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Loneliness In Paul Zindel's The Pig Man

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Loneliness is a terrible thing. Without a friend to put an arm around your shoulder, without love to keep you warm in the cold of the cruel world, really life would be a miserable mess. Without someone walking by your side, most of the time your life would be heap of hate. In “The Pigman,” Paul Zindel sets out to show us how loneliness can affect your life. When the Pigman was trapped in a cage he set up around him after he had no one left, what made him reach out desperately to John and Lorraine was the loneliness in his cage. He also teaches us that life is a fragile thing. When we look at the Pigman’s collection of ceramic pigs, it represents the whole life of the Pigman. But if someone breaks and ruins something that’s precious to someone, one loses their will to live. …show more content…

Zindel introduces the story in John and Lorraine’s point of view. We hear about John’s story and we see how he trapped in a cage full of his father’s expectations of him. Lorraine is trapped in a cage filled with her mother’s suspicions and expectations of her mother. Mr. Pignati (The Pigman) is trapped by his old life and unwillingness to move on. In short, all their lives are miserable. Then when they find Mr.Pignati everything changes. Lorraine finds a father whom she was missing. John finds a new father who cares about who John is and actually spends time with him. Lastly, Mr.Pignati finds the children Conchetta could never have and finds joy from spoiling them. Zindel shows us how bad loneliness is by showing us three people who change from dejected to joyful by meeting each

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