ISP Blog Post 5- Lullabies for Little Criminals

There are many Archetypes within this novel. For example, Baby is the child/innocent archetype. The child archetype is usually dependent on others for support and guidance. Baby looks to the adults in her life for help however she never gets any. She doesn’t have any proper support systems therefore she has to learn to take care of herself at a very young age. Mary, Isabel, and Janine are all Mother/caregiver archetypes in this story. Each one of these women made an impression on Baby. Baby desperately wanted a mother figure in her life. She needed a person to show affection towards her and do simple “mother things” such as making her meals and getting her ready for school. At the end of the novel Jules decided that it would be best for Baby to go live with his cousin Janine for a while. Baby described the moment when she first saw Janine and said, “Then Janine stepped over and squeezed me hard. I could feel my heart beating when she hugged me against her, but now it felt fine.” (O’Neill, 330). Baby immediately felt comfortable with this woman. Considering the book ended after Baby moved to Janine’s house I assume that was the “happy ending” and this is the kind of home that Baby has been waiting for. She finally got her mother figure and was still able to keep her connection to Jules because she moved in with a family member as opposed to foster care. A mother and a child are two very common archetypes. The way they act in a novel is typically dependent on whether or not the two have a good relationship. A mother without a child or a child without a mother usually creates an issue. And you need conflict in order to write a good novel. A third archetype in this novel is The Ruler. I would say that Jules is a good example of this archetype. As the novel progressed he became more and more cruel and controlling. Every time he believed that Baby was doing anything even remotely wrong he would get very angry. He didn’t want to be made a fool of in anyway and he wanted to keep his power. This caused his and Baby’s relationship to deteriorate. It was hard for them to be close when they thought so poorly of each other and couldn’t get along. There are more archetypes that were displayed in this novel (and more characters that fall under the archetypal categories that I mentioned here) however I believe the ones I mentioned were the most important. This story had a lot of conflict and a lot of that conflict was created from poor communication, family dynamics, and power imbalances. The archetypes help me relate these characters to ones that I have read about in previous stories. Over all I really enjoyed this book despite some of the upsetting content. The book was very interesting and well written.

Blog post number 4- Lullabies for little criminals

I chose to write this blog post from the reader response theory lens. I currently find this novel extremely interesting. As a reader I feel a connection with the main character Baby. In the novel she is now 13 years old. She has done drugs, drank alcohol, and had sex with multiple grown men. She is much too young to be doing any of these things. In other stories or movies children at the age of 12-13 are just being introduced to adult hood but they are still children. Baby however never really had a childhood at all. She grew up with a drug addict and the household couldn’t afford many things so she didn’t have nice toys or clothes. She also didn’t have many friends. When reading this story I picture Baby as a pretty young girl who is still growing and learning immensely as a person. At the point that I am at in this book Baby is a prostitute. Her "boyfriend" Alphonse is a pimp. She has been to a detention center and been expelled from her old school. When reading this I have no respect for her father Jules. He hasn’t been raising her properly and when he found out she was doing bad things he got her in trouble with the police instead of helping her, which just flipped her world around once again. Baby should be able to have nice friends and bring them home without her father making a scene. She should also be able to have sexual relations with the people she wants and only them. Baby got a real boyfriend named Xavier and really fell for him. She was finally being treated with true respect and love and was able to act like a kid for once without being ridiculed. It was difficult to theoretically watch Baby get herself into so much trouble. I want her to live with someone who will treat her properly and I want her to have good friends who can accept her kind boyfriend. Reading this book keeps me on my feet. I never know what path Baby will take but I hope she will find a good path in the end. She deserves to be cared for like a child and not have to raise herself. No matter what Baby does I still view her as a sweet, good child in my mind. She is troubled but she isn’t bad. Many people will read this novel in a different way and picture the characters differently but I think Baby needs to live with new people and ditch her horrible relationship with Alphonse and focus on her happy relationship with Xavier. This way she may drop her bad habits and be on a better path. I feel bad for Baby's character for everything she’s had to go through in her young life and I hope that something happens later on that makes up for all her hardships.

 

ISP Blog Post 3- Lullabies for Little Criminals

I believe the greatest conflict in this novel is Jules major drug addiction and how it affects his 12 year old daughter Baby. Jules seemed to have done everything he could to get clean and inevitably be a better father. However he unfortunately acted even worse once he stopped using heroine. He started having major mood swings and screaming at Baby for very unrealistic reasons. Sometimes he'd even yell at her for things she hadn't done, or things that hadn't happened at all. Jules became emotionally and physically abusive towards Baby. He would throw things at her, hit her, yell at her, and call her cruel names. Jules treated Baby like she was a bad person and a whore. A 12 year old girl (or anyone) shouldn't be abused in any way. The behavioural changes in Jules strongly affected Baby's behaviour. She turned to crime and drugs and men. Baby was desperate for excitement so she started stealing and vandalizing. She used drugs because they made her feel better and she enjoyed them. Her close friend provided her with joints that she would smoke periodically. She also took an interest in older men. There was a pimp named Alphonso who took an interest in her and it made her feel really good about herself. Baby was so desperate for love that she started accepting it from anyone who would care for her. Children who grow up in homes with parents who abuse drugs usually don't live safe reliable lives. They are used to coming second to the addiction. This messes with the child's psychological mindset. They never feel like they can depend on their parent and are constantly disappointed. The child will learn that drugs are a crutch during hard times and there's a greater chance that the children will end up abusing drugs in the future. A lot of children also end up blaming themselves for the family's issues. Which causes them to be much less happy as well. Unfortunately a lot of children who grow up in homes with addictions don't get properly cared for. They may not be treated with the same amount of love and care that they deserve. I believe that Baby would have a much better and brighter future if she didn't live with her father anymore. I believe that she needs a parental figure who can act as a true role model for Baby and she also needs new friends who can set her on a right path. Baby is still very young so therefore she is very impressionable. She needs someone who will teach her and guide her in the right direction in her life. I hope that later on in the novel Baby meets someone who makes her feel good about herself. I also hope this person guides her in a caring and safe direction. She doesn't need more abuse and crime in her life.

Secondary sources- "How Children Are Affected by Drug Addicted Parents." How Children Are Affected by Drug Addicted Parents. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.                         

ISP Blog Post 2- Lullabies for Little Criminals

I chose to use a feminist lens for my novel. So far the only influential female characters in my novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals, are baby and Mary and her former foster mother Isabel. Baby is a 12 year old girl growing up with her father, Jules. She has grown up without a mother and it has clearly affected her growth as a person. Baby is constantly looking for love and affection which she has trouble getting from her heroin addicted father. Baby desperately needs a mother figure. This is obvious because of the way she gets attached to the minimal women (mother figures) in her life. For example, when Baby was in foster care her foster mother and Baby grew quite close to each other. Baby had a hard time saying good bye to her even though she missed her father dearly. Baby had grown accustomed to feeling secure and loved. The second time Jules went away, (this time for rehab for his drug addiction) Baby was left with a neighbour Mary. Mary had two sons. One of her sons was a bit of a friend to Baby, considering they were the same age, and the other son was a bully. Baby again loved the affection and love she received from Mary. However she felt a great amount of guilt for enjoying the attention. Baby knew that neither of these mother figures, both Isabel and Mary, were her real mother. These women had kids of her own therefore Baby felt like she was being inappropriate by accepting love from someone else’s mother. This caused a whole other issue. Baby now felt as though she couldn’t accept love from caring grown women. This then caused her to desperately try to get attention from her father who was lashing out at her profusely. Since Jules went to rehab for his drug addiction he was actually acting worse towards his daughter and just in general. He was acting very strangely and being rude and aggressive with Baby. Baby needs to learn to love herself and be able to find happiness when she’s alone. However she is still a child growing up with basically no parents which would be a terribly hard situation for just about anyone. Everyone needs love and a place where they feel safe. I really hate seeing the way that Jules is treating Baby currently. She is such a kind and naïve character who only needs caring human interactions. She tries so hard to have friends and love but so far that isn’t working out very well at all. I believe Baby would actually be better off if she moved back into one of her foster homes. She needs a place where she is safe and properly taken care of. I am worried that Baby will get herself into more trouble. She tried Magic Mushrooms because she thought her father loved druggies more than her so she tried to become one. This mind set could really get her in trouble when she is trying to find love.

ISP Blog Post 1- Lullabies For Little Criminals

Based on the small amount that I have read of my book, Lullabies of little criminals, I find it quite interesting so far. I have to admit that I don’t usually enjoy the books that I have to read for class because I can’t really relate to the stories or understand them properly. However this novel really interests me due to the setting and especially the characters. I may not be able to directly relate to the drug factor and lack of mother figure that seem to be prominent points in this novel I can still sympathize with the characters dealing with these circumstances. I have formed a mental image of Baby and her father, Jules. Baby’s appearance in my mind has been altered due to the fact that there is an illustration of her on the front cover of the novel, nevertheless I still picture as a sweet looking thin brunette who appears happy and neatly presented. Her father on the other hand seems to be less appealing and trashy. He has scabs on his arms due to his heroin addiction but I still like him as a character so far despite his flaws as a father. Considering Baby and her father have been separated twice already due to her father’s addiction I don’t believe they will ever be able to fully stay together. Unfortunately I don’t think Jules is ever going to be able to stop doing drugs and I think that is going to have serious consequences for his and Baby’s futures. I am interested to see how Baby handles her life situations whether she stays with her father or not. I enjoy Baby’s character. She seems strong despite the hardships she has faced in her short life. She needs to learn to separate her life from her fathers to a point though. When he leaves to get drugs she should listen to him and stay at home where she is safe from drug dealers and a scene that is unfit for a 12 year old. She was also struck by a car while chasing after her father due to another one of his careless mistakes. I believe that this book’s target audience is fairly broad. Although I think it is better suited for young adults. It isn’t a children’s book. My values and worldviews affect the way I read this book to a point. I understand drug addictions are hard to overcome but I still believe that a parent should do whatever they can to create the best life for their children. In this case Jules needs to stop doing drugs and better provide for Baby. I hope that later on in this novel Baby and Jules can live together once again. I hope Jules gets sober and stays that way so Baby can have a much more positive role model in her life. I am looking forward to reading more of this novel so I can see what happens to these two characters and see them hopefully overcome their many hardships. 

Essay writing: Strengths and weaknesses.

When writing essays I believe one of my biggest weaknesses would be comma spices. I have trouble understanding when and when not to use a comma in a sentence. Another one of my largest weaknesses is creating a proper thesis. When writing I have trouble simply presenting the basis for my argument therefore I don’t have a clear thesis.  I either write a statement that isn’t the true argument I should be focusing on or I make my argument too broad. I would really like to improve on these weaknesses by correcting my comma splices to inevitably have better sentence structure and to have a proper thesis so I can have a great basis for my essays. A strength that I have while writing essays is the ability to use strong adjectives. I prefer to write with larger and more descriptive words in order to keep the text interesting and not too bland. A goal I have based on this lesson is definitely to learn how to write a proper thesis and be able to back it up. I want to be able to do this because if I don’t have a good thesis my entire essay will suffer due to the fact that I have nothing to base my points off of. I hope to be able to write stronger and better essays in the future due to these lessons.

Welcome To My Blog

Hey everyone! :) My name is Jessica Morton and I graduated high school last year at Central Elgin Collegiate Institute.  I am 18 years old. This year I am currently taking a year off to work, travel, and get a little extra education. I am spending this fall in British Columbia to visit family and work at my Grandfathers restaurant as a waitress. I love to travel and experience different cultures and people. My hobbies are boxing, hiking and spending time with friends.  I live in St Thomas and I plan on going to college in Toronto next year since I have family there. My family is really important to me and I am very close to them. I have a sister who is 5 and a brother who is 2.  My brother Jack is beside me in the picture I posted, however, that picture is from last year. I love meeting new people and learning about new things. I love animals and I have 3 dogs and a hamster at home. I am interested in law, history, politics, and human rights. I'm also not very good at introductions, this is why I'm being so generic. I love reading, writing, and watching Netflix (like everyone). This is my first online course and I signed up for it so I would still be able to take english despite the fact I am going to be out west for half of the semester. I look forward to having a great class with all of you!