Lullabies For Little Criminals Analysis

Superior Essays
Thesis Statement: The novel “Lullabies for little criminals," written by Heather O’ Neill, examines the effect of social determinants which are poverty and homelessness on the main character Baby’s life. Poverty interwinds with homelessness in Baby’s life, building an insecure childhood for her to grow up with.
Introduction: According to my thesis statement, I will explain how poverty restricts baby’s living expectation at first and the relationship between limited living expectation and homelessness will be discussed after that. Finally, I will put both social determinants together in order to explain how these two factors cause an insecure children hood for Baby.
Paragraph 1: Poverty restricts the living expectation which cause Baby an unsafe
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Her living standards are much lower than her school peers, and poverty makes her to be serious for money.
Because Baby’s family is poor, she could not live in a normal place or afford payments for school supplies. She always being evicted from hotel rooms and used apartments. The poverty controls her living expectation in a huge degree, and it causes her an insecure surrounding and experience to grow up normally.
Paragraph 2: Restricted living expectation becomes an important reason for homelessness which could also affect Baby an insecure childhood
Baby was locked outside of the door by her father, and she lost her place to live.
“What had I done that! Everyone in the car was probably going to sleep heavenly over at her house, and here I was, stuck in a stinking hallway. I started banging on the door, hoping that I could kick it in (Heather O’ Neill, 272).”
Baby has nowhere to go or to live because her dad locks her outside of the door, and she doesn't have the key for her home.
She does not know where her dad goes, and now she becomes a girl without a
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Secondly, Baby is afraid of going back to Alphonse’s home.
“I headed back to ST.LOUIS SQUARE. I still had chosen Xavier, even if I might not be allowed to ever see him again. I chose Xavier, but I still had to go back to Alponse’s so that I could have somewhere to stay that night. I hurried down the street, pulling out my butterfly knife and unfolding the blade. I whispered harshly at the air in front of me ‘Motherfucker. Don’t mess with me’ (Heather O’ Neill, 282).”
She has no idea where to stay and she is also rejected by Xavier’s parents for her request staying one night. She is unwilling to stay with Alponse because his home is not her home and Baby is sacred of Alponse’s abuse on her.
Baby feels unsafe so that she pulls out her knife for protecting herself.
Therefore, her limited living expectation from poverty causes her to be a homeless girl. Baby only wants a place to stay, not with Alponse or others, but a place with her father. She realizes that her father Jules could make her

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