1. Lullabies for Little Criminals By Heather O’Neill
Discussion Part IV
Lullabies for Little Criminals
By Heather O’Neill

2. According to [Felix’s] logic, we weren’t actually going into the outside world. (88)
Child Logic?

3. The desire to touch [Mary] was overwhelming
The desire to touch [Mary] was overwhelming. I wanted to put my hands in her pockets and mash my face up against her belly and all sorts of other weird stuff. (90)

4. All of a sudden [Jules and I] were actors who were trying to play ourselves, not exactly sure what our subtext or motivation was. (90)
Metaphor

5. [Jules] felt lighter, though. As if something was missing
[Jules] felt lighter, though. As if something was missing... He reminded me of a doll whose stuffing was coming out. (90-1)
Metaphor

6. Baby’s feelings for Jules
No mater how scuzzy and crazy their parents are, kids still try to make [their parents] feel good about themselves. (94)
Baby’s feelings for Jules

7. I didn’t want to think about my body as being that of an adult
I didn’t want to think about my body as being that of an adult. I wanted Jules to like me the way he had when I was a baby, and now that seemed impossible. (93)

8. The kids started calling my dad John McEnroe, and they laughed at me when I walked by. (94)
Allusion

9. John McEnroe

10. I would ask about her when I was nervous
I would ask about her when I was nervous... Every time he gave me a different answer. That morning, he told me they had been on a cruise ship and she dove off and had never come back. (96)
Conflict

11. For about five minutes I was happy
For about five minutes I was happy. Jules opened a bottle of wine, and since Lauren and I were both twelve, he had to drink the whole bottle himself. (98)
Embarrassed?

12. I tried to read the page in the reader out loud really quickly to show what a good reader I was... “She’s so stupid, she doesn’t even know what a period is.” (101)
Kids Suck.

14. “ You Smell.” (102)

16. Rick Mercer

17. There was a community center upstairs from the store
There was a community center upstairs from the store... [Jules] said the program was only welfare kids. (102)
Irony

18. Page

19. I wondered what could be so wrong with [Theo] that he was making these losers react the way they were. (106)
Antagonist

20. The Lord of the Flies

21. The other kids staring in shock no matter what [Theo] did
The other kids staring in shock no matter what [Theo] did. They did retarded things themselves, but whatever Theo did still seemed appalling to them. (109)
Exclusion

22. [Theo’s mom] was one of the worst breed of parents going, the ones who are really mean but then don’t give you the satisfaction of being able to hate them… They were able to do whatever they pleased and then still have you love them. (120)

23. Theo refused to take his t-shirt off and just jumped in the water with it on. (112)

24. She hit hard too. None of the other kids in the park made fun of [Theo]. It just made us all feel terribly sad; even the sparrows looked the other way. (115)
Hyperbole

25. We started kicking each other’s sneakers for a little bit. (113)
Young Love?

26. One morning [Jules] yelled at me for at least an hour about having broken his umbrella…He said I gave [the coins] to my boyfriends. (118-9)

27. The end of her Childhood…
There, lying on the floor, was my rag doll, its arms and legs ripped off. I dropped to my knees and pick her pieces up. I’d never get another one. (119)
The end of her Childhood…

28. [The doll] had reminded me that I’d been loved by a mother
[The doll] had reminded me that I’d been loved by a mother. Now I was a nothing, a real nobody. (119)

29. Afterward, at home, I felt guilty about having let [Theo’s mother] hug me. (121)
Why?

30. Prince

32. Shoulder dislocation

33. This situation, and the position of my arm, was very distressing to him, obviously. He was very upset that I wasn’t consoling him. (125)
Messed up.

34. [The doctor] said it was necessary to feel pain now, so that I knew if I was being hurt. (126)
Metaphor

35. The Lost Boys

36. Looking at [Theo’s] scars gave me the feeling that I was seeing something intimate and dirty. It was more secret and I felt myself get excited. I ran my finger along one of the scars, then shivered. (130)

37. I didn’t know that these houses were so different inside
I didn’t know that these houses were so different inside. I assumed, somehow, that interiors looked just like those of poor apartments. If it was unfair that we had broken into her apartment, it seemed much more unfair that [Lauren] got to live here. (135)

38. After we had wrecked a good portion of the apartment, Theo and I sat down in the kitchen and each had a big piece of chocolate cake… [and] two glasses of milk. (137)
Irony

39. Jules had nothing to complain about: he had won his argument. (139)

40. The first thing they teach you is that you aren’t worth good-byes
The Unwanted Child

41. Other girls in my school knew what pop stars and television heroes to care about. Unlike them, I was completely lost when it came to knowing who to find attractive. (139)

42. Thank You.
(have a good weekend!)