The Pigman

The Pigman

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Author	Paul Zindel
Original title	The Odd Old Man
Language	English
Genre	Young Adult literature
Publisher	Harper Trophy
Publication date	1968-10-12
Publication place	USA
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	166 pages
ISBN	978-0-06-075735-9
OCLC	58968588
LC Class	CPB Box no. 2360 vol. 13
Followed by	The Pigman's Legacy

The Pigman is a young adult novel written by Paul Zindel, first published in 1968. In his autobiography, Zindel revealed that "the Pigman" is based on his grandfather, and that the model for Lorraine, the girl from the book, is a student who was in one of his chemistry classes.

Plot summary

The novel is divided into chapters, varyingly narrated by either John or Lorraine.

The novel begins with an "oath" signed by John Conlan and Lorraine Jensen, two high school sophomores, which pledge that they will report only the facts about their experiences with Mr. Angelo Pignati.

While John, Lorraine and some other students are making prank phone calls, Lorraine picks out Mr. Pignati's phone number and pretends to be calling from a charity called the L & J fund. Mr. Pignati offers to donate ten dollars, and John and Lorraine travel to his house to collect. From the first meeting, the two teenagers and the old man become close friends. Mr. Pignati finds new vitality and happily takes on the role of father figure for the two.

The next day, Mr. Pignati takes John and Lorraine to the zoo to meet Bobo, a baboon he has taken a liking to. The animal is vicious and ill-tempered, but Mr. Pignati doesn't seem to mind, speaking lovingly to the baboon and feeding it peanuts.

John and Lorraine's visits to the Pigman become increasingly frequent, and during one such visit they discover documents that show that Mr. Pignati's wife is actually dead, not just on vacation as he had previously told them. Soon they are visiting him every day after school, and he showers them with gifts, food, wine, and most importantly the love and attention they do not receive in their own joyless homes. They reveal to him that they were never affiliated with any charity, and he reveals what they already know: that his wife is dead.

One day, while they are testing out the three brand new pairs of roller skates, Mr. Pignati overexerts himself and suffers a heart attack. While he is recuperating in the hospital, he allows them to stay in his home, but they soon take advantage of this kindness. Pretending to be adults, they dress up in the clothes of Mr. Pignati and his late wife, which leads to a quasi-sexual encounter that leaves them both feeling awkward.

The true betrayal comes, however, when John invites friends over to the house. The situation quickly turns into a drunken, boisterous party during which Mr. Pignati's house is ransacked and his late wife's collection of porcelain pigs is smashed.

Mr. Pignati returns to find his house ransacked, and is incredibly hurt when he finds out John and Lorraine were responsible. They both feel terrible, and offer to take him to the zoo to help make up for it. At the zoo, they discover that Bobo the baboon has died. Mr Pignati, overcome with grief, collapses and dies. John and Lorraine are left feeling responsible, and reflect upon the realities of death.

Characters

Main Characters

• Mr. Angelo "cock eating" Pignati (The Pigman)
• John "cock blocker" Conlan
• Lorraine "penis sucker" Jensen

Important Characters

• Norton Kelly
• 'Bore' Conlan
• 'Old Lady' Conlan
• Conchetta Pignati
• Dennis Kobin
• Bobo the Baboon
• Lorraine's mom(Ms.Jensen)

Other Characters

• Miss Reillen (The Cricket)
• Helen Kazinski
• Jane Appling
• Deanna Deas
• Aunt Ahra

Themes

They have no lovegiving and joyful family.The Pigman takes the role of the father for both

1. Maturation- In the last few paragraphs of the novel, the theme of maturation is explained. John says that both he and Lorraine trespassed where they didn't belong and that something died in them as well. In simple words, this means that John and Lorraine trespassed into adulthood and lost their childhood.
2. Friendship- A friendship is built between John and Lorraine and the Pigman.
3. Death- Death is mentioned throughout the book, showing the fragility of life.

Symbolism

• Pigs - The pig collection symbolized Pignati's relationship with his wife and Pignati's fragile heart because when Norton breaks the pig collection, it's as if Pignati's heart is broken.
• Monkeys - The three small monkeys resemble the friendship shared between the three protagonists.