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How Does Jennings Burch Change In They Cage The Animals At Night

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They Cage the Animals at Night by Jennings Burch is a picaresque journey to the heart or even the very soul of humans, and it can be compared to a madman trying to procure peace and tranquility. At every pit stop he makes, his wisdom increases and is affected by others, positively or negatively. Jennings Michael Burch, the young, feeble, and reticent protagonist, is on a crusade to find the true meaning of love, peace, and tranquility which started with him being dissevered from his family and taken from home to home and from institution to institution. Several times he questions himself if it truly is imperative for him to love and if it is worth the loss. Unlike Andy of Tears of a Tiger, Jennings has the courage and selflessness to withstand …show more content…

Burch is a mentally ill and estranged women who no longer understands the needs of her children which causes the children to mature and develop in different ways like the city-states of Greece. Since Jennings’s mother performs such thoughtless or witless actions, Jennings is the one to pay for her deeds. “ ‘I couldn’t dear. I was sick’ “ (62) Jennings has just escaped from the terrors of The Home of the Angels, and Mrs. Burch thought that the usual excuse would cut it. However, this act would forever ensure Jennings that his mother will not be there for him when he needs her most. The notion of sending a little boy to a chaotic environment is horrific, and a true mother would have had a relative stay with their precious children like in Night Road. “She was bleeding from her nose and mouth” (189) Jennings’s mother wanted to fix the antenna, so that Jennings could enjoy an evening of relief, but even though she knew she was milquetoast, she pulled such a stunt to gain recognition. She craved for power like George, her oldest son who was an alcoholic. As a result, maimed herself in such a dilapidated state that Jennings had to go to home for months. In a way, Jennings is the reflection of his mother's faults, his mother’s …show more content…

“Please come for me and Doggie” (249) With this letter, Jennings does not long for his mother to come and pick him up because he has lost all faith in her. This is the moment where this idea starts to resonate in his taciturn mind. Jennings starts to think this way because Mrs. Burch has never been there for him when it was necessary, and this resulted in someone else picking up. He now feels detached or estranged to his mother since she cannot emotionally relate to him. “ I’m trying to say I … I love you” (291) Sal was the one who made Jennings realize the wonders of life, and why it really is better to love and face loss. This is an epiphany for Jennings because he now knows how easy to say he loves them. This the realization of Jerome’s philosophy from the time Jennings visited him. However, it was the graciousness of Sal that implemented him to say these beautiful words. He truly made Jennings feel accepted in society, and he made him feel that he too was important in this small

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