Symbolism In The Pigman

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Motria Iwan English 9 Ms. Stenson November 2, 2010 An Epic Transformation In Paul Zindel’s The Pigman Could a boy’s simple delinquent behaviour be so much deeper than writing on desks and making prank phone calls? In the novel The Pigman by Paul Zindel, a misguided adolescent develops into a man and clarifies his reality: that he is not invinsible and that he actually cares about what is going on around him. Under John’s ruthless act he is nothing more than another careless teenager. His actions symbolize a lonely child who only wants to know what it feels like to be loved. In the novel, Angelo Pignati gives the love-deprived teenager a small glimpse of trust and worth that his selfish parents fail to provide. As a repercussion…show more content…
The reason that the troubled child acts so malevolently is because he wants attention and is afraid of being betrayed or left by someone he loves or deeply cares for. In this self-fulfilling prophecy, Jonathan tries to push people away by saying absurd things, “I am a lunatic” (15). By doing o, the troubled soul does not have a deep connection with anyone. If the boy has a deep connection, there is the possibility of losing that person. John also wants to have good friends and have a sense of what it feels like for someone to care for him. The teenager is afraid of being a reject or being left, so the immature boy pushes people away before they have a chance to reject the lonely one. In addition, John’s love for attention always gets the best of him. The boy feels he is not interesting due to his parent’s lack of affection towards their son, so John, “Prevaricates for prevaricating’s sake” (25). John is always telling constant lies such as when he calls the operator, ‘”You can dial that number yourself, sir.” “No, I cannot. . . I have no arms . . . they have got a phone strapped to my head”’ (33). Jonathan finds his life so boring that he sees that his only option is to exaggerate his stories or even make up a whole new story. The confused adolescent makes

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