The Pigman Essay

The Pigman, a novel by Paul Zindel, is a story of two best friends, John Conlan and Lorraine Jensen, who narrate the life of Mr. Pignati. The Pigman takes place during the 1600s in Staten Island, New York. John and Lorraine both tell a story of how they met an old man, Mr. Pignati, through a prank call, who then became a close friend to them over the course of a few months. John, one of the protagonists of the story, along with Lorraine, his best friend, is a high school sophomore. Being six feet tall, he’s very handsome, and eye-catching, not to mention that he’s determined and adventurous. Although he’s very confident and intelligent, he hates going to school, thus he can get quite mischievous and manipulative there. Unlike John, Lorraine

Pignati, pretending to be calling from a charity. After a long conversation, Mr. Pignati offers John and Lorraine to come to his house to take his donation of $10. Mr. Pignati invited John and Lorraine in his house and shows them around his house. When Lorraine asked where his wife is, Mr. Pignati tells them that Conchetta, his wife, has been in California for the past month visiting a relative. The next day, Mr. Pignati invites John and Lorraine to go to the zoo with him, where he shows them his best friend, Bobo the baboon. John and Lorraine found themselves visiting Mr.Pignati very frequently. Mr. Pignati soon played the parental role for John and Lorraine. John and Lorraine felt more comfortable with Mr. Pignati than they did with their own parents. He took them to a store in Manhattan, where he bought them roller skates and food. One day, while John was exploring Mr.Pignati’s house, he learns that Conchetta’s actually dead when he finds a funeral bill for Conchetta Pignati. Feeling guilty about lying to him, John and Lorraine confess that they were never charity workers and Mr.Pignati breaks down, telling them that Conchetta’s dead. Later that day, Mr. Pignati had a heart attack, where he was then taking to the