They Cage the Animals at Night

The autobiographical book focuses on a period of Burch’s life, from eight to 10 years old, when he passed in and out of the foster care system. The narrative is written in first person, and rather than analyze his experience as an adult looking back, Burch writes in the voice of a child, as he felt at the time. He does not provide information to the reader that he did not know as a child. Consequently, the reader learns about Jennings’ personality directly through his thoughts and actions. At the beginning of the story, Jennings is largely innocent and sheepish during his time at the homes. He avoids other children except the few that he befriends. As the narrative progresses and Jennings grows from his experiences in these homes, he builds confidence dramatically, becoming a seasoned veteran in the homes. He learns to defend himself so effectively that people even think he is a bully at his last children’s home.

However, he structurally cannot defend himself from the adults who run these homes, and this represents one of the central threats throughout the book. He is frequently subjected to physical and emotional abuse at the hands of the nuns and secular administrators who run these children’s homes. As a child, he is not allowed to explain or defend himself, and as a prisoner in these places, his only recourse is to run away to avoid severe punishment. The threat of these places runs even deeper as the children are structurally encouraged to avoid making friends with each other, as they continually come and go.

Jennings perseveres and overcomes these threats by bravely adhering to his conscience and natural compassion for others. He frequently stands up or takes the blame for others, as he does for a child at St. Theresa’s who spills hot cocoa, which leads to Jennings’ most severe incident of physical abuse. As he grows and matures, he also becomes something of a caretaker to other children, taking care of Kevin at his last home, for example, and teaching him not to become too attached to anyone. Jennings is highly empathetic and identifies with these other children, which is what drives him to help them. These brave efforts allow him to maintain his sanity through these experiences and create solidarity among the children in these homes.