There are several instances throughout the film in which he can be called an animal; he is at first caged like some dog, his manner of speech is similar to that of growling, he treats Buck as dead weight instead of a friend, he fights like an animal (the scene where he throws blood onto the guy who stabbed his hand), and several times throughout the film, Manny bears his teeth, like when Rankin leaves Manny's cage for the first time, we can see a glint in Manny's eyes and teeth, similar to that of a wolf or dog. Also, near the end, many loses his fingers trying to cut the wires of the train. This leaves him without opposable thumbs, like several animals.
However, with all of these scenes exemplifying Manny's animal traits, there is an equal number of humanization scenes. Manny dislikes rape and stops Buck from doing anything bad to the girl, he cares about Jonah and tries to take him with him, he eventually saves Buck and the girl from dying, and he even asks Rankin if Jonah is safe during his final moments.
The parallels between these two raise further questions. Is it a statement on humanity and how close we are to animals? Is a side more prevalent than the other? Which side is the correct way of living?
This is the kind of stuff I like. You come up with a good idea and then you scour the film to come up with examples to prove your point.
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