Justin Torres “We the Animals” uses literary realism to describe a dreamy yet nihilistic coming of age tale about a young, nameless boy who struggles with the pain of being different in a very volatile environment. He is a former Brooklynite who lives in Upstate, NY in a small all white town where being mixed is looked down upon and it is revealed that he is gay. At first he is a part of a “wolf pack” with his brothers and feels a sense of collectiveness:

“We were six snatching hands, six stomping feet; we were brothers, boys, three little kings locked in a feud for more.”

The boys are in every sense a pack. They’re surviving and using primal animalistic mechanisms to fend for themselves. Reading this book is analogous to watching a nature documentary on a pack of wolves and their everyday lives. The prose is raw and feral. The boys eat, sleep, bath together, and with each other experience their father’s abuse and their mother’s catatonic outbursts. All events that leave an indelible mark on them and mold them into the person they become which we see in these unfinished vignettes throughout the novel:

“I joined in, kicking, for pap but hitting ma; it felt dull and mean and perfect.” (Pg. 50)

They pick up their fathers cruelty towards the mother and it feels normal to them. Paps teaching his the narrator how to swim by abandoning him in deep water which in hindsight does seem like a foreshadowing. But even during what seems to be a light-hearted moment like being taught how to swim the narrator shows how swiftly an invasion of violence and contempt plagues the family. They cannot escape from themselves. They have love and violence so intertwined that it’s clear they can’t distinguish what is right and wrong.

The boys remain a collective until his true sexuality is revealed and the transition in narration goes from “We” to “They” to “I”.

“They hunched and they skulked. They jittered. They scratched . . . ”

It’s a unique literary technique that really encapsulates the isolation the narrator is experiencing. The reader can feel it and it’s something that pierces right through you.

“We were allowed to be what we were, frightened and vengeful – little animals, clawing at what we needed.” (Pg. 51)

Torres uses analogies and onomatopoeias likening the characters to non-human animals. The father is the alpha male who comes and goes as he pleases. The mother is a beta female who is passive and lets her children fend for scraps and themselves when she is unable to do so due to her depressive state. The young boys would explore the land alone and were menacing towards the people in town. Neither parent seems to care for the boys.

With the way the parents and the brothers act one would think they were the antagonists, but in this novel there’s a more refreshing approach because there are no protagonists or antagonists. Torres shows they are all just multi-dimensional, complex people living in a cruel, uncaring world. The novel also gives a Darwinian vibe – survival of the fittest and natural selection come to mind. Textbook definition states that “natural selection” is the idea that species that acquire adaptations that are favorable for their environment will pass down those adaptations to their offspring. The brothers have picked up the traits of their father and will continue to grow and survive in this cruel landscape the author has created, but the narrator is isolated and becomes a lone wolf due to the fact that he is not like them. He is released into the world on his own. Perhaps this novel can show parents to take a more compassionate approach towards their child if they’re exhibiting traits that make them appear different from the family.

“And me now. Look at me . . . See how I made them uneasy. They smelled my difference—my sharp, sad, pansy scent.”

Torres produces a cut and dry novel with unfinished vignettes. The text is rancid at times with distorted childhood observations yet with a dreamy and descriptive context that perplexes the reader. It’s the type of text that leaves you feeling unsure yet wanting more. Many people can relate with no longer feeling apart of their kin and creating a separate identity which can be isolating and daunting.