Seeing Baby Through Different Lenses

Ever wonder how looking at the same story through different lenses can completely change what you notice? I looked at Heather O’Neill’s book Lullabies for Little Criminals through three perspectives: feminist, archetypal, and reader-response. While each gave me something new to think about, the feminist perspective gave me the deepest insight because it pushed me to connect Baby’s struggles to larger issues of neglect, exploitation, and poverty.

Photo By Dylan Doyle.

Reader-response made me focus on my feelings. It really made me realize my privilege of having two loving parents. For example, Baby describes how Jules was always "disappearing" and how the stretches of time he was gone started getting longer (O’Neill 141). Her childhood was so unstable compared to mine. At the end of the day, this perspective mostly reflected how sad and shocking the book is, rather than O’Neill’s deeper commentary.

Through an archetypal lens, I saw Baby as the Child and Jules as the Failed Mentor. Baby often wanders the streets of Montreal alone while Jules gets high (O’Neill 11), which shows just how lost and unprotected she is in the world. This lens revealed some of the story’s patterns, but it didn’t hit me as hard because Baby’s struggles felt too real to think of them just as symbols.


Both the reader-response and archetypal lenses gave me some insight, but the feminist perspective really made me think deeply about Baby’s struggles and the dangers she faces as a young girl in her world.


One scene that stood out is the first time Alphonse talks to Baby, calling her “the prettiest girl on the street” (O’Neill 158). At first, it seems almost flattering, but reading it through a feminist lens, it’s clear he’s manipulating her innocence. O’Neill’s use of Baby’s naive voice, along with her vivid descriptions of the streets and people around her, makes this even more powerful; we see the danger before she does. Baby and Alphonse’s relationship made me realize how young girls are often targeted in real life and how Baby’s vulnerability is tied directly to her gender.


Photo By Blueteeth.

Reading through a feminist lens made me think about my own experiences as a girl. I was lucky to have support and protection, but Baby’s story reminded me of times I faced limits or expectations just for being a girl. Seeing her left alone or manipulated reminded me of how gender can shape both the dangers and the way girls are treated.


Even the women Baby encounters, like sex workers or older girls trapped in unhealthy situations, reveal patterns of gendered exploitation. Montreal itself often feels bleak and unsafe, reflecting the world Baby must navigate. Through this lens, it became clear that O’Neill is commenting on how society treats young women in vulnerable positions.


Overall, the feminist perspective gave me the clearest insight into Baby’s story and O’Neill’s message. Her journey made me think about gender, vulnerability, and how society treats girls in difficult situations. I’m curious how her life might have been different if she had stayed in the system or if her mom hadn’t died, and what it’s like now that she’s no longer in Montreal.


Works Cited

Blueeteeth. “The Pedestrian.” Flickr, 22 May 2010, https://flic.kr/p/83Z6df. 

Corn Smashers. “Archetypal Theory.” Corn Smashers, 2 June 2018,      

https://cornsmashers.wordpress.com/2018/06/02/archetypal-

theory/#:~:text=Definition,a%20literary%20piece%20of%20art. Accessed 28 Sept. 2025. 

Doyle, Dylan. “Lullabies for Little Criminals.” Flickr, 16 November 2014, https://flic.kr/p/pMHoFd. 

Fazeli, Ameneh. “Feminist Literary Criticism.” Literariness, 7 Oct. 2022, 

https://literariness.org/2022/10/07/feminist-literary-criticism/. Accessed 28 Sept. 2025.

O’Neill, Heather. Lullabies for Little Criminals. Harper Perennial, 2006.

Poetry Foundation. “Reader-Response Theory.” Poetry Foundation, 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/reader-response-theory. Accessed

28 Sept. 2025.

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