The Pigman: Themes | SparkNotes

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

The Pervasiveness of Death

The theme of death and mortality, first introduced in Chapter 3 when John reveals that Mr. Pignati is dead, imbues the entire novel. This early theme introduction establishes tension and a foreboding tone throughout the story and steers readers to note the many future images, hints, and references to mortality. Many details from John’s and Lorraine’s experiences tie to the pervasiveness of death, from their favorite hangout place, which is a beautiful, peaceful cemetery, to their personal thoughts to Mr. Pignati’s biggest issues. Mr. Pignati desperately tries to avoid thinking about his wife Conchetta’s death, but he has created a subtle shrine to her in the pig room, while John thinks about death and how it can affect his present life. Lorraine observes omens of an impending death. Even minor characters have a tie to mortality, like Lorraine’s mom, who wishes her elderly patients would die faster, and John’s dad, who is around the same age as Mr. Pignati. Death is everywhere in The Pigman.

Consequences and Accepting Responsibility

The idea of accepting responsibility for one’s own actions weaves through the novel. Mr. Pignati’s death was a traumatic event, one possibly caused by a series of events initiated by John and Lorraine. The two teens recognize this truth even as they try to suppress it. Traumatized by what occurred, they seek to assign guilt and blame as a way of helping themselves cope with and process their feelings. Lorraine blames John for initiating the party and even meeting and befriending Mr. Pignati, but John tries to deflect his own guilt by blaming other people, like Norton or Lorraine for picking the phone number in the first place, or by asserting that Mr. Pignati would have died even if he’d never met them.

As the teens grapple with the events of the past months, they come to a greater understanding about their own lives. On the night of the party, Lorraine lies in bed wanting to tell Mr. Pignati that they didn’t mean to hurt him and they didn’t mean the situation to become so serious. By the end of the book, John has come to understand that his life is his own and that no matter how much he attempts to deny the consequences of his actions, he cannot escape them. This understanding is a key part of growing up.

The Effects of Deception and Pretention

A lack of truthfulness and numerous acts of pretending permeate the book. Lorraine cheats by looking at the names and addresses to pick Mr. Pignati for her prank call, thematically implying that their entire relationship is built on a lie. In many cases, a lack of truthfulness damages other people or relationships. John and Lorraine lie constantly to their parents, which effectively builds the wall between them and their elders even higher than it already is. They lie to Mr. Pignati and assume the roles of charity workers to initiate their relationship.

In other cases, being deceitful is not as harmful but instead emerges as an element of what Lorraine in the penultimate chapter calls “playing.” When John and Lorraine take on different roles in Mr. Pignati’s empty house, they don’t intend to do harm; they merely experiment with different, perhaps future, identities. The harm only occurs when they take these roles too far. In the case of the party, the house does not belong to them, and their friends are not adults. Thus, when the partygoers damage property in the house, real harm is done to Mr. Pignati.

The Importance of Connection

One of the main reasons that John and Lorraine are drawn to Mr. Pignati, a man about the same age as John’s father, is because they lack any significant connections to their own parents. Both John and Lorraine are adrift when it comes to family relationships. Lorraine is the only child of a single mother, and she never knew her dad. John feels like an outsider in his own family, and he refuses to take the actions that would please his father. This lack of family connection is one of the things that drew John and Lorraine together in the first place and why they are always together and rarely with other schoolmates.

John’s and Lorraine’s behavior demonstrates how they attempt to forge their own families. On the day of Mr. Pignati’s first heart attack, the three of them play copycat as a way of thanking one another for being there, with them and for them. While visiting Mr. Pignati in the hospital, John and Lorraine pretend to be Mr. Pignati’s children, much to his delight. Only at the end of the book do John and Lorraine realize that the connection they created was artificial, perhaps even forbidden. Lorraine understands that they were just playing at being a family, and John realizes that they all made a key error: Mr. Pignati trespassing into childhood and John and Lorraine into adulthood. Because the connection between the three of them was built off falsehoods, it cannot survive.

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