watching him die was a hugely traumatic experience for them, whether they acknowledge it or not. Losing a friend is a very difficult thing for a person to go through. It becomes even harder when you lose a friend and believe that it is your fault. 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. His last stitch of happiness died along with Bobo, leaving him a shell of his former self. When he finally died, his death was a loss to the kids, but not to himself, because he had been unhappy. Family and parenting Throughout the story, both John and Lorraine do not know a parental figure. Physically both of them have parents (John having his mother and father, Lorraine having her mother), but mentally they are not there for them. John's parents do not care what he does and are very self-centered. Both let him smoke and drink and show him that there will be no repercussions for his actions. This makes John take part in troublesome actions, simply trying to get his parents' attention. 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. Her mother's abusive nature strikes fear into Lorraine. She knows if she does anything wrong she will be hit as a repercussion. This is shown when Lorraine states, "She came towards me, and I backed away until I was cornered by the wall. Then she raised her arm and slapped me once across the face. She tried to hit me again, but my arm went up and blocked her." Death Whether physically or emotionally, death recurs throughout this novel. The most apparent sense of death in this novel is physical. Numerous characters in this story die. Some of these include The Pigman, his wife, Lorraine's mother's patients, Lorraine's father, Bobo, and John's Aunt Ahra. While some of these deaths are treated as non-important information, they are all tragic. Losing someone who you are close to or even someone you just know can take a toll on