What Is The Theme Of We The Animals By Justin Torres Change

Isa del Castillo
Moyer
AP English Lit Period 4
09/08/2022
Change in We the Animals: A Transformative Trip to Niagara Falls
In We the Animals, Justin Torres details the troubled childhood of his unnamed protagonist through 19 short stories. Each chapter describes a family memory in raw, poetic writing. These vignettes reveal the boys’ neglectful parents, fixation with masculinity, and chaotic home life. For most of the novella, the protagonist shares his brothers’ desire to be manly like their Paps. Justin Torres refers to the trio as “we” and writes about them being loud, aggressive, and destructive. However, at the end of the book, the protagonist’s wishes and identity change. Torres sheds light on the boy’s homosexuality, separating him

Torres narrates, “I wanted my body in all that swiftness; I wanted to feel the slip and pull of the currents… I wanted him to let me go and to die” (Torres, 99). Diction like “swiftness” and “slip and pull” creates a dynamic feel, hinting at moving away from one’s origin. The idea of movement contrasts with earlier chapters that portray the family members as trapped. After losing his job in “Night Watch,” Paps remarks, “Not us. Not them. Nobody’s ever escaping this” (Torres, 60). Paps’ comment implies that he views the family as stuck together in miserable circumstances. Additionally, Torres’ use of the word “us” and his telling of stories about family instances suggest that the group is linked for most of the novella. However, in “Niagara,” the narrator begins wanting Paps to “let me go,” showing a desire to be free from Paps and his family. Another sign of the narrator distancing himself from his roots is when Paps tries to make him laugh at a diner. The boy recalls, “I didn’t laugh; he had left me there, alone, for too long” (Torres, 101), hinting that Paps is losing his sway over his youngest son in this chapter. While earlier in the book, the boy idolizes his father, in “Niagara” he begins to form a different identity. The narrator’s separation from Paps–who seems to have complete influence over him throughout most of the book–signals changes in his

Paps remarks, “I was standing there, watching you dance and twirl and move like that, and I was thinking to myself, Goddamn, I got me a pretty one” (Torres, 102). The boy’s dancing opposes the aggressive way he acts around his brothers and Paps. Also, Paps’ reaction is interesting– as a masculine force, it is unexpected for him to find beauty in his son’s femininity. On the trip back from Niagara Falls, Torres describes Paps as being in a “faraway world” (Torres, 101). Perhaps Paps is in this dreamlike state because he is reflecting on the changes he witnesses in his son. Because Paps might have predicted his youngest son to follow in Manny and Joel’s footsteps, he is puzzled by his emerging feminine behavior. Torres later reveals the boy’s gay identity, suggesting that “Niagara” hints at his changes in