The Real Monsters by Bethany Hutchison — Analysis & Translation

Original Poem

The Real Monsters We call animals monsters, But were animals, Are we monsters, too? Yes, There is no other answer, We r@pe We murd3r, We manipulate, And we take, We are the monsters. They rebel and say what were doing is wrong! Yet, No one does anything to stop it! No one tries to change a thing! We are the monsters. They say that school is a safe place, Yet, Kids are bullied, Kids are shot, Kids are mentally drained, We are the monsters. “Trump is the best!” Trump is the reason this World, Our World is going to sh*t-! “Trump is the reason dangerous immigrants are being sent away!” The same “dangerous immigrants” that have been here their entire life? The same “Immigrants” who have Legal citizenship in the US? “Well-” Well what? Is that all you can say? Is that your response after finding out what Ebstien does to kids? Cause yeah, We are the monsters.

Translation (English)

The Real Monsters We call animals monsters, But we are animals, Are we monsters, too? Yes, There is no other answer, We commit terrible acts We kill, We lie, And we take, We are the monsters. They fight back and say what we are doing is wrong! Yet, No one does anything to stop it! No one tries to change anything! We are the monsters. They say that school is a safe place, Yet, Kids are bullied, Kids are shot, Kids are mentally worn out, We are the monsters. “Trump is the best!” Trump is the reason this World, Our World is falling apart! “Trump is the reason dangerous immigrants are being sent away!” The same “dangerous immigrants” that have been here their entire life? The same “Immigrants” who have Legal citizenship in the US? “Well-” Well what? Is that all you can say? Is that your response after finding out what Epstein does to kids? Because yes, We are the monsters.

About the Poet

Bethany Hutchison (21st century)

Bethany Hutchison is a contemporary poet known for her poignant and socially conscious poetry. Her work often addresses themes of societal injustice and self-reflection.

Historical Context

Literary Form: Free verse
When Written: 2022
Background: The poem reflects on societal issues and human behavior, highlighting the hypocrisy and moral failings of society. It critiques the actions of individuals and leaders, particularly in the context of political and social events in the United States.

Sources: https://www.poetry.com/poem/116881/the-real-monsters, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump

Detailed Explanation

The poem 'The Real Monsters' by Bethany Hutchison is a stark critique of human behavior and societal norms. It challenges the reader to reflect on the actions and attitudes that define humanity as monstrous. The poem begins by questioning the labeling of animals as monsters, suggesting that humans, with their capacity for violence and manipulation, are the true monsters. It highlights various societal issues, such as violence, manipulation, and inaction in the face of wrongdoing. The poem also critiques the political climate, specifically referencing Donald Trump and the policies associated with his presidency, which the poet views as contributing to societal decay. The mention of school violence and bullying underscores the failure to protect vulnerable populations, like children. The poem uses a conversational tone, asking rhetorical questions to provoke thought and self-reflection. It employs repetition to emphasize the central theme that humans, through their actions and inactions, embody the very monstrosity they fear.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
monsters	creatures that are scary	scary creatures or people who do bad things	mon-sters
manipulate	control or influence	to cleverly control or influence someone or something	ma-nip-u-late
rebel	fight against	to fight against authority or control	re-bel
mentally	in the mind	involving the mind	men-tal-ly
citizenship	being a member of a country	being a legal member of a country	cit-i-zen-ship
response	answer	an answer or reaction	re-sponse
hypocrisy	saying one thing and doing another	pretending to have beliefs you don't follow	hy-poc-ri-sy
critique	analyze and judge	a detailed judgment or analysis	cri-tique
deceive	trick	to trick someone	de-ceive
exhausted	very tired	very tired	ex-haust-ed
horrible	very bad	very bad or unpleasant	hor-ri-ble
vulnerable	easily hurt	easily hurt or harmed	vul-ner-a-ble
policies	plans or rules	rules or plans	pol-i-cies
decay	break down	to break down or decline	de-cay
rhetorical	asked for effect	asked to make a point, not to get an answer	rhe-tor-i-cal