[1][2] It is notable for its authentic depiction of teenagers, and was among the first young adult books to take the genre in a more realistic direction.
Although commonly taught, this book has been banned in certain areas for numerous reasons, some including offensive language and sexual themes.
When John, Lorraine, and two teen troublemakers, Norton Kelly, and Dennis Kobin, are bored, they make prank phone calls.
When it is Lorraine's turn, she picks out Mr. Pignati's phone number and pretends to be calling from a charity.
Soon, John and Lorraine visit The Pigman daily after school, and he showers them with gifts, food, and most importantly, the love and attention they do not receive in their own joyless homes.
Mr. Pignati suffers a heart attack while he and the teens are playing tag with roller skates.
Lorraine's friend rips Conchetta Pignati's wedding dress in a drunken accident after putting it on.
Feeling terrible, the two offer to take Pignati to the zoo to help make up for the destruction of his house.
When they arrive at the zoo to visit Bobo the baboon, Mr. Pignati's favourite animal and buddy, they learn the creature has died.
Overcome with grief and the heaviness of the recent events, Mr. Pignati suffers from cardiac arrest and dies, leaving John and Lorraine grieving and reflecting on the fragility of life.
John tells Lorraine to wait outside of the area where he died, fearing that her mother would hit her in punishment for creating the situation.
When she and John, later on, go to visit him after their scheme of collecting money for charity, Lorraine has the same feeling of guilt.
With peer pressure running high in this story, many of the characters were unable to speak their own opinions and were afraid to stand up against the crowd.
The pressure given to them by a massive audience becomes the reason for the downfall of their great friend, The Pigman or Mr. Pignati.
The amount of terrible and shocking experiences Lorraine and John put The Pigman through were too much for him, especially because of his old age.
While his efforts fail each time, he does not give up, and ironically only rebels in such a harsh manner wishing his parents paid attention to him.
Lorraine only lives with her mother, due to her father leaving them a long time ago.
Her mother is not a great parental figure, mocking and ridiculing her daughter constantly throughout the story.
This death of a fatherlike figure to these children emotionally traumatized them, causing a part of their innocence to die along with the Pigman.
[14] As shown in Lorraine's and John's reactions to the death or Mr. Pignati, guilt is a powerful emotion.