The Pigman Metaphors

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Ever since we’ve had the ability to learn, we have been taught to be kind and considerate, to always smile and live in hope of tomorrow. Fairytales and storybooks have happy endings, where the ones who live humbly always win at the end. But is that the truth? Through The Pigman, Paul Zindel is able to show us the reality of life and how necessities like love are nothing more than a mere lie. Through his characters, Zindel was able to portray how grievous love is. Although it is the foundation of life, it is also misleading and corrupt. Mr. Pignatti’s glass pigs reflect his love story; from the moment he met his wife to their last memory. The metaphor is very significant because love is a delicate piece of glass and once its shattered, …show more content…

Mr. Pignatti did exactly what we were taught to do. He was faithful to his wife Conchetta, kind to two strangers, and always happy and living in hope. If life was what we really learned it was, Mr. Pignatti should have been rewarded with good karma, but instead was recompensed with pain. He was able to see the things he loved die in front of him, first Conchetta and then Bobo. When he met John and Loraine he was provided with a kind moment of happiness. The taste of joy was deprived of him before he had a chance to quench his thirst. Why did life give him everything, if it was going to take it all away too soon? Mr. Pignatti’s story ends with death, he died of pain. Paul Zindel dedicated his time and wrote every single detail in the book for a reason. Perhaps the reason he included the backgrounds of John and Lorraine was to show that nothing gets solved in the end. Of course, a reader might have been hoping to see Lorraine’s mom finally understand what her daughter needs and that John’s dad would accept him, but that doesn’t happen. The story ends with the kids having to deal with exactly what they had in the beginning. By doing this, Zindel shows us that life is far from a fairytale and that real happy endings don’t exist. Lorraine will have to live with the circumstances, and so will John. Paul Zindle does not sugar coat life like the rest of humanity, instead shows us the cold, hard

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