We The Animals is the 2011 debut novel by Justin Torres. The novel tells the story of three brothers living in upstate New York, and it’s narrated in the first person by the youngest brother, who goes unnamed. In this summary, he will be called, “the narrator.” The novel’s structure comprises 19 vignettes that function as windows onto the lives of the brothers and their family. This study guide uses the 2011 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Edition of the text. Please note: The text contains instances of physical, sexual, and mental abuse.

Plot Summary

The first chapter, “We Wanted More,” underscores the titular theme. The boys—Manny, Joel, and the narrator—are hungry, destructive little animals who will stop at nothing to get the things they need and want. The chapter suggests that they are modeling their behavior after their father, Paps, who is a brutal, muscular beast himself, a dealer of spankings and other, worse punishments. Ma was 14 when she had Manny and Paps was 16. If the narrator is now 7, that makes his parents 21 and 23. The ensuing chapters provide an introduction of sorts, outlining ideas of birth and growth. Ma and the boys play a game where they “birth” each other with ketchup and lotion. Meanwhile, Paps teaches the brothers about their cultural heritage through dance. They jive to Tito Puente in the kitchen. Through stereotypes about how people from different cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds dance, Paps shows the boys what groups they are not a part of. When they are unable to mambo like him, the boys learn they are mutts. Neither Puerto Rican, nor white, they are between cultures.

Though Paps can display passion and joy, he can also turn violent. This is on display when he beats Ma one day. Though Paps tells the boys that the dentist hit her to loosen up her teeth for a procedure, her reaction to the brothers makes it apparent that it was Paps who did the hitting. It happens to be the narrator’s birthday, and she asks him if he will remain 6 forever, because 7-year-olds will leave her, and eventually turn into men like Paps.

Other instances of violence plague the family, like when Paps forces Ma and the narrator to try and swim despite neither knowing how. Ma also opens the door of a moving car and threatens to help the narrator “fly.” When Paps leaves for a while, Ma goes into a state of depression, not eating and not feeding her sons. The boys scrounge for food and eat out of an old man’s garden. Though Ma begins to feed the boys small bowls of soup, she is still in a state of depression; when Paps calls, she won’t answer the phone.

Once Paps is back, things seem better for a while. One evening after losing his job, however, Paps forces Ma to go upstairs to have sex with him. Later, Ma takes the boys to a park. The narrator notices that their belongings are packed in garbage bags that sit in the truck bed. After a day of playing aimlessly, she asks them whether they want to leave Paps. They don’t have an answer for her and she returns home.

At the same time that the family is experiencing such upheaval, the narrator is dealing with his own changes. It becomes increasingly apparent that the narrator is different from his brothers. He is softer, kinder, and lacks a killer instinct. As the boys grow older, the narrator distinguishes himself from his brothers by being a better student, more intelligent, and more well-spoken. Though they still defend him, they are growing apart. His brothers will be normal townies, while the narrator aspires to more.

The narrator journals about his resentment of his family, as well as his fantasies about having sex with men in the bus station bathroom. On the last night the brothers are together, he leaves them in disgust and goes to the bus station. He has sex for the first time with a male bus driver in the back of a bus. He is ecstatic, but comes home to find that Ma has read his journal, as has the rest of his family. They are horrified and he lashes out, punching and scratching them. When everyone tries to de-escalate the situation, the narrator makes it worse. He tests their love for him to see how strong it really is.

After the narrator’s outburst, Paps doesn’t leave his side. He bathes the narrator and gets him ready for what is to come. The narrator ends up in a “zoo,” a metaphor/euphemism for a mental health facility. Every patient seems to be his or her own species of animal. Though he is popular there, the narrator wants to leave and be an adult.