Literary Devices
John says "Maybe we speeded things up a little, but you can't say we murdered him. Not murdered him."
What is foreshadowing?
This is the reason John lies to Norton about going to Mr. Pignati's house.
What is John wants to protect Mr. Pignati?
I am the Bathroom Bomber.
Who is John?
This inference is made because Mr. Pignati's best friend is a baboon.
What is Mr. Pignati is lonely?
These are the three omens Lorraine encounters at the zoo.
What are: a mean lady selling peanuts, being attacked by a low IQ peacock, and a child in the nocturnal room watching her instead of the bats?
The white pig figurine is symbolic of this.
What is the Pigman's love of his wife, Conchetta?
This is the difference between how the children are treated at Mr. Pignati's and at their own homes.
What is they are welcomed at Mr. Pignati's house?
Norton refers to me as a screech owl.
Who is Lorraine?
What is John "likes" Lorraine?
The telephone marathons are held at my house.
Who is Dennis?
The fact that the monkeys are the ones who show the most agonizing grief over Mr. Pignati's death is an example of this.
What is situational irony?
This is caused by Lorraine's mother telling her, "You're not a pretty girl, Lorraine."
What is Lorraine has a low self-esteem and feels unattractive?
I am the Marshmallow Kid.
Who is Norton?
The fact that Lorraine's eyes no longer scan like nervous radar shows this about her.
What is she is devastated by the Pigman's death?
This is the form in which the kids say they are writing.
What is a memorial epic?
This is foreshadowed by Lorraine's dream.
Mr. Pignati's death
"Lorraine remembers the big words, and I remember the action" shows this.
What is they are foils - this points out the main differences in their personalities.
I'm called Bore.
Who is John's dad?
We infer this quality about John from the quote, "Because the boy's John is right next to the Dean's office ... Sure they didn't do it, but it's pretty hard to say that you're innocent when you're caught ... smoking."
What is John lacks compassion for others.
This makes Mr. Pignati different from all the other adults John and Lorraine know.
What is Mr. Pignati knows how to take childhood joy from life?
This is one of the themes of the novel.
What is:
People are responsible for their own fates.
People should act their ages.
Lorraine says this about Mr. Pignati's smile when they meet him at the zoo for the first time.
What is "People just don't go around smiling like that all the time unless they're mentally unbalanced or harboring extreme anxiety"?
I am John's older brother.
Kenny
This trait of Lorraine's is revealed in the following quote: "Miss Stewart kept her sick mother right in the middle of her living room, and it almost made me cry."
What is compassion?
This literary term describes the fact that Lorraine is concerned about cursing in the story when they make many worse bad decisions.
What is situational irony?