The Pigman Chapters 7 & 8 Summary & Analysis

Chapters 7 & 8

Summary: Chapter 7

John remarks that he enjoyed the trip to the zoo, including Mr. Pignati buying them treats, and doesn’t believe in Lorraine’s omens. On the way to Mr. Pignati’s house after school the next day, John and Lorraine bump into Dennis and Norton. John and Lorraine don’t want to reveal where they are going, so they drink beer at the cemetery with their classmates. John and Lorraine often hang out there. John remembers lying on the ground and worrying about his body decaying after he died. Later, John and Lorraine go home, and John eats dinner with his parents. John’s dad wants him to come to work after school with him at the stock exchange, like John’s older brother. John’s dad wants his sons to take over his business, but John wants to study acting. John’s mom brings in dessert, and John is mean to her, to which John’s father responds by saying that when John’s mother is dead, John will be sorry. John explains that he wants to be “individualistic” and figure out who he is. While John and his father argue, John’s mother asks John to go out that evening, just to keep peace in the home.

Later, John and Lorraine visit Mr. Pignati, who offers them wine, snacks, and a tour of the house. Lorraine notices a picture of a woman who turns out to be Mr. Pignati’s wife, Conchetta. Both kids can tell something is wrong when Mr. Pignati talks about her. John thinks maybe Conchetta deserted her husband. John snoops upstairs and finds Mr. Pignati’s study and a bedroom with women’s clothes in it. In the dresser, he finds a jewelry case with Conchetta’s funeral bill.

Summary: Chapter 8

John whispers to Lorraine that Conchetta is dead, which doesn’t surprise Lorraine, but when Mr. Pignati returns, John only shows him a small plastic card he found upstairs. Mr. Pignati explains what a credit card is. Back at home, Lorraine thinks about how the Pignatis shared activities, unlike Lorraine and her mother. After Lorraine’s mother leaves for work, Lorraine compares her mother with Mr. Pignati, who makes her happy. She wishes her mother were fun like Mr. Pignati.

On Saturday, Mr. Pignati, John, and Lorraine take the ferry into New York City to visit a department store. They explore the fancy-food section, where Mr. Pignati encourages them to pick out exotic foods to buy. Although Lorraine doesn’t want him to him spend money on frivolous gifts for her, his offer makes her feel special. On their way to the toy department, they cut through the lingerie section, and Mr. Pignati insists on buying Lorraine stockings. She chooses some in her mother’s size despite her worries about how to explain them to her mother. In the toy department, they browse and then go the pet shop and see three monkeys cuddled together in a cage. Lorraine thinks the monkeys look like they are pleading for love, and they remind Mr. Pignati of Bobo. Lorraine goes to the ladies’ room, and when she returns, John says Mr. Pignati is going to buy them roller skates. At first, Lorraine resists, but she can’t bear to disappoint John, who needs her to be his sidekick. John and Lorraine skate out of the store, and Mr. Pignati follows them on foot.

Analysis: Chapters 7 & 8

Lorraine’s and John’s reactions to the trips to the zoo and the department store with Mr. Pignati show just how different the two friends are despite their closeness. John feels pleased with the many treats and expensive gifts Mr. Pignati purchases for them and feels no guilt, while Lorraine sees omens to warn her against what she is doing and openly expresses her concern at the money spent. At the zoo, John specifically discounts her omens, noting that they are just lies with a twist “that make you anxious.” With these words, John essentially says that he and Lorraine are alike except that he knows how to relax and have fun when lying. Chapter 7, told from John’s point of view, delves more deeply into John’s character, showing his obsession with death and decay as well as his antipathy toward his parents’ way of life. When John eats dinner with his parents, he continually comes into opposition with them. Everything his parents ask of him—for instance, his dad’s request to come help him out at work—John rejects. While John claims that he just wants to be “individualistic,” his father agrees; however, both men see this trait in different terms. His dad wants him “to be his own man,” whereas John’s drinking and willingness to take from Mr. Pignati clearly indicate that he is simply an angry teenager acting out. At the same time, John’s family’s complete disinterest in understanding John shows why he chooses words and actions that are calculated to irritate his parents. Even when John is at his worst, his parents fail to muster the energy to recognize him and deal with him. Instead, they either push him to the side or try to mold him into the person they want him to be.

With such unsupportive parents, John turns to Mr. Pignati for validation. Mr. Pignati treats John and Lorraine as equals, opening his home and offering his bottles of wine to them, and as younger family members who deserve to be spoiled with treats. After the trip to a Manhattan department store, Lorraine talks about her guilt at taking advantage of Mr. Pignati’s generosity. She unsuccessfully resists many of his purchase offers and claims that she had no choice but to go because John would have spent too much of Mr. Pignati’s money if she was not there to stop him. She further attributes John’s potentially greedy behavior to not being accustomed to having someone take care of him in that manner. John, who interprets a credit card essentially as free money, shows no similar compunction. Either John feels he and Lorraine deserve gifts because of the companionship they offer to Mr. Pignati, or he is seeking out a shared experience to draw them closer to Mr. Pignati. Then again, both scenarios may be true, as details included in this section point to both interpretations.

In the pet store, they see three monkeys, huddled together, desperate for love. The three monkeys became analogous with the lost and lonely Mr. Pignati, John, and Lorraine. Another key moment in this scene is when Lorraine must reckon with whether to accept the roller skates. Initially, she doesn’t want to, but she then recognizes that if she refuses, she will not be true to her role as John’s fun-loving, crazy best friend; she can’t risk losing him. Instead, Lorraine underscores how the purchase of the roller skates draws the three of them closer together by ending her chapter with: “We must have looked just like three monkeys. The Pigman, John, and me—three funny little monkeys.”

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