FeminisminthenovelLullabiesforLittleCriminals

RossLeerentveld
ENG4UR

"Feminismisn'taboutmakingwomenstrong.Womenarealreadystrong.It'saboutchangingthe
waytheworldperceivesthatstrength."G.D.Anderson

Feminismhasbeenanissueinoursocietyforaverylongperiodoftimeandhasbeen
showninmovies,themediaandnovels.ThenovelLullabiesforLittleCriminalsbyHeather
ONeildemonstratesanextremecaseoffeminismastheprotagonistisshowntobemanipulated
bymenasawaytosurviveinthecurrentsociety.Thisrelianceonmenhasahugepsychological
effectonBabyandturnshertowardstheuseofdrugs,sexualactsandprostitutionringsatavery
youngage.Theseactsmaketheprotagonistlookweakmindedandalessimportantpartofour
society.

Babybecomesveryquicklyinvolvedintoprostitutionataveryyoungage,asprostitution
islookedatasameansforeasymoneywithverylittleeffort.Babyfirsthearsaboutprostitution
whenhercousinexplainstoherthatItseasy.shemadetwohundreddollarsinonenight
(ONeil16).TheyoungandunexperiencedmindofBabydidnotseeaproblemwithsexfor
moneyandthisgotthebestofher.SlowlythroughthenoveltheinnocentmindofBabywhowas
veryselfsufficientsoonrequiressomeoneelseinherlifetoguideher.Prostitutionisusedasa
waytomakethefemalelookveryweakandhelplessinthenovel.Theuseofprostitutioninthe
novelhelpstocontrastthethemeofweaknessandstrength.Wherethemenhaveallthepower
andthewomenusetheirweaknessasawaytosurviveinthecurrentsociety.Astudyexplains
thatteenagerscopewiththetraumaofsexualabuseandthestressofprostitution,byturningto

drugsandalcohol,whichfurthercomplicatestheirproblems(galegroup.com).Thistheoryis
seeninthenovelwhenBabyisintroducedtosexualactswithAlphonseandisthensoon
addictedtothesamedrugasherfather,Heroin.ThesesexualactsmakeBabylookevenweaker
asacharacterandfullyincapableofbeingselfsufficient.

Whenexploringthenovelfromthefeministstandpointtheprotagonistalwaysusesa
maleasprotection.Withouthermotherherdrugaddictfatherprovidesaverypoorstyleoflife.
WhenBabyeventuallybecomesdesperateforguidancesheexplainsthatshewanted
desperatelytobelongtosomeone.Itdidn'tmatterwho(ONeil207).WhenBabyeventually
findsAlphonse,heisshownasbeinghersenseofguidance.Herfemalestrengthisdownplayed
andovertakenbyhisstrongmalecharacterwhocontrolshereverymove.Thissenseofcontrol
andstrengthisshownwhenBabyexplainsthatAlphonsejumpedup,grabbed[her]armand
startedpulling[her]downthehall.Itsurprised[her]howeasyitwastomove[her](ONeil
275).Thisexampleshowsthatthefemalecharacterisnotonlyshownasmentallyweakbutalso
physicallyweak.Alphonseisshowntomoveheraroundphysicallywithoutanyresistance.This
isconsideredabusebecauseinsomecasesduringthenovelBabyisinvoluntarilymaneuveredin
awaythatshedoesnotwishtobetouched.Thisabuseisstillshowninoursocietyasastudy
showsthataboutoneinfourgirlsandoneinsixboysaresexuallyabusedbyage18(mit.edu).
Itisveryevidentthatthroughoutthenovelthattheprotagonistlacksasenseofindividualismand
reliesgreatlyonthemalefigures,specificallyAlphonse.

ThesettingofMontrealaddstotheeffectoffeminisminthenovel.Thelargecity
providestheplotwithpimps,prostitutesandstripclubs.Allofthesethingsareusedforthe
pleasureofmenandmakewomenlookastheweakerpartofsociety.Thelargecityallowsfor
Babytoevolvemoreasacharacterandlooseherinnocenceinamuchfasterway.Thisquickly
showsBabyaneasymeansofusingherbodytosurvivewithoutreceivingapropereducation
andaddstothesexisminthenovel.
Manyotherfemalecharactersdemonstratethecommonissueoffeminisminthenovel.Oneday
whileexploringMontrealBabymeetswithanoldneighbournamedMarikawhoexplainstoher
[she]hadsexwithamanforfiftybucks,[her]and[her]cousinhavebeendoingitonOntario
Street(ONeil16).ThisinfluencesBabyasshebeginstobelievethatprostitutionisa
acceptablewaytosurviveintheworld.Thenovelsalsoportraysthelargeamountoffunderage
prostitutionandforgetsthelackofrespectthatthegirlshavefortheirbody.Thisunderagesex
furtherdevelopsthethemethatthewomeninthenovelusemenasawaytosurviveintodays
difficultsociety.

ExtremefeminismisshownwhenanalyzingthenovelLullabiesforLittleCriminalsasthe
femalesdependonmalefigurestosurviveinthecurrentsociety.Babyisseenbeinginvolvedin
prostitutionataveryyoungageshowingherlackofrespectforhergenderandherbody.The
meninthenovelareshowntohavefullcontroloverthefemalesofthenovel,thisisseen
betweenAlphonseandBaby.Thesettinginwhichthenoveltakesplaceaddstothethemeof
feminismandallowsforBabytoloseherinnocence.Finallytheuseofotherfemalecharacters
addstotheeffectofsexismandtheideathatmencontainmorepowerthenfemales.Theideaof

feminismisincorporatedgreatlyinthenovelandthecontrastbetweentheclassofmenand
womenisveryevident.

WorksCited
"RaisingTeens."MIT.N.p.,n.d.Web.26July2016.
/.latest_citation_text
"Abuse."KidsHealththeWeb'sMostVisitedSiteaboutChildren'sHealth.TheNemours
Foundation,n.d.Web.26July2016.
"TheEffectsofPhysical&VerbalAbuseonTeenagers."Motherhood.N.p.,n.d.Web.26July
2016.
O'Neill,Heather.LullabiesforLittleCriminals:ANovel.NewYork:HarperPerennial,2006.
Print.