died, fearing that her mother would hit her in punishment for creating the situation. They blame themselves for Pignati's death and believe that he would have been better off never meeting them in the first place. John and Lorraine write their story down. Themes Peer pressure This story goes into the idea of peer pressure on numerous occasions. First is the phone call Lorraine made to Mr. Pignati. She did not want to keep the conversation going and felt as if she was not doing the right thing. Her friends kept pressuring her to continue the conversation and so she did. 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. She does not want to take money from this poor old man and says to John how it is wrong. Not listening to her at all, he pressures her into taking the money and keeping silent about the truth. Finally, John and Lorraine are pressured into having a party at the house. This results in the destruction of all of his possessions and him ultimately feeling broken. 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. Whether it is Lorraine afraid to stand up against John, or John afraid to stand up to his friends, the main characters are reluctant in speaking their true emotions. The pressure given to them by a massive audience becomes the reason for the downfall of their great friend, The Pigman or Mr. Pignati. Loss The occurrence of losing loved ones and loved possessions are frequent throughout the novel. It begins with The Pigman's loss of his collection of pigs and his wife's dress. Both these items were very important to him, letting him remember a time of peace and happiness. When they were both destroyed, he lost a huge part of who he was. Paul Zindel references the loss of great friend Martin Musgrave as a base for the loss in The Pigman. The Pigman also loses his best friend, Bobo. His death at the zoo was too much for this man, resulting in a heart attack that killed him. His death was the kids losing their dear friend, but also their innocence. The loss of their friend and