Throughout the course of a day, the number of times that one’s decision making skills are influenced are countless. When you take that total from one day and factor that number in over the course of several years, everyday influences are capable of greatly altering the path that one’s life takes. In Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff, the author uses the Troop and the Organization to represent greater forces that easily influence children and have a significant impact on how they turn out as adults.
     In Jane’s story of her childhood she goes into great detail about the Angel of Death, and that it was killing him that gave her the passion to better the world. According to her story, Jane found out about a group of crime fighters that had better resources than the government and yet managed to remain unknown. Once Jane made contact with this group over the phone and found the mysterious NC gun in her cabinet, she could not help but to want to get involved with them and she lived the next twenty two years of her life with no plans, just waiting for the mysterious organization to reach out to her. Ruff writes, “I’d killed someone, but in hindsight, it wasn’t the shooting that most affected me. It was hearing that voice say my name on the phone. It’s like, imagine if God called you up one day, not to give you a message but just to let you know He existed” (p 50). This quote by Jane Charlotte clearly demonstrates how mush that phone call and that night impacted her life. Her word choice when she speaks of God calling her specifically suggests that in her eyes the phone call gave her a purpose. She knew that their were greater forces in the world and she knew that they were watching her.
     Near the end of the novel, however, the reader is surprised by a plot twist to big to swallow: Jane is evil. It is found out that Jane did not leave because of a patch of weed, but because she sacrificed her younger brother, Phil, to a child molester who worked for an evil organization called the Troop. Jane’s entire story, her life narrative, was a lie; she never killed the Angel of Death and was never affected by a call from the organization. “ ‘Of course it wasn’t a coincidence,’ she says. ‘He was my ticket in. They wanted a sacrifice to prove that I was serious. But they didn’t tell me they were going to adopt him’ ” (Ruff, 224). Any one that is evil enough to sacrifice their little brother, not knowing what will become of him has been impacted significantly by a greater force. In Jane’s case, the reader will never know what it was that caused Jane to become evil: an article in the newspaper, a convicted killer, or her mother. The cause of the influence is not nearly as significant as the motive, and it is truely sad to see a young teenager be recruited by a criminal organization and be forced to sacrifice her brother.
     Phil, on the other hand, was more steadfast in his beliefs. Jane said that Phil read the Bible, referenced it frequently, and was good at heart. When Jane sacrificed Phil to the Troop, they had high hopes for him, they planned on him making it to the top and becoming one of the leading figures. Phil, however, had other plans, “He came to us. The Troop’s indoctrination specialists had done their best, but your brother proved to be something they never planned on. Incorruptible. (Ruff 225). All along Phil had a plan, work his way up in the Troop and then pursue his true calling: justice. Phil sought out the organization and became a double agent, feeding the organization with information that he learned from the Troop. It gets better: “Dixon took for granted that you passed the shibboleth test by hiding your true self. I was hoping there might be another explanation” (Ruff 226). While capturing and interrogating his evil sister, Phil hoped all along that deep down Jane had a good heart and was capable of being converted. This wish was never fulfilled and with a heavy heart Phil killed his sister. Despite everything that the Troop put him through, Phil still wanted to save the sister that sacrificed him. Phil is just as Dixon said, “Incorruptible.” (Ruff 225).
     In everyday life, it can be the smallest things that influence individuals the most and this becomes clear throughout Bad Monkeys. Matt Ruff demonstrates this concept clearly in perhaps a hyperbolic manner by emphasizing the long term effects imparted by these influential events. Not everyone will become a corrupt mad murderer or a seemingly flawless, good natured double agent, but that is not to say that influence is not present in everyday life. Ultimately it is decisions that define and make an individual, so anything that influences these decisions acts as a knife carving out the key features that define this individual. Matt Ruff does an excellent job of showing just how severe this influential forces can be and what they are capable of.