Essay Questions

Who is responsible for Mr Pignati's death?

It is impossible to know for sure what Mr Pignati's state of health was prior to meeting Lorraine and John. Perhaps he had suffered from heart attacks before. Perhaps he had a history of heart issues. This we don't know. But assuming for a moment that he was a healthy man for his age, with no cardiac history, then it is safe to say that the bulk of the responsibility falls at the feet of Lorraine and John.

John is the leader of the two, especially where doing the wrong thing is concerned, but compliance does not excuse Lorraine at all. They offer Mr Pignati a friendship and a sort of family that he has been wanting but they take away so much more. Mr Pignati desperately misses his wife, Conchetta. The main way in which he keeps her alive is by taking great care of their collection of ceramic pigs. They had collected them together over the years and looking at them helped him to reminisce in a way that brings happiness. The pig collection is destroyed as a result of John and Lorraine's party. So is his wife's wedding dress. It is as if Mr Pignati has lost her all over again. This is decimating to him. It leaves him overwhelmed, weakened, grieving again. When he finds out that Bobo has also died, it is more than his heart can bear. The fact that he is this heartbroken is the responsibility of Lorraine and John; they threw the party that demolished his collection and his life. In his observations, John is correct; Mr Pignati would have been much better off had he never met them.

Why are John and Lorraine so drawn to Mr Pignati?

Mr Pignati is a normal, functional adult. Eccentric, possibly. Fun, definitely. Mr Pignati is the parental adult that they are both lacking. Being at his house is relaxing and pleasant. They feel wanted there, and wanted for the people that they already are, not resented for the people they are not.

John's father is a businessman who has constant stress and high expectations. He used to drink away his stresses but now, as a non-drinker, has only criticizing his son to take his mind off his work issues. He wants John to follow him into the business world. John wants to be an actor. John feels that if his father finds him a disappointment just for that reason alone, then he will give him something to be disappointed in. John's mother is remote and wants only that her son leaves his father alone and doesn't create arguments in the house.

Lorraine's mother is a single parent who has provided for Lorraine the best she can, but who is physically and emotionally abusive. Lorraine is not loved, at least not in any way that is recognizable. There is no gentle guidance or encouragement; there is only punishment.

At Mr Pignati's home, John is not a disappointment and Lorraine is not a reminder of everything that has been sacrificed. They are friends, fellow roller skaters, zoo visitors and players of word games. His home is the home that they both need, and the home that they wish their home had been. Their friendship with him is the first structure that either has experienced and they are thriving on it.

Norton is not a constant character in the novel and is barely mentioned between his two visits to Mr Pignati's house. Why is he so instrumental to the plot?

Norton is a troublemaker, a bad kid and an electronics thief. He is proud of all of these things. He has no desire to behave better, or to "go straight". He is easily bored and enjoys hanging out with other bored kids, like John and Lorraine. He enjoys making prank calls and is with Lorraine and John the first time they visit Mr Pignati to collect the ten dollars he has offered to donate to their fictional charity.

Then Norton vanishes from the narrative. It is as if he has disappeared, but in reality he has been lurking in the shadows, paying attention to the deepening friendship that Lorraine and John have developed with Mr Pignati. He plans to burgle Mr Pignati, because he knows there are some sellable electronics at his house. When he tells John about this plan John is very angry and doesn't invite Norton to the party at Mr Pignati's house, but Norton being Norton he comes along anyway. Finding himself unable to steal the electronics as he had planned, he smashes all the ceramic pigs on purpose. This is a pivotal moment in the narrative and in Mr Pignati's life; it also precipitates the grief that gives him his second heart attack in a week and causes his death. Norton is not constant in the novel, but the two occasions in which he is involved are wholly negative and are both centered around his trying to steal from Mr Pignati.

Norton also illustrates how the friendship with Mr Pignati has changed John as a person. He is just as happy to rip Mr Pignati off with their bogus charity collection as Norton is. This occurs before he has become friends with him. After their friendship has been cemented, he is not on board with Norton's plan to burgle the Pignati home in the old man's absence, and beats up Norton when he sees how much damage he has caused. John begins the novel with a similar character to Norton, but grows as a person and evolves entirely due to the example that Mr Pignati has given him.