Humanity In "He"

For my final paper I will be addressing the issue of humanity as it is portrayed in Katherine Anne Porter’s “He”. The animal/human distinction plays a major underlying role throughout the story. To start, the Whipple’s have their home on a farm and they work this farm for a living. Their way of life is provided for them by animals; their existence depends on their animals’ production. Therefore they rely on animals. Just as they rely upon the animals of their farm they rely upon their second son, He, to do most of the tedious farm work. He is described several times throughout the story as some sort of animal. When he climbs trees he is described as a monkey; he “went skittering along the branches like a monkey, just a regular monkey” (Porter 50). He is also described as having dog like qualities. He chases possums under fences and waits patiently for his dinner to be brought to him; he evenly eats his dinner in the kitchen, which is separate from the family because they eat in the dining room. The Whipple’s, at least Mrs. Whipple, treats this boy as if he were an animal.

Contrary to what Mrs. Whipple thinks, He is far more human than how he is presented. Simply because he does not speak does not mean he is more animal than human. If anything, this quality makes him more human. It allows him to express honest and true feelings, which cannot be expressed vocally. In most cases it is these deep and genuine feelings that have no words to begin with and therefore can only be articulated through expression and movement. He is only able to communicate through expression and this shows his true communication. Usually more is said through silence than through words themselves. And He enables us to see his family and himself for what they really are.

He actually exhibits many more human characteristics than animal ones. There are times when Mrs. Whipple describes Him as very childlike; she says, “I can’t keep Him out of mischief. He’s so strong and active” (Porter 50). To me, this sounds like a normal kid. He climbs trees and chases animals just as any other normal kid living on a farm would do. One of his most human qualities that is shown in the text is his reaction to the killing of the baby pig. “When He saw the blood He gave a great jolting breath and ran away” (Porter 52). This reaction is instinct. He is frightened by what has just happened; this would be the reaction of any person especially a child who had never witnessed such a gruesome act. Another act of humanity is shown in the end of the story. He realizes that his mother is sending him away and he cries; he understands what is going on. In this moment, his mother becomes just like him, silent. There are no words to express how she is feeling in this moment of genuine sadness and therefore she cries. By crying she is expressing how she is feeling just as He always expresses how he is feeling through his expressions.