42 pages • 1 hour read
Jack GantosJoey Pigza Swallowed the Key
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1998A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Joey Pigza
Joey Pigza is the protagonist and narrator of his own story. Inferences within the text indicate that he is about 10 years of age. When the reader first meets Joey, he describes a typically difficult school day when the medication prescribed to control his hyperactivity becomes less effective during the afternoon, leading to his being sent to the principal’s office to discuss his “behavior goals” (6). Joey is a kindhearted child who suffers because of what appears to be a biochemically based inability to control his impulsive behavior. While the specific nature of his challenge is never named, it appears that he suffers from some form of ADHD.
Joey advises the reader that he lives with his paternal grandmother; she has told him that she, his father, and Joey are all “wired wrong,” and that his tendencies are genetic. Joey’s father, Carter Pigza, left the family home when the boy was in kindergarten; his mother, Fran, followed him. While it appears that his grandmother makes efforts to care for the boy in the wake of his parental abandonment, she suffers from her bouts of mania and impulsivity. Additionally, she seeks to control Joey’s behavior by pretending to talk to the mother, whom he misses so much, by phone, telling the boy that his mother cannot come home because he has not behaved properly. Later in the book, the reader learns that Joey suffered such stress during these incidents that he started to pull his own hair out, a habit that he still reverts to when nervous, indicating an anxiety disorder.
It is clear that Joey’s problems have nothing to do with a limited intellect. He is perceptive and a quick learner who excels in Math. While teachers and administrators at his school realize early in his education that he is experiencing difficulties, they are unable to convince Grandma to pay attention to their evaluations. As a result, Joey receives no medical treatment or special education until his mother returns home after an absence of about five years. She establishes house rules, imposes order on the chaotic domestic environment established by Grandma, and cooperates with having Joey undergo an initial evaluation that results in his first round of medication. While this results in his improved concentration during the morning, his behavior always deteriorates during the afternoon. He experiences a number of accidents due to his impulsivity, such as putting his finger in the pencil sharpener in order to sharpen his nail; climbing a barn rafter on a class trip and injuring his ankle when he jumps down, and swallowing his house key. Joey’s most serious lapse in judgement, running through the room with a sharp pair of scissors, results in his inadvertently colliding with his classmate, Maria, and cutting off the tip of her nose. He is devastated by this accident. Joey is essentially good hearted: he tries to help Harold, a paralyzed boy in his special education program, and he establishes a friendship with Charlie, a boy awaiting prosthetic arms who rides the bus with Joey when they attend a special program together.
When proper medical care, counseling, and family therapy improve his life, Joey is extremely grateful. He realizes that he will always contend with some level of difficulty, but he is able to look forward to his future with some degree of optimism.
Fran Pigza
Joey’s mother is a hard-working beautician who, along with her husband, absconded when Joey was in kindergarten. She leaves him to be raised by his somewhat unstable paternal grandmother, although the reader later learns that she was unaware that the woman treated him abusively.
When Mom first returns, Joey has no idea of her identity; Grandma is clearly unhappy with her presence. Nonetheless, despite her previous mistakes, Mom is deeply vested in making amends and re-establishing her relationship with her son. She imposes order upon the household, which was previously characterized by chaos, unpredictability, and unfinished projects. Upon her return, she arranges for Joey to be medicated; he notes that “[…] I couldn’t live without her because she’s really the one who understands how I am when I get worked up” (15).
She is loving but portrayed as being realistically prone to human error. While Mom cooperates with Joey’s transfer to a Special Education Center and follows up on medical imaging tests requested by his doctor, she is initially upset upon realizing that Joey has shared the details of their home life with his counselor. She is ashamed about having abandoned Joey, and it hurts her to have others aware of the situation. Additionally, Mom admits to having consumed alcohol regularly during her pregnancy with Joey, which may have contributed to his difficulties. She bristles when she realizes that Joey has told his counselor that she has a few drinks every night upon her return home.
Nonetheless, Fran is an admirable character. She struggled mightily to “pull it together” sufficiently to return to Joey. She cares for him on her limited earnings, tries to impart life lessons (“Slow down and think about what you’re doing”), buys him a puppy when he performs well, and does her best to advocate for Joey as he faces his own challenges.
Grandma
Joey’s paternal grandmother struggles to raise him alone when his parents abscond. While she makes terrible mistakes and is subject to mercurial behavior and fits of rage, she does attempt, on occasion, to reason with the child and emphasize the need for him to develop self-control. Some of her disciplinary methods are abusive. For example, she attempted to control Joey by pretending to talk to his missing mother on the phone, and then advising him that Mom refused to return due to his inability to remain still. Grandma also had Joey perform tricks like a dog and beat him with a fly swatter when he displeased her. Her most egregious moment occurred when Mom was at work: Joey displeased Grandma, and she attempted to give him a “time out” by having him stand inside the refrigerator, suggesting that she is either unaware of how dangerous such a punishment would be, paralleling Joey’s dangerous, impulsive actions.
Despite all this, Joey comes to realize that he does not hate Grandma; in fact, he misses her when she leaves the family home to reside with his father in Pittsburgh. His mother reminds him that Grandma took care of him when he had nobody else to do so, and Joey comes to realize that “She should have been on meds, too” (15). Grandma had some endearing moments, such as times when she would apologize for being hurtful or run through the house with Joey, pretending to be The Hulk.
Mrs. Maxy
Mrs. Maxy is Joey’s classroom teacher. She recognizes that he is bright and good hearted; however, it becomes increasingly difficult for her to conduct her classes when Joey acts out.
When she is able to read Joey’s evaluation file, Mrs. Maxy makes efforts to assist him in controlling his behavior. She reviews classroom rules with him and tries to give him projects that allow him to remain physically active. Mrs. Maxy agrees to have Joey return to her class following his suspension, and she delivers homework to him personally so that he can keep up with his classwork. She hugs Joey and indicates that she loves him, even though he is a handful.
“Special Ed” (Ed Vanness)
Ed Vanness, also known as “Special Ed,” is Joey’s caseworker at the Lancaster Special Education Center. Upon meeting Joey, Ed explains that he can give him the help that he needs and assist him in learning to make better choices. Ed is instrumental in changing Joey’s life for the better. He arranges a thorough medical exam, helps Joey to work through his feelings of abandonment, schedules dietary assistance, and coaches Fran in techniques that assist her son.
Doctor Preston
Dr. Preston administers a physical exam for Joey and schedules a SPECT brain imaging test for diagnostic purposes. He prescribes a medication to help Joey with impulse control that is administered over the entire day via a transdermal patch; this is far more effective than the previously prescribed oral medicine. Dr. Preston explains that a multifaceted approach can improve Joey’s quality of life: the patch, behavior therapy and positive family conditions.
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