Zindel, Paul. (1981). The Pigman. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers. 158 pp.

Grade Range: 10-12

Genre: contemporary fiction

Summary and Critique

This is the story of two high school students, John and Lorraine, who find themselves looking for entertainment in order to escape their unhappy homes. They pull pranks on the people around them. During a prank charity solicitation phone call, they end up meeting with Mr. Pignati, who they name the Pigman. They befriend him, at first in an effort to get $10 from him for their fake charity. They spend most of their free time at his house to escape from their own homes and because he seems genuinely concerned about them and buys them things. They discover that he has a troubling secret, which is why he is so desperate for their company. They end up destroying their relationship with this nice old man as they with the learned behavior that keeps them from forming and maintaining meaningful relationships with most people.

The unique narration from both main characters in turn provides each one's perspective on the situations in which they find themselves. Most high school students will enjoy and be able to relate to the two characters, especially since there is both a female and a male lead. Brings up important relationship issues with both peers and parents with which so many Teens struggle. Critics recognize it as a fresh, truthful, and funny story of two young people struggling with growing up.

Awards

New York Times Outstanding Book of 1968

ALA Notable Children's Book 1940-1970

Horn Book 1969 Fanfare Honor List

Themes/Topics

Families

Friends and Enemies

Generations

Challenges and Triumphs

Author Information

Paul Zindel is an extremely notable young adult author and native New Yorker. After college, he worked as a high school chemistry teacher while writing in his spare time. The Pigman was his first young adult novel. He has since written many award winning novels, including The Pigman's Legacy, Pardon Me, You're Stepping on My Eyeball!, and A Begonia for Miss Applebaum. In addition, Mr. Zindel won the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.


For more information on Paul Zindel:

http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=86 Web site offers biographic facts and a complete list of his works.

http://www2.scholastic.com/teachers/authorsandbooks/authorstudies/authorhome.jhtml?authorID=217&collateralID=5312&displayName=Biography This Web site contains biographic information, an annotated works list, and an interview with the author about his works.

Media Connections:

Movies

The Outsiders (1983) This is the story of young high school boys from a variety of unhappy homes who find solace in their friendship with each other and learn something about life along the way much like John and Lorraine.

Class 406 (2002) A story of Mexican teenagers who face many of the same problems as John and Lorraine, including abusive parents, decisions about morality, and love.

American Graffiti (1973) The classic coming of age story of high school boys and their attempt to grow up before heading off to college. Provides a glimpse into life back closer to when The Pigman was written.

Heathers (1989) Tells the story of the struggle of girls in high school to fit in, be popular, and have the right friends. This movie touches on many of the some moral dilemmas and friendship issues as the novel.

The Virgin Suicides (1999) Tells the story of a family coming apart when one of the daughters attempts suicide. The family sees a psychiatrist to help them deal with the family problems that are putting so much pressure on the children.


Tuesdays with Morrie (1999) This is the story of a younger man learning about life from an older man, a former professor. In an appropriate relationship (unlike the one John and Lorraine have with the Pigman), he is able to learn a lot from what this man has to say.

Television

The Gilmore Girls- any episode (single mother/daughter relationship, supportive vs. not supportive, like Lorraine and her mother)

Dawson's Creek- any episode (story of high school students coming of age and struggling with family problems and friendships)

Music

"The Story of My Old Man." Lyrics by Good Charlotte. From The Young and Hopeless. Sony, 2002. The story of his alcoholic father and his own drinking, which parallels nicely with John and his father.

Online Resources

http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/alateen.html This site provides Teens with information and support about alcoholism for family members of alcoholics.

http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/0553263218.asp Offers reviews on books written by Teens that Teens will enjoy reading. This link connects to the link on The Pigman so students can read what others thought about the b4teens_book.

http://www.planoprc.org/bad_books.htm This is a link to a school Web site where the parents were upset about The Pigman being taught in middle school. It would be an interesting site for students to visit and think about the validity of the reasons given.

http://english.sxu.edu/~hughes/clinicalartifacts.html Web site offers one teacher's experience in success with reading this book to struggling high school students who had troubled lives, much like John and Lorraine.

http://www.mental-health-matters.com/abuse/child.php Lots of information on what is child abuse, including emotional abuse, and where to turn for help. Provides links to many sites for children with tough home lives to find support and know that they are not alone.

http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/pigman/pigmantg.html Link to the SCORE project in California. Provides information for both students and educators about The Pigman. It has both teaching ideas and discussions of ideas and themes from the novel.

Related Texts

Zindel, Paul. (1984). The Pigman's Legacy. New York: Bantam. 128pp. This is the sequel to The Pigman where John and Lorraine return to the Pigman's house to find another old man there. In an attempt to right the wrongs they committed against the Pigman, they enter into a whole new set of adventures with this new old man.

Rochman, Hazel, and McCampbell, Darlene (Eds). (1993). Who Do You Think You Are? Stories of Friends and Enemies. Boston: Little Brown and Co. 176pp. This is a collection of short stories written by a variety of authors from a variety of cultures. It is all about peer relationships and those pressures on teenagers. It addresses both good relationships and those that may have negative influences. These stories address many of the same issues that John and Lorraine have with relationships in The Pigman.

Cormier, Robert. (1993). The Chocolate War. New York: Laurel Leaf. 272pp. This novel addresses many of the same issues as The Pigman with the struggles of high school students and moral decisions, especially when they lack good role modes. It is a very eye-opening book about the peer pressures of Teens .

Hinton, S. E. (1998). That Was Then. This Is Now. New York: Penguin Putnam Books. 159pp. The two high school boys in this book deal with issues surrounding their friendship and right versus wrong. One boy wonders if he should keep his friend from making bad choices just as Lorraine wondered so many times with John.

Franco, Betsy (Ed.). (2000). You Hear Me? Poem and Writing By Teenage Boys. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. 107pp. This collection of poetry was written by teen boys from all over the country and from a variety of cultures. They speak out about family relationships, friendship, and other pressures.

Franco, Betsy (Ed.). (2001). Things I Have to Tell You: Poems and Writing By Teenage Girls. New York: Candlewick Press. 63pp.This collection is the companion to the one above providing teen girls the opportunity to speak out. Both are nice collections to help bring out discussions of the moral issues brought up in the novel.

Cohen, Daniel, and Cohen, Susan. (1986). A Six-Pack and a Fake ID: Teens Look at the Drinking Question. National Book Network, 1986. Even though this book is older, it is a good resource for Teens about drinking. It gives them the straight facts about what drinking can do to their lives and where they can turn for help.

Wisechild, Louise. (1993). The Mother I Carry: A Memoir of Healing from Emotional Abuse. Washington: Seal Press. 277pp. Offers one woman's story of emotional abuse by her mother and how she healed. Great resource for other students who may be suffering from unhappy homes like John and Lorraine.

Teaching Ideas

(1) "Point of View" Have students write a poem with two voices about a single topic or theme. It might be helpful to have them think about it being performed by two actors. You can have them read it aloud with another student if they are willing to share. This will help them to understand the complexity/ uniqueness of having two narrators as Zindel did in The Pigman.

[Summarized from "Experimenting with Point of View" by Leah K. Esker in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. January 2002, p4.]

(2) "A Deeper Understanding of Fictional Characters" To help students understand how to write complex and realistic characters like John and Lorraine, have them create a character and spend time with them (perhaps over a long weekend). Tell them that they will be living with the character for a certain number of days, and they should take the character everywhere. Have them keep a journal to record thoughts and then write a character description for class. It might be useful to give them a list of questions that probably need to be answered about the character. Some of these include: What mistakes has he/she made? What motivates him/her? Does he/she have any special traits? What are his/her favorite things? Do you disagree about things with him/her?

[Summarized from "Getting to Know Fictional Characters" by Susan Altland in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. April 2002, p.5]


(3) "The Pigman and American Society" After reading The Pigman, have students look at articles from newspapers and magazines about emotional abuse, child abuse, or incidents involving alcoholism. Have them think about the lives of these people, the lives of the characters, and their own lives. Then, have them analyze the writing in the articles. Is it personal and opinionated or does it simply state the facts about abuse? Discuss and model with the students how to maturely talk about sensitive issues and then write about them. Think about the different effects of simply reporting facts or including personal detail.

[Adapted from "The Lord of the Flies and American Society" by Liz deBeer in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. August 2003, p.4]

(Review written by Marianne Bean and edited by Jennifer E. Moore)