Discussion – Part I & II

Discussion – Part I & II Pages 1 to 44 Lullabies for Little Criminals By Heather O’Neill

The Basics Literary Elements

The Basics – Lit Elements Setting? • Montreal – downtown, the Plateau, Val-des-Loups • Specific or General? Why do you think O’Neill made it so specific?

I could tell Jules was finding it a real treat that the hotel was right on busy St-Laurent and St-Catherine. He didn’t like having to walk even a block to the convenience store. St-Laurent wasn’t an ideal place to raise a kid. (5)

The Basics – Lit Elements Protagonist: • Baby • 12 years old • Lives with her father (that’s a whole other slide) • Her mother is dead • Does well in school = smart • What are her likes? Her dislikes?

The Basics – Lit Elements Point of View: • 1st person – we see everything through Baby’s eyes, it is her voice speaking to us. • Therefore…it is limited. How would the story be different if it had been written in the 3rd person?

The Basics – Lit Elements Mood: Comes from the character(s) Tone: Comes from the Narrator In this case…They are the same = Baby’s voice.

Part I Each candy was like taking a baby chick out of its shell too early (9).

Part I If you never thought about Paris, you’d never think about how you were so far away from there. There were a lot of Hell’s Angels around, buzzing down the street like bees. It was a joy to see them all drive by, like a parade, on their way to blow up a restaurant (6).

Part II All my stupid ugly things were in [the suitcase]: a couple of t-shirts and jeans, a National Geographic magazine with an article about killer whales, my dolls and a toothbrush (25).

The Basics – Lit Elements Antagonist: • Jules • Only 27 years old • Addicted to heroin • Definitely loves Baby very much, but he also has a lot of baggage. • Has a temper, steals stuff, gets himself into some awkward situations – drags Baby into them too.

That first night in the new place, Jules dismantled the fire alarm so that he could smoke in peace. (6)

The Basics – Lit Elements Conflict(s): Baby and her “Life with Jules” Baby and “the Unwanted Child” (Part II) Baby and the pressure to act more like an adult? How do these “Conflicts” make you want to keep reading?

People gave you a hard time about being a kid at twelve. They didn’t want to give you Halloween candy anymore… They were trying to kick you out of childhood. Once you were gone, there was no going back, so you had to hold on as long as you could. Marika was beckoning from the other side. (17)

More Complicated Author’s Techniques

What is an Allusion? Allusion: A brief reference to a person, place, or thing that can be related to almost anything. In your own words? If you come across a word or a name you do not recognize – it might be an allusion! Look it up!

What is an Allusion? Page 5 – “red-light district” Page 6 – “99 Red Balloons” Page 7 – “The Fiddler on the Roof” Page 11 – “Dostoyevsky” Page 21 – “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” Page 32 – “Stevie Wonder” Page 34 – “Spanish Fly” Page 39 – “Alice Cooper”

The LARGE Metaphor… Symbol? See if you can spot the handful of times O’Neill creates a situation to represent something else. Is she comparing these things? = Metaphorical Is she trying to create a symbol? Maybe if it pops up again later in the book.

Then, one morning, I told them about a game where you take a chair out into the middle of the road and just sit on it. When the cars honk at you, you have to act natural and pretend not to hear them. (26)

Irony? Defined as a reversal of expectations. Why is Baby’s name ironic? Why is Lester’s pendant of Bambi ironic?

From what I had gathered about the world, you couldn’t trust what mothers said… As I lay in the dark, I knew everyone was thinking about their mothers. I wanted to think about my mother, too, but I couldn’t come up with much (42-4).

Thank You. Are NINJAS ironic?

Discussion – Part I & II