Summary Of The Pigman By Paul Zindel

The Pigman by Paul Zindel is narrated, in alternating chapters, by two high school sophomores, Lorraine Jenson, and John Conlan. The author obviously had a high level of proficiency to create such an interesting story and characters with very detailed traits . Lorraine is a sensitive, compassionate girl who tends to become mortified over simple things. Conversely, John is a complicated boy who lies to his teachers and is in constant conflict with his father. Some of his avocations are playing pranks and giving teachers funny names. John and Lorraine have become friends through their boredom with school and absurd sense of humor. About twice a week, John, Lorraine, and their friends Dennis and Norton meet up at someone’s house to play

a game they created called the telephone marathon. In this game, each person has to pick a random number in the directory and see who can keep the stranger on the phone the longest. When it was Lorraine’s turn, she called Mr. Pignati, she told him she was Miss. Truman from a charity organization and asked him for a donation to the “L. & J. Fund.” Mr. Pignati believes the story and gets talkative. He tells jokes and reports on his wife, and in the end, he agrees to donate ten dollars. During the prank, Lorraine starts to feel sorry for him because he is a very kind man who just wants someone to talk to.

John and Lorraine end up going to Mr. Pignati’s house to collect the money for their made up fund. Mr. Pignati is very welcoming and invites them to go to the zoo the next day. Lorraine feels they are in a predicament, but they both feel bad for the lonely old man, so they agree to go. Mr. Pignati proudly shows John and Lorraine his collection of ceramic pigs. The collection started when he gave his wife a ceramic pig as a joke, to remind her of him. Although Lorraine feels guilty about taking his money, John is unconcerned, cashes the check, and spends the money on cigarettes and beer.

At the zoo, Lorraine was convinced there were bad omens that it was going to be a dreadful day. The first omen was a woman selling peanuts. She said the woman was very antagonistic and not fond of children. Then, Lorraine was chased and cornered against a fence by a “low-IQ peacock.” Finally, the third omen happened when they went to the nocturnal room. A little boy about ten years old was smirking at Lorraine when she went to look at the vampire bats. After seeing the Galapagos tortoises, the Pigman drags John and Lorraine to the Primate Building where they meet a baboon. Mr. Pignati calls this baboon his best friend, Bobo. After their trip to the zoo, their friendship with Mr. Pignati grows and the give him the nickname, "the Pigman." However, they always address him as "Mr. Pignati."

Going to Mr.

Pignati's house almost every afternoon or evening becomes a habit, and Mr. Pignati always makes the two sophomores feel more comfortable in his house than they do in their own homes. The Pigman invites John and Lorraine over to explore his house and John finds a funeral bill for “Conchetta Pignati.” When John finds out his wife is dead, he tells Lorraine which makes her anxious and uncomfortable by the fact that Mr. Pignati goes on like his wife never passed away. Mr. Pignati was always taking prevarications and saying that his wife was in California to make sure John and Lorraine didn’t find out his wife was dead. After they drink wine and play word games, they go to a department store where Mr. Pignati buys putrid food, like snails and chocolate-covered ants. He lets them pick out whatever they desire, and acts like an infantile when he begs to buy them each a pair of roller skates. The three of them proceed to skate out of the store wearing the skates. When Lorraine goes home and gives her mother the stockings she got, her mother acts like an ingrate. Norton becomes increasingly curious about Lorraine and John's friendship with the Pigman. He acts antagonistic towards John and indicates that he intends to try to break into the

house.

When the two friends go to visit Mr. Pignati one afternoon, he is very down because Bobo rejected food. Feeling guilty for lying to Mr. Pignati and taking his money, John and Lorraine confess that they are not charity workers. In tears, he tells them his wife is dead, and Lorraine and John cheer him up by playing tag with their roller skates. However, Mr. Pignati has a heart attack, and John calls the police. He is sent to the hospital in an ambulance and the kids tell the hospital staff that they are his children so they are allowed to visit him. He lets them keep his house keys so they can make themselves at home during his absence. Later that night, they dress up in Mr. and Mrs. Pignati’s fancy clothes and kiss for the first time.

On Friday the next day, Lorraine and John go to the Pigman’s house to clean up before he comes home from the hospital the next day. However, John decides to invite a few friends over for a quick drink. They set out some drinks and hors d’oeuvres right before people started showing up. The situation turned into a rambunctious party with about forty other kids. Although Norton wasn’t invited, he shows up anyway. When John catches him trying to steal an oscilloscope, they get into a vicious fight. Norton goes to the pig room and begins to smash Conchetta's collection of porcelain pigs, looking for money, but John's roller skates and drunkenness prevent him from following him. Mr. Pignati returns home to see his house ransacked and is heartbroken when he discovers that John and Lorraine were responsible for the incident. When a policeman arrives, he informs them that Mr. Pignati will not press charges, and he takes Lorraine and John home. Lorraine’s mother beats her and John's parents say they are getting him therapy.

The next day, Lorraine and John call Mr. Pignati to apologize and offer to help clean up, but he is emotionless and quiet. To try and cheer him up, they ask the Pigman if he will go visit Bobo with them because he hasn’t seen Bobo in a while. At the zoo, Mr. Pignati is anxious to see Bobo, but when they arrive at the monkey house, they learn that Bobo passed away last week. Overcome with grief, Mr. Pignati suffers from another heart attack but doesn’t survive. After calling for help, John notices how much the Pigman’s dead face looks like his father's. He realizes how mundane his father’s life was, and how he wants his own life to be more exciting. Overall, John realizes how much they were like baboons, and that their lives would be what they made of them.