“When we are children we seldom think of the future. This innocence leaves us free to enjoy ourselves as few adults can. The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind” (Patrick Rothfuss). Most characterize childhood as valuable, precious and peaceful, and in some cases, our childhood may determine whom we will grow to be. However, in the novel “Lullabies for Little Criminals”, Baby’s childhood can be seen as a loss of innocence, as it was corrupted into something unpleasant. She faces an endless struggle in the threshold between the adult world and the world of a child. In the novel, “Lullabies for Little Criminals”, isolation and income are just two of the social detriments of health that impact Baby’s life. Jules’
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Demonstrated by René Spitz, a researcher, and psychoanalyst, he was able to conclude that being around loving, caring and stable caregivers are essential for successful development in one’s adolescent years (Moutria, 2017). Being said, Baby’s isolation proves to be dangerous and self-destructive, guiding her to depend on masculine figures who enter her life. It was evident that Baby began looking for a replacement mother everywhere she went, clinging to the idea of anyone who is close to her idea of love. Baby was driven to look for affection in the wrong places, such as delinquent children, stoners, and pimps which was displayed through her actions towards Theo, Alphonse, and even Xavier, "When Alphonse came into my life, it strangely felt a little bit like he was a mother figure. Every good pimp is a mother. When Alphonse spoke to me, his voice always had the same tempo as a lullaby" (O'Neill, 186). If Baby had grown up with a mother figure she would have possessed self-respect and confidence. Further, she would have known that Alphonse is the farthest thing from a traditional mother figure. Baby’s involvement in prostitution ring can be linked to her vulnerability with finding unconditional love, but in reality, Alphonse manipulates Baby into the dangers of the prostitution ring, “When you’re young, sex doesn’t mean as much, it isn’t sacred. Children make the best prostitutes because they’re the most perfunctory about …show more content…
From the start, Baby was dealt an unfair hand and had to constantly overcome hurdles. Isolation and Income worked together to lead Baby down an unhealthy path that was almost inevitable for her to avoid due to her upbringing. Baby was unable to experience security, love, and innocence as a child, primary due to her young single dad whose focus was drugs. Although Baby at times appreciates the adolescence life, she is often caught in a mature world filled with sex, drugs and evil things, one that is far too complicated and destructive for anyone let alone a 13-year-old. The people she interacts with will serve as an example in her youthful eyes but will continue to lead her down the wrong
Demonstrated by René Spitz, a researcher, and psychoanalyst, he was able to conclude that being around loving, caring and stable caregivers are essential for successful development in one’s adolescent years (Moutria, 2017). Being said, Baby’s isolation proves to be dangerous and self-destructive, guiding her to depend on masculine figures who enter her life. It was evident that Baby began looking for a replacement mother everywhere she went, clinging to the idea of anyone who is close to her idea of love. Baby was driven to look for affection in the wrong places, such as delinquent children, stoners, and pimps which was displayed through her actions towards Theo, Alphonse, and even Xavier, "When Alphonse came into my life, it strangely felt a little bit like he was a mother figure. Every good pimp is a mother. When Alphonse spoke to me, his voice always had the same tempo as a lullaby" (O'Neill, 186). If Baby had grown up with a mother figure she would have possessed self-respect and confidence. Further, she would have known that Alphonse is the farthest thing from a traditional mother figure. Baby’s involvement in prostitution ring can be linked to her vulnerability with finding unconditional love, but in reality, Alphonse manipulates Baby into the dangers of the prostitution ring, “When you’re young, sex doesn’t mean as much, it isn’t sacred. Children make the best prostitutes because they’re the most perfunctory about …show more content…
From the start, Baby was dealt an unfair hand and had to constantly overcome hurdles. Isolation and Income worked together to lead Baby down an unhealthy path that was almost inevitable for her to avoid due to her upbringing. Baby was unable to experience security, love, and innocence as a child, primary due to her young single dad whose focus was drugs. Although Baby at times appreciates the adolescence life, she is often caught in a mature world filled with sex, drugs and evil things, one that is far too complicated and destructive for anyone let alone a 13-year-old. The people she interacts with will serve as an example in her youthful eyes but will continue to lead her down the wrong