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.