The Pigman is a young adult novel written by Paul Zindel

Paul Zindel

Paul Zindel Jr. was an American playwright, author, and educator.-Early years:Zindel was born in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York to Paul Zindel,Sr., a policeman, and Beatrice Frank, a nurse; his sister, Betty Hagen, was a year and a half older than he. Paul Zindel, Sr...

, first published in 1968. Zindel wrote a screenplay, adapting the book for the stage and screen, but it was not taken up by any film maker.

Plot

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.

When John, Lorraine, and troublemakers Norton Kelly and Dennis Kobin make prank phone calls, Lorraine picks out Mr. Pignati's phone number and pretends to be calling from a charity. Mr. Pignati offers to donate ten dollars, and John and Lorraine travel to his house to collect the funds. 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 a father-figure for the two.

John and Lorraine's visits become increasingly frequent, and during one such visit, they discover documents that show that Mr. Pignati's wife, Conchetta, is dead, not just on vacation as he had previously told them. Soon, John and Lorraine visit him every day after school, and he showers them with gifts, food, 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: his wife is dead.

Mr. Pignati suffers a heart attack while he and the teens are playing tag in roller skates, and he's sent to the hospital; John and Lorraine agree to take care of his house while he recovers.
The true betrayal comes when John invites friends over to Mr. Pignati's house. The situation quickly turns into a drunken, boisterous party, during which Norton ransacks Mr. Pignati's house and destroys Conchetta's collection of porcelain

Porcelain

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...

 pigs, which Mr. Pignati holds very dear to him. John beats him up in retaliation.

Mr. Pignati returns to find his house ransacked, and is incredibly hurt when he finds out John and Lorraine were responsible for the incident. Feeling terrible, the two offer to take him to the zoo to help make up for it. At the zoo, they discover that Bobo the baboon

Baboon

Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...

, Mr. Pignati's favorite animal and buddy, has died from pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

. Overcome with grief and the heaviness of the recent events, Mr. Pignati suffers a cardiac arrest and dies, leaving John and Lorraine grieving and reflecting on the fragility of life.

Characters

• John Conlan - The male protagonist, who narrates the odd-numbered chapters. John is something of an anti-hero
  Anti-hero
  In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
  
  , as he uses his intelligence, looks, and charm for personal gain. He aspires to be an actor, but currently fuels his creativity with pranks, though most of them are benign.
• Lorraine Jensen - The female protagonist, who narrates the even numbered chapters. Lorraine aspires to be a writer or a psychologist, and her sensitive, analytical nature provides a counterbalance to John's impulsiveness.
• Angelo Pignati - An elderly widower who lives in a messy house in John and Lorraine's neighborhood. His eponymous nickname comes from his vast collection of ceramic pigs. Described as lonely since the death of his wife, his friendship with John and Lorraine fills a void in his life.
• Bore - John's father. Bore is a commodities trader and although the stress of the job is detrimental to his health, he still pressures John to follow in his footsteps. He was a heavy drinker until he developed cirrhosis of the liver.
• Old Lady111 - John's mother. It is suggested that she may have obsessive-compulsive disorder
  Obsessive-compulsive disorder
  Obsessive–compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry, by repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety, or by a combination of such obsessions and compulsions...
  
  , as she is fixated on cleaning, which she uses as a coping mechanism for the tension between her husband and son.
• Norton Kelly - A classmate of John and Lorraine and the main antagonist. Described as a barbarian by the protagonists, Norton spends much of his time fencing stolen electronics, and is convinced there are valuables inside the Pignati household.
• Dennis Kobin - Norton's follower. Best friends with Norton but not as important as him in the book.

External links

• "Novelguide for The Pigman"
• "Enotes discussion"
• The Pigman study guide, quotes, themes, character analyses, teacher resources