The Pigman Chapter 13 Summary & Analysis

Chapter 13 Summary: Chapter 13

John opens the chapter by justifying his decision to have the party, saying Mr. Pignati would have agreed. Then he describes the guests—Dennis, who brings over whiskey, and a dozen other kids, all of whom are outsiders in their own way. John specifically does not invite Norton because his behavior can’t be trusted. Lorraine puts out Mr. Pignati’s gourmet treats for the guests and tells her mother that she is studying at a friend’s house. As they think of more kids to whom they owe party invitations, the crowd swells and includes some kids who had been going to a nearby dance. A little later a band arrives, and soon there are at least forty kids in Mr. Pignati’s house. They move the furniture out to the porch so they can dance in the living room.

Lorraine becomes concerned that the neighbors will complain about the noise, but John tells her to shut up. He is a bit drunk himself and doesn’t like to be told what to do, plus he is enjoying the party. John acknowledges a bit of damage is being done but not much. Later, John puts his roller skates on and comes out on the dance floor. Another girl finds Lorraine’s skates, and the girl dances with John, which makes Lorraine jealous. Norton shows up, angry that he’s been left out. John welcomes him with a drink because he doesn’t want trouble. John watches Norton and can tell he’s casing the house. Lorraine worries about Norton at first, but then she and another girl go upstairs to try on Conchetta’s clothes. Lorraine puts the white dress back on, but the other girl is too big for the dress she chose, and Lorraine worries that she will rip it.

A little later, John realizes Norton has disappeared. He looks all over for him, worried. John goes upstairs after Lorraine points him in that direction and finds Norton where he thought he would, coming out of Mr. Pignati’s study with an electrical device, an oscilloscope, in his hands. John tells Norton to put it back, and Norton responds that John should share. Just then Lorraine yells John’s name from the stairs. John turns his head toward her voice, and Norton punches him in the stomach. John falls down, and Norton picks up the oscilloscope and heads downstairs. When John follows him, he sees that instead of leaving, Norton is going toward the pig room. Lorraine tells John that a taxi has pulled up in front. John doesn’t think it could be Mr. Pignati because he is supposed to stay in the hospital until the next day. As John hears the sound of things breaking, Lorraine screams that someone is coming up the front steps. John goes into the pig room and sees Norton deliberately smashing a pig, looking for money inside. John remembers how proud Mr. Pignati is of his pigs and punches Norton. Norton knocks John down, picks up the oscilloscope, and departs.

Outside the room, John notices that the house is quiet and kids are leaving. Lorraine tells him that Mr. Pignati has arrived. But John is throwing himself at Norton, and the two boys skid across the floor and end up in the front hallway. John laughs with happiness before he notices an unsmiling Mr. Pignati standing at the door. John passes out.

Analysis: Chapter 13

The party is the main climactic scene of the novel, and this chaotic, drunken event highlights many important ideas and images that have developed throughout the novel. Why does the party turn so disastrous and end on such a spectacularly bad note? One suggestion is that Lorraine and John, the central characters whose friendship provides so much sustenance to each of them, are at odds and no longer working together. Lorraine has often served to temper John’s worst decisions, and certainly hosting the party, which John describes as “the party of the year,” is one of them, but Lorraine fails to squash his plan even though she understands the idea is “crazy.” While she suggests a few ways to lessen the impact on Mr. Pignati’s home, like saving some of the gourmet foods for him, and expresses concern about what’s going on, Lorraine is too timid in her objections, and John easily overrules her. As the night wears on, she enables John by also taking advantage of Mr. Pignati’s trust. She leads a friend to try on Conchetta’s clothes, even while understanding that this activity will likely damage the dresses.

Not helping matters is that the kids they invite are, like themselves, all social outsiders and misfits. John acknowledges that collectively these teens are neither nice nor smart, and numerous kids abuse alcohol. Norton is the worst of the bunch, which is why John didn’t want him at the party. When Norton does make his appearance, John attempts to keep an eye on him but continually gets distracted by the events and people around him, including Lorraine, who, dressed in Conchetta’s dress, “looked beautiful again.” As expected, Norton moves to steal any valuable items he can find, and John moves to stop him despite his awareness that interacting with Norton could easily escalate the situation. Indeed, John’s challenge of Norton triggers Norton into losing control. Norton no longer is content with mere theft but instead feels the need to destroy, perhaps to hurt John or perhaps to lash out at Mr. Pignati as John’s friend. Norton’s smashing of the pigs symbolizes the destruction of trust and goodness and sanctity, all of which John, Lorraine, and Mr. Pignati experienced in this house.

Throughout the party, John never pauses to assess the consequences of his actions in putting the party in motion. Anything awry, like physical damage to the house or Norton’s theft of the oscilloscope, he attempts to rationalize away. This bad habit means that when something goes seriously wrong, such as when Norton heads toward the pig room, John has no mechanism to deal with it. Compounding this lack of rational process is John’s utter drunkenness, and John immediately becomes violently angry, feeling like he could kill Norton if he hurt Mr. Pignati. Nowhere is this complete lack of self-control more apparent than the end of the chapter. Even as John hears Lorraine’s words, “The Pigman’s here!” he can’t stop himself from attacking Norton. If he could have restrained himself, Mr. Pignati certainly would have seen a horrifying scene when he entered the front door, but it would be less than what he did see: the shattered oscilloscope, a strange boy bleeding on his hall floor, and John laughing like a maniac. The party is the culmination of John’s refusal to accept responsibility for his own decisions and actions. He even passes out almost as soon as Mr. Pignati arrives, conveniently preventing any unpleasant interaction between the two.

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