A Day No Pigs Would Die Literary Analysis

The central theme of coming of age is very important in A Day No Pigs Would Die. Haven often states that being a man is doing what must be done. This theme and saying still applies to people today. However, since life is easier for most people today, the tasks that must be done are different. In A Day No Pigs Would Die Haven and Rob had to do unpleasant things sometimes because they had to be done. For example: every day Rob must wake up and do the chores. Children today may also have to wake up early to do the chores, however the tasks would be different. Coming of age today is very divergent from how it used to be. In A Day No Pigs Would Die Haven said that being a man is doing what needs to be done.
When Pinky was found to be barren, Rob and Haven both knew that she must be slaughtered because they needed meat for the winter. They could not keep her as a pet because she ate too much (Peck, 1972, page 125). The morning of the slaughtering Haven said “Rob, let's get it done,” because they both knew that Pinky had to die (Peck,

Haven must slaughter pigs every day for his job, and he sees it as his mission in life. He even says that some days he does not think that he can knife one more pig, but he does it anyway because it has to be done (Peck, 1972, page 39). Today people have to work to make money to sustain themselves and maybe even their family. Another example of something in A Day No Pigs Would Die that can apply to life today is the importance of schooling. Haven stresses that being able to read and write is very important, because he wants Rob to have a bright future. He tells him that people look at him and only see that he signs an X for his name, but they do not see how good he is at other things (Peck, 1972, page 38). Children today are required to go to school, and it is exceedingly difficult to make it in the world today without a good