After examining Lullabies for little criminals from the postcolonial point of view, I believe that the author Heather O'Neill may have experienced the issue of dominance and control over one group. She makes this concept well known in the book but I believe the hidden meaning behind this is that she experienced this throughout her lifetime.
O'Neill focuses on the fact that males have more dominance and control over the females. For example, Jules is constantly moving Baby throughout her childhood from one building to the next, whether it's a motel room or an apartment. The author makes this detail stick out, and I believe that O'Neill may have had a father that showed dominance over her and that may have been the control of moving her a lot.
With the Alphonse and Baby situation, Alphonse have great control over Baby and the things she did. He never wanted to see her with any other guy but him, and when he told her to turn a trick she did. This makes me believe that Heather O'Neill may have once had someone in her life who wanted to have control over her and tried too.
When reading through the novel from a postcolonial point of view, I strongly believe that the author is the hidden meaning behind this particular point of view. It's like she put herself into Baby's shoes and possibly relived her experiences but expressed them differently through Baby. It's quite possible that O'Neill had a loss of childhood and wanted to display them through her main character with the issue of dominance and control over another group of people.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Friday, May 15, 2015
Blog Post #5
In Lullabies for little criminals, I analyzed the novel through postcolonial literary criticism. It is well displayed in the novel that there is domination and control of one class of people by another class of people. This meaning that the men have more domination and control over the women, than the women do over the men.
The men in the novel are described as the drug dealers and users, as well as pimps. They are treated in a fair way in the novel, since nobody causes problems with the men. The women in the novel are described as the sex figures or objects and this is how they are treated. Even Baby, at the age of thirteen, becomes a prostitute because Alphonse makes her feel worthy to him and gets her into his prostitution business.
The text reveals that gender is shaping our perceptions of ourselves and others due to how the class that has domination and control treats the lower class. The men treat the women as useless and that they do everything wrong, like when Jules began blaming all of his problems on Baby. Alphonse uses women to his advantage for prostitution and makes comments to Baby that she is something special. The women in this text perceive themselves as nothing due to the way they are treated by the men, and when Alphonse takes Baby under his wing she perceives herself as used and only good for prostitution. Therefore, the way the different gender types act towards the other help shape the way they see themselves.
When it comes to the men they perceive themselves as something great since they feel like they're "winning." Alphonse creates his own income through prostitution and has no probably getting any girl he wants, and because of that the women make him feel like he is great and doing everything right. Although for Jules, he turns to drugs to make him feel like he is great and having Baby to blame for his problems makes him feel like he is winning over her.
The men in the novel are described as the drug dealers and users, as well as pimps. They are treated in a fair way in the novel, since nobody causes problems with the men. The women in the novel are described as the sex figures or objects and this is how they are treated. Even Baby, at the age of thirteen, becomes a prostitute because Alphonse makes her feel worthy to him and gets her into his prostitution business.
The text reveals that gender is shaping our perceptions of ourselves and others due to how the class that has domination and control treats the lower class. The men treat the women as useless and that they do everything wrong, like when Jules began blaming all of his problems on Baby. Alphonse uses women to his advantage for prostitution and makes comments to Baby that she is something special. The women in this text perceive themselves as nothing due to the way they are treated by the men, and when Alphonse takes Baby under his wing she perceives herself as used and only good for prostitution. Therefore, the way the different gender types act towards the other help shape the way they see themselves.
When it comes to the men they perceive themselves as something great since they feel like they're "winning." Alphonse creates his own income through prostitution and has no probably getting any girl he wants, and because of that the women make him feel like he is great and doing everything right. Although for Jules, he turns to drugs to make him feel like he is great and having Baby to blame for his problems makes him feel like he is winning over her.
Blog Post #4
In the novel, Lullabies for little criminals, the women are represented as sex figures. Alphonse, the local pimp, sees all the women this way and uses them to gain a regular income. Alphonse noticed Baby, and took a strong liking to her. He made her feel beautiful and acted like he wanted to be with her, when only he was dragging her into his prostitute business. Baby, at the age of thirteen, starts to prostitute for the money that Alphonse says they need.
The roles that men and women play in this novel are very different. The women obviously play the role of a sex object, as well as the person who stays at home and does everything on their own. The men on the other hand play the role of either the drug dealer, pimp, etc... and use the women to their advantage.
The social and historical conditions for women in this period that might help us understand their roles in the text is that women who don't always come from the best of homes can get into the wrong crowd, which lead to these roles. Certain women may play the role of a sex figure in this period, although it is not as common or noticeable but can happen as a way of life and possible income for them.
Women's lives are limited and restricted in this text quite a bit and some to a high degree. For example, when Baby begins hanging around Alphonse he starts to want Baby around all the time even though she can't be. When Baby is late for a meeting with him, Alphonse automatically thinks that she's lying to him about something and gets upset with her. When Baby first started going to the community centre on a daily basis, her father Jules put a stop to that immediately because of the people and the things they were doing. He did not give Baby a chance even though he was the one either doing drugs, in rehab, or out of town for "work." To some extent the lives of the women can be limited to what they are allowed to do and restricted to a degree of rules they must follow.
The roles that men and women play in this novel are very different. The women obviously play the role of a sex object, as well as the person who stays at home and does everything on their own. The men on the other hand play the role of either the drug dealer, pimp, etc... and use the women to their advantage.
The social and historical conditions for women in this period that might help us understand their roles in the text is that women who don't always come from the best of homes can get into the wrong crowd, which lead to these roles. Certain women may play the role of a sex figure in this period, although it is not as common or noticeable but can happen as a way of life and possible income for them.
Women's lives are limited and restricted in this text quite a bit and some to a high degree. For example, when Baby begins hanging around Alphonse he starts to want Baby around all the time even though she can't be. When Baby is late for a meeting with him, Alphonse automatically thinks that she's lying to him about something and gets upset with her. When Baby first started going to the community centre on a daily basis, her father Jules put a stop to that immediately because of the people and the things they were doing. He did not give Baby a chance even though he was the one either doing drugs, in rehab, or out of town for "work." To some extent the lives of the women can be limited to what they are allowed to do and restricted to a degree of rules they must follow.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Blog Post #3
In the novel, Lullabies for little Criminals, the major issues presented in the book are the use of drugs, pimps, the constant moving from place to place, and an irresponsible father all make for a very poor childhood for the main character Baby.
Ever since she was young, Baby has been exposed to drugs through her heroin addict father. Jules being the irresponsible father that he is, never took Baby's childhood into consideration and made drugs known to her. Baby seen this as a gateway and began trying drugs for herself with no one to guide her away from that. After becoming good friends with the local pimp, Alphonse, Baby becomes exposed to more drugs which creates her to follow into her fathers footsteps at a very young age.
Baby has experienced a life full of moving from one hotel or apartment to another. She has never had the chance to settle in and make memories like a child should because she is constantly being dragged from one place to the next. This creates an unstable childhood for Baby since she knows she cannot become to comfortable in one place because they will be moving in a couple months time.
Jules has been an irresponsible father since the day Baby was born. He exposed her to drugs and dragged her around from place to place, not considering her life as a child. He gave her trouble when no trouble was done, and blamed her for his own problems.
Baby experiences a poor childhood and this is a major issue in the novel as it exposes her to many new things, things that may seem okay to her but really they aren't. The drugs put her on the same pathway as her father, the constant moving made for uncomfortable changes and an irresponsible father turned her life for the worst by not taking her childhood into consideration while he raised her.
Ever since she was young, Baby has been exposed to drugs through her heroin addict father. Jules being the irresponsible father that he is, never took Baby's childhood into consideration and made drugs known to her. Baby seen this as a gateway and began trying drugs for herself with no one to guide her away from that. After becoming good friends with the local pimp, Alphonse, Baby becomes exposed to more drugs which creates her to follow into her fathers footsteps at a very young age.
Baby has experienced a life full of moving from one hotel or apartment to another. She has never had the chance to settle in and make memories like a child should because she is constantly being dragged from one place to the next. This creates an unstable childhood for Baby since she knows she cannot become to comfortable in one place because they will be moving in a couple months time.
Jules has been an irresponsible father since the day Baby was born. He exposed her to drugs and dragged her around from place to place, not considering her life as a child. He gave her trouble when no trouble was done, and blamed her for his own problems.
Baby experiences a poor childhood and this is a major issue in the novel as it exposes her to many new things, things that may seem okay to her but really they aren't. The drugs put her on the same pathway as her father, the constant moving made for uncomfortable changes and an irresponsible father turned her life for the worst by not taking her childhood into consideration while he raised her.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
ISP Blog Post #2 - Lullabies for Little Criminals
As I've continued to read, "lullabies for little criminals" I've analyzed the text through an archetypal point of view. The main character Baby, started off loving her young, drug addict father through all the good times and bad. Although, when Jules gets out of rehab his behaviour changes quickly and he starts blaming many things, including his own problems, on Baby. Baby then begins to change when she starts doing drugs and begins hanging around the local pimp, Alphonse. You can clearly see the pattern of Baby and Jules, as Baby is following directly in Jules footsteps. She begins doing the drugs, and ends up being arrested from her home like Jules.
Baby's ragdoll that was supposedly given to her from her mother, and it's a major symbol represented in the novel. The ragdoll was tattered, old, and falling apart at the seams but yet Baby loved and cared for it every day. The ragdoll symbolized Baby's life, and even though her life becomes tough with a drug addict father, she still loves and cares for him every single day. When Jules gets mad he ruins Baby's ragdoll, and ever since he ruined it Baby's behaviour and actions have changed for the worst. She visualized the ragdoll as her life, and when the doll becomes ruined her life begins to go down hill, following in Jules footsteps.
Mary, Felix's mother, also has a specific meaning in the novel. When Baby is left to stay with them, Mary expresses lots of love towards Baby like a mother would. Mary symbolizes love in this novel and is a key reminder to Baby that love does exist in the world even if she may not think so. She plays as a mother figure that Baby has never had and shows her care and love during her stay without Jules.
Baby's ragdoll that was supposedly given to her from her mother, and it's a major symbol represented in the novel. The ragdoll was tattered, old, and falling apart at the seams but yet Baby loved and cared for it every day. The ragdoll symbolized Baby's life, and even though her life becomes tough with a drug addict father, she still loves and cares for him every single day. When Jules gets mad he ruins Baby's ragdoll, and ever since he ruined it Baby's behaviour and actions have changed for the worst. She visualized the ragdoll as her life, and when the doll becomes ruined her life begins to go down hill, following in Jules footsteps.
Mary, Felix's mother, also has a specific meaning in the novel. When Baby is left to stay with them, Mary expresses lots of love towards Baby like a mother would. Mary symbolizes love in this novel and is a key reminder to Baby that love does exist in the world even if she may not think so. She plays as a mother figure that Baby has never had and shows her care and love during her stay without Jules.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
ISP First Impressions Blog Post
The novel I am currently reading is Heather O'Neill's lullabies for little criminals. This novel is focused on Baby, a teenage girl living with her young, irresponsible father who tends to care more about himself then his own child.
Since the beginning of the novel the author has you see Baby as a strong child who puts up with all of her fathers problems. The constant moving from one apartment to the next, and Jules being a heroin addict formulated huge problems as how a child should be raised to me. The question I'm continually asking is, "Why are you doing this to your child?" Now that Baby has taken a liking to the attention that Alphonse is giving her, she is always wanting it and every time they meet I formulate that something much worse is going to take place and change her life. When Alphonse goes to compliment Baby I can't help but ask, "What could you possibly want her for, she's twelve." Baby is becoming riskier without Jules being around so much, and if this is going to be her attitude then problems are going to arise for the young teen.
When Baby has to move in with Mary while Jules is away at rehab, Mary shows so much love and compassion towards Baby. I believe Mary was included in this novel to show that love still does exist and that the world isn't all that bad. A lot of the novel is focused on just the "bad," for example the way Jules yells at Baby, the way Theo's mom abuses him, the drugs, etc. Having Mary come into the novel and express love to Baby is something that she doesn't experience a lot of the time with Jules, and I believe she was brought into the novel to give Baby hope and believe that love exists.
When Baby first starting doing drugs, all I could think of was, "She's following in Jules footsteps." I believe the point of this event is to hint to readers that Baby is taking after her father and is starting to follow in his footsteps by beginning to do drugs. After Jules returns home from rehab he begins to act different with Baby and then starts leaving for a couple days at a time which leaves Baby open to try new things, and take after her father.
The impression the book is giving me on the kind of person who wrote this is someone who went through a rough patch in their life and may have experienced something that made life difficult. I do not find it hard to sympathize with her view of the world because I know that specific events in the novel are closely related to what really does go on in the world whether we want to believe it or not. Unfortunately, there are people like Jules and there are people like Alphonse somewhere in the world and I strongly believe that the person who wrote this may have experienced some related events discussed in novel.
As a person I'm learning more and more about how lucky I am to not be living a life that involves constantly moving and dealing with heroin addict parents. As a reader I've come to learn that a strength of mine is beginning to understand the true meaning behind certain events that are or have taken place and that they're not only there to make the story flow. A weakness that I have as a reader is explaining the mental pictures inside my head, I have them there while I'm reading but explaining them seems to be difficult.
I'm really looking forward to continue reading and seeing what's up next for Baby and Jules!
Since the beginning of the novel the author has you see Baby as a strong child who puts up with all of her fathers problems. The constant moving from one apartment to the next, and Jules being a heroin addict formulated huge problems as how a child should be raised to me. The question I'm continually asking is, "Why are you doing this to your child?" Now that Baby has taken a liking to the attention that Alphonse is giving her, she is always wanting it and every time they meet I formulate that something much worse is going to take place and change her life. When Alphonse goes to compliment Baby I can't help but ask, "What could you possibly want her for, she's twelve." Baby is becoming riskier without Jules being around so much, and if this is going to be her attitude then problems are going to arise for the young teen. When Baby has to move in with Mary while Jules is away at rehab, Mary shows so much love and compassion towards Baby. I believe Mary was included in this novel to show that love still does exist and that the world isn't all that bad. A lot of the novel is focused on just the "bad," for example the way Jules yells at Baby, the way Theo's mom abuses him, the drugs, etc. Having Mary come into the novel and express love to Baby is something that she doesn't experience a lot of the time with Jules, and I believe she was brought into the novel to give Baby hope and believe that love exists.
When Baby first starting doing drugs, all I could think of was, "She's following in Jules footsteps." I believe the point of this event is to hint to readers that Baby is taking after her father and is starting to follow in his footsteps by beginning to do drugs. After Jules returns home from rehab he begins to act different with Baby and then starts leaving for a couple days at a time which leaves Baby open to try new things, and take after her father.
The impression the book is giving me on the kind of person who wrote this is someone who went through a rough patch in their life and may have experienced something that made life difficult. I do not find it hard to sympathize with her view of the world because I know that specific events in the novel are closely related to what really does go on in the world whether we want to believe it or not. Unfortunately, there are people like Jules and there are people like Alphonse somewhere in the world and I strongly believe that the person who wrote this may have experienced some related events discussed in novel.
As a person I'm learning more and more about how lucky I am to not be living a life that involves constantly moving and dealing with heroin addict parents. As a reader I've come to learn that a strength of mine is beginning to understand the true meaning behind certain events that are or have taken place and that they're not only there to make the story flow. A weakness that I have as a reader is explaining the mental pictures inside my head, I have them there while I'm reading but explaining them seems to be difficult.
I'm really looking forward to continue reading and seeing what's up next for Baby and Jules!
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
My Strengths and Weaknesses as an Essay Writer
Another strength I believe I have as an essay writer is my voice, as I am constantly reading my essay's out loud to make sure it's consistent.
My weaknesses as an essay writer is my conclusion paragraph, the last paragraph my reading is going to read and remember the most. I find myself always wanting to include a question to get the reader thinking about the topic, but I've received both positive and negative comments on this. I sometimes struggle with connecting my introduction and thesis together, and there's times where I see them as the same thing. Although I am organized, the odd time I struggle with picking strong supporting details to go with my main points. I'll have supporting details but they don't always seem strong enough to use.
My goal as an essay writer is to find a way that I can make my conclusion paragraphs persuading and convincing, while avoiding the use of a question. When it comes to my supporting details, I'm going to try writing out all the possible details and choose the three strongest instead of using the first three that come to mind.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Hi everyone,
My name is Brooke and I am currently a grade 11 student at Norwood District High School. I have a huge interest in Law, as well as Criminology. My favorite show is Criminal Minds, which is where my interest in Law comes from. Ever since I began watching the show, I knew what I wanted to do as a career.
I enjoy hunting, and it's something I look forward to every year, as well as archery and reading. I'm a fan of country music, and a few years ago I travelled to Nashville, Tennessee for their annual CMA Fest that is held in June. I am a very outgoing person, and socializing with others is a huge strength of mine.
My family owns a general store called, Sam's Place, which we built and opened in 2007. This is also where I work and spend most of my time during the summer. I believe my strength of socializing came from our family opening this business, as it gave me the opportunity to interact with different individuals every day. Come check us out if you're in the area!
In the future I hope to attend Ottawa University and study Criminology. I have not yet decided what exactly I want to do with a degree in Criminology, but I know that's the path I want to take. If you'd like to learn more about Criminology and what they focus on, check out this link: http://socialsciences.uottawa.ca/crm
My name is Brooke and I am currently a grade 11 student at Norwood District High School. I have a huge interest in Law, as well as Criminology. My favorite show is Criminal Minds, which is where my interest in Law comes from. Ever since I began watching the show, I knew what I wanted to do as a career.I enjoy hunting, and it's something I look forward to every year, as well as archery and reading. I'm a fan of country music, and a few years ago I travelled to Nashville, Tennessee for their annual CMA Fest that is held in June. I am a very outgoing person, and socializing with others is a huge strength of mine.
My family owns a general store called, Sam's Place, which we built and opened in 2007. This is also where I work and spend most of my time during the summer. I believe my strength of socializing came from our family opening this business, as it gave me the opportunity to interact with different individuals every day. Come check us out if you're in the area!
In the future I hope to attend Ottawa University and study Criminology. I have not yet decided what exactly I want to do with a degree in Criminology, but I know that's the path I want to take. If you'd like to learn more about Criminology and what they focus on, check out this link: http://socialsciences.uottawa.ca/crm
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