Discussion Part V

The Devil in Track SuitFrom Lullabies for Little CriminalsBy Heather ONeillDiscussion Part VI was almost thirteen and [Jules] thought I was old enough to be left alone in the house. I didnt think that I was because I was still afraid of the dark. (142)That whole weekend I missed waking up to Jules screaming at the radio. Play another song, motherfucker, he would scream at the announcer. Come on! I cant stand all the commercials! (142)Vladimir Vysotsky???(Page 143)

These were all sounds that you would not think were music. It was exciting.These days [Jules] only seemed to speak to me when Id done something...when the music was playing, he would say something just regular and thoughtful as if we were still friends. (144-5)Expression?But Id still sneak around behind my dads back and push [Emmet] and that wheelchair up the hill. (146)Metaphor?It didnt mean you were attractive if Peaches liked you...If Alphonse liked you, it meant you were one of the foxier girls in the neighbourhood. (148)Look at the garbage picker man!...What year we living in, man? Get a real job. Motherfucker! (150)Irony?Guys would whistle at [Zo] from cars and shed give them the finger all heroically. (150)P.O.V. = Tone?I...smoked the last of my joint just like that, lying in bed, the way bank robbers and rock-and-roll stars did it. (152)Allusion? Defiance?Usually I went around with so many ugly insecure things flying around in my head that when a pretty thought came to me, it usually died a lonely death, afraid to come out. But when I was high I simply had to utter it. (154)PersonificationThey were the first pretty things Id ever owned... I wore [the stockings] everyday for the next few days, even though my thighs and but were freezing. (155)I liked having a curfew. Without a curfew the nights seemed shapeless. (155)As I walked down the street, I noticed everybody turned to look at my black eye. I liked the feeling, although I couldnt quite understand what I liked about it at the time. (158)Attention

Tito PuenteThe first thing [Alphonse ] said was that he was going to take me to the hairdresser for fun one day. (162)Beware of strangers bearing gifts.Since Id turned twelve, a lot of the adults that I knew had started to pretend that they didnt know me. They gave me disapproving looks. (167)I want that girl. (168)[Lester and Jules] spoke in conspirational tones, as if it were a criminal plan that only street-smart people with a lot of guts could pull off, but the plan wasnt illegal in any way at all. (170)Jules Junky LogicI knew that somewhere, somehow, [Leelee] was calling me a fool. (172)I decided to turn in a couple of bottles at the corner store in exchange for a cigarette so that I could look like a big shot smoking it. (173)Is smoking cool?

Most kids werent allowed to go to [the Etoile] because someone had gotten stabbed in one of the bathrooms... It made me feel safe. (175)Irony

Youre wild, you know. You have your own ideas. (179)Jules always told me not to tell people your business, not to tell them your past. He said to keep them guessing. He said that once a person knew all there was to know about you, theyd take advantage of you. Trust nobody. (180)Jules AdviceThe real first kiss is the one that tells you what it feels like to be an adult and doesnt let you be a child anymore... The one that you suffer the consequences of... How could they know I was a messed-up, ragged, dirty, nasty thing? (182)

GalileoIt never occurs to you when you are very young to need something other tha[n] what your parents have to offer to you. (184)Thank You. Come again!