Lullabies for Little Criminals

Baby is the thirteen-year-old protagonist of the novel. Although she is motherless and is being raised by a negligent, heroin-addicted father, she is intelligent and does well in school. She loves to read and craves the attention of the adults around her. In the beginning of the novel, she is desperate for Jules’s attention, but she rarely receives it because he’s too busy getting high. However, towards the end of the novel, she seeks adult attention wherever she can get it. This makes her vulnerable when she receives sexual attention from Alphonse, and it’s what ultimately leads to her prostitution.

Baby also seeks the attention of her peers. She is eager to have friendships with people her own age, and she realizes the gem that is childhood. This is especially true once she begins prostituting and is exposed to the nefarious side of adulthood, and it’s why she becomes so attached to Xavier—she just wants to live a normal life and have a normal childhood. However, most of the time, her desires are at odds with her reality. She wants to be a child but is forced to live adult realities. She wants someone to take care of her, but instead she’s forced to take care of herself.