideal depending on the character. For example, Baby states that “whatever it is, it’s so far from love, it was easy for me to understand why Alphonse never got jealous when I was with a trick” (O’Neill, 253). From this quote, the readers can infer that Alphonse is not truly loved, only by his prostitutes and a thirteen-year-old girl. Although it does not state why he became a pimp, it is clear that he became one due to the lack of love he received. He also turns to drugs to cope with the non-existent love in his life. 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). The audience can infer based on this that Baby