“To Help the Monkey Cross the River” is a fun and wonderful poem to read. It can be easily understood and has an important meaning. Thomas Lux portrays a person’s love for animals by assisting the monkey in the harmful path of the crocodile and an anaconda. In the poem, the monkey is simply in search for food as the predators are moving faster. The person in the poem “does the math, algebra, angles, rate-of-monkey” (Lux, 14) and he or she feels as though at some point soon the predators will reach the monkey. Lux is teaching us that the predators all need prey to feed on, but it is not necessary to hurt them in order to save another animal. The person in the poem begins to shoot the rifle and fires four times into the river which startles the monkey and speeds up the process of collecting food. This also helps the monkey to return to its destination safely.
The title tells us exactly what the poem will be revealing to the readers. The poem is easy to understand because the words are used in our everyday English language. It is not too wordy and the moral of the poem is clear and simply stated. When reading a poem, I like to be able to picture it in my head for a better understanding. I believe Lux provides enough detailed information in the poem to help us comprehend each line visually. Lux uses the simile “the monkey has little hands like a child’s” (Lux, 25) which helps me to actually visualize the description of the monkey. Perhaps it is a small monkey and it is too young to think strategically as it crosses the paths of its predators. This also relates to the monkey’s innocence. We know that when a monkey is in search for food, it does not pay attention to its surroundings. It is focused on nourishment to live.
I try to relate the monkey’s life with our lives. I think Lux’s message to us readers is that sometimes we are oblivious to our surroundings like the monkey is with its predators. We should always be alert and in the present moment. Different signs we are given in our everyday life can also help protect us if we are in the present moment. We can also benefit from a little bit of help from each other like the monkey does with the person in the poem.
Lux plays with the reader’s expectations because he leaves us with an ending that could have multiple meanings. “And the smart ones, in a cage, can be taught to smile” (Lux, 26) sets the whole irony of the poem. It really makes the reader think. After reading it several times, I got a sense of happiness as he uses positive words like “child” or “smart ones” or “smile” because we know that the monkey is safe. I believe here the “smart ones” are the crocodile and the anaconda because they know what they are doing when it comes to catching their food. However, I believe that any animal in a cage can be taught to “smile” and be grateful they have someone helpful and knowledgeable watching over them, as does the monkey.
