The Pigman Essay

In the novel, The Pigman, written by Paul Zindel, two students named John and Lorraine meet on the bus and become best friends. John is a more rebellious student who tends to act in an infantile way at times. He is known as the “bathroom bomber,” because he always sets off bombs in the school bathrooms. Sometimes, John can be seen as an ingrate, when he takes his healthy body for granted by constantly smoking and drinking putrid beer. Lorraine, on the other hand, is not very outgoing or self-confident. This is because her mom always tells her that she is not a pretty girl and seems to lower her self esteem. On the first few weeks of school during her Freshman year, Lorraine was experiencing anxiety because she did not fit in and did not

have any friends and nobody talked to her. Luckily, one day when there were no more open seats on the bus, John was forced to sit with Lorraine. They struck up a conversation when John started laughing out of nowhere. Lorraine was mortified because she thought that he was laughing at her, but after that, they became best friends.
The whole incident that led up to John and Lorraine meeting the Pigman, was a telephone marathon at Norton’s house. Dennis held the previous record for keeping a lady on the phone for two hours and twenty-six minutes. One night, Lorraine called a man named Mr. Pignati. She pretended that she worked for a charity called the L & J fund. Lorraine was prevaricating while on the phone, so Mr. Pignati would not hang up. After a long conversation on the phone, the Pigman insists that they come over to his house so he can give them ten dollars for their charity. John eventually convinced Lorraine to go with him to collect the money. When John and Lorraine arrived at Mr. Pignati's house, it was a big dump. Mr. Pignati was very talkative and clearly enjoyed John and Lorraine’s company. Before they left, Mr. Pignatti invited them to go to the zoo with him sometime, which John and Lorraine agreed with.
The next day John and Lorraine met the Pigman at the zoo.

Lorraine does not have a good experience at first when an antagonistic worker at the zoo was rude to Lorraine when she tried to buy peanuts. After that, Lorraine was chased by a peacock. The third omen that Lorraine describes is a child that she saw in the nocturnal room at the zoo, who was constantly staring at her. The Pigman then introduces both John and Lorraine to Bobo, who Mr. Pignatti describes as his best friend. You can tell that the Pigman values his friendship with John and Lorraine because at the zoo, he buys them cotton candy, peanuts, and he bought John a banana split. Following their trip to the zoo, John and Lorraine begin to visit Mr. Pignati every day after school for a glass of wine. Around Christmas time, Mr Pignati informs John and Lorraine that Bobo has been refusing to eat, which makes him depressed because he can tell that Bobo is getting old. Mr Pignati, John, and Lorraine then go on to eat hors d’oeuvres such as chocolate covered ants. John then begins to skate around the house, and Mr. Pignati follows. They both are running up the stairs when Mr. Pignati has a heart attack. Mr. Pignati is sent to the hospital as a result of this. John and Lorraine tell the people at the hospital that they are Mr. Pignati’s children so they can visit him. John describes Mr. Pignati as being more cheerful than usual when he is in the

hospital.
After John and Lorraine’s visit to the hospital, they return to Mr. Pignati’s house. Lorraine begins to cook spaghetti for her and John, while John goes upstairs to Mr. Pignati’s room. While he was up there, he put on a worn, shiny, blue suit. Lorraine thinks that John looks fantastic in it as he comes down the stairs. Lorraine then goes upstairs to put on one of Conchetta's old dresses, and John says that she looks beautiful. John starts to chase Lorraine up the stairs into Mr. Pignati’s bedroom, and he kisses her for the first time. The two return back downstairs and have the spaghetti that Lorraine made for dinner.
Ever since that day at Mr.

Pignati’s house, John begins to dress nicer and comb his hair, but one day when John and Lorraine cut school to go to Mr. Pignati’s house in the morning, John seems to be in a predicament. He is complaining about everything, and refuses to take out the garbage. Lorraine thinks it might be because they are starting to have feelings for each other. John then brings up the idea of hosting a party at Mr. Pignati’s house. His reason is that Mr. Pignatti would “want them to have a social life.” John proceeds to invite a few friends over for a drink, which then turns into a lot of friends. Later that night, a band arrives, with a girl named Melissa Dumas, who has an avocation of singing a few songs with the band. Soon, the furniture is moved out onto the porch and the music is so loud, that the whole house is shaking. Around ten thirty, Norton arrives to the party. He was not originally invited because he is known for being very destructive and harmful. About a half hour after he arrives, he disappears upstairs and is found trying to steal jewelry from Mr. Pignati. Norton then is found in the room where Mr. Pignatti keeps his pig collection. He is looking for valuable things inside of the pigs and smashing them when he is done with them. All of this is happening as Mr. Pignati is pulling up to the house. John shows a high level of proficiency when he beats up Norton, causing his nose to bleed. Mr. Pignatti finally enters the house and is

shocked by what he is seeing. The police arrive, and luckily Mr. Pignatti does not press charges. Lorraine soon finds out that he is crying upstairs in his room. The policeman took Lorraine to her house, and her mother was shocked at her actions.
The next day, John and Lorraine take Mr. Pignati to the zoo. When they go to see Bobo, a worker there says that Bobo has died. Mr. Pignati dies after he hears this, because Bobo’s death symbolizes Mr. Pignati’s will to live ending. Following Mr. Pignati’s death, John thinks about his father, and how he is old and could end up just like Mr. Pignatti. When John sees the Pigman’s coffin, he sees it as his own coffin, because he smokes, drinks and does not take care of his body. I think as a result of Mr. Pignati’s death, John will stop taking so many things for granted, and maybe appreciate his father more.