The Pigman

The concept of determinism examines the idea that humans lack free will and that external forces outside their control shape their lives. In The Pigman, Zindel explores the idea of determinism versus free will through all the main characters and poses the question of whether the characters are responsible for their fates or if they are imprisoned by circumstances limiting or impeding their ability to choose differently. Through the recurring motif of locks and cages, the author enforces the idea that every person in the story is physically or emotionally trapped. Angelo Pignati’s grief over his lost wife has made him a prisoner in his own home. His denial of her death chains him to a cycle of mourning and grief, preventing him from engaging with reality. It is fitting he befriends Bobo the baboon, a wild creature held against his nature in a locked enclosure, and their relationship is a sad symbol of the human condition.

Lorraine is a prisoner in her home, locked in by her mother’s fear of the outside world’s corrupting influence on her daughter, which results in controlling, abusive parenting tactics. Lorraine is hesitant to visit the zoo with John and Mr. Pignati because seeing the animals in cages unsettles her. When she sees the strange boy in the bat enclosure, she realizes she identifies with the zoo's penned-up animals: “He made me feel as though I was a bat in a cage and he was on the outside looking in at me. It all made me very nervous” (50). Imprisoned by her mother’s tyrannical rule, Lorraine feels as helpless as the animals kept under lock and key, robbed of their freedom and powerless to change their circumstances. As much as Lorraine is held captive, she also empathizes with her mom’s plight. Ms. Jensen is a single mother bound to a life of endless work, making just enough money to survive. Lorraine sees the monkeys at Beekman’s and pities their cramped confinement until she realizes she understands their plight: “Here they were, clinging to each other in the pet shop at Beekman’s, looking out at everybody with those tiny, wet eyes—as though pleading for love. They looked so lonely and sweet just holding on to each other” (77). When people are trapped in a situation from which they cannot escape, often the only choice is to find another prisoner and cling to each other for comfort. Ironically, Mr. Pignati dies in front of Bobo’s cage, gripping the outside bars as his last act of fighting against the uncontrollable forces of death. Bobo’s fate and the Pigman’s examine the bleak truth that sometimes the only path out of imprisonment is death.

Like Lorraine, John also is a prisoner of his family circumstances. His father puts a lock on the phone to keep him from using it. However, John rebels by gluing the lock, preventing his father from using the phone. Through the circular futility, both father and son reach a stalemate where neither person has gained anything in the process. The scene symbolizes the relationship between John and his father as they are locked in a standoff over Mr. Conlan’s expectations for his son and the reality of John’s idealism and rebellious nature. After the Pigman’s death, John ponders humanity’s imprisonment and wonders if all humanity is like Bobo, just a forlorn primate held behind bars hoping someone will toss them a treat. John longs to break out of the confines of his father’s expectations but wonders if what is beyond the prison walls of his house is any better: “They build their own cages, we could almost hear the Pigman whisper, as he took his children with him” (149). John’s contemplation of life and death only brings him to the sad realization that humans often create their own prisons by making poor choices.