Chapters 1 and 2

1. What do you learn about John from the "Bathroom Bomber" and the "Supercolossal fruit roll"? (p. 7,8)
2. What is the setting (time and palce) surrounding the characters of the Pigman? (p. 5, 11)
3. Identify Miss Reillen and explain her nickname. (p. 11)
4. According to Lorraine, what is John's source "problem"? How does it affect him? (p. 14)
5. What does Lorraine mean when she says that John "used to distort things physically, and now he does it verbally more than any other way"? (p. 15)
6. What are some of Lorraine's anxieties when she first came to school? How did meeting John help her to ease her discomfort? (p. 17-20)
7. Who tells the story of The Pigman? What advantage does the reader gain from this unusual device?
8. What does John's writing on desks show?
9. What can you tell about Lorraine just from the way she writes? (p. 13-20)
10. Who is Sigmund Freud? (p. 14)

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Chapter 3

1. What did John and Lorraine like best about the Pigman?
2. How did the whole incident get started, according to John?
3. Who is Bore? What was the latest conflict between Bore and John? How did John retaliate?
4. Who was Dennis? What was his claim to fame in the telephone marathon game?

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Chapter 4

1. How did Norton get his nickname?
2. What did Lorraine say was the reason for calling Mr. Pignati?
3. What is John's so-called "compensation syndrome"?
4. Where does John get his bad habit of prevarication?
5. What is the agreement finally reached between Mr. Pignati and John?

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Chapter 5

1. What major point do Lorraine and John differ about in the beginning of this chapter?
2. What are Lorraine and John going to tell Mr. Pignati the money is really for?
3. Who was the ghost of Aunt Ahra?
4. What did John tell the operator about dialing his own calls?
5. What rationale (reason) does John use to get Lorraine to go to see Mr. Pignati?
6. Describe the physical appearance of Mr. Pignati.
7. What game did Mr. Pignati like to play to pass time or sharpen his mental powers?
8. Where did Mr. Pignati wish to take the kids for an afternoon?
9. Describe Mr. Pignati's "pigs". Were they real? What special meaning did they have for him?

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Chapter 6

1. Why did all the kids go to Tony's market?
2. What did John buy immediately after cashing Mr. Pignati's check? What is Lorraine's reaction to this?
3. On pages 49-51, we gain insight into Lorraine's mother. What type of person does she seem to be? Does she have any problem which may have contributed to the development of her personality?
4. Why does Lorraine dislike the zoo?
5. Why did Lorraine feel sorry for Mr. Pignati upon his arrival to meet them?
6. What were the bad omens Lorraine humorously tells us about part of that first visit to the zoo with Mr. Pignati?
7. Who was Bobo? Describe the incidents concerning all three of the visitors and Bobo.

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Chapter 7

1. What is Masterson's tomb?
2. What does John's father (Bore) have in mind for John's future? How does John feel about Bore's ideas?
3. What is John's feeling about cemeteries? What is his real reason for going to the cemetery?
4. Are John's demands to be an individual unreasonable? (opinion)
5. What is it about Mr. Pignati that strikes John as unusually nice in this chapter?
6. What does John discover which gives him a clue as to the whereabouts of Conchetta Pignati? Describe it in detail.

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Chapter 8

1. In the beginning of this chapter, what does Lorraine realize about Mr. Pignati's state of mind regarding Conchetta?
2. Does Lorraine really understand her mother? Support your opinion with examples.
3. What does John like about going to the Staten Island Ferry?
4. Who was Dixie? What stories has he told John?
5. Where did the trio go in Beekman's? Where are some of the things they bought?
6. On the fifth floor, what did Lorraine purchase at the insistence of Mr. Pignati?
7. Why was she so worried about her purchase?
8. What sight really touched Lorraine on one of the other floors?
9. To top off a great day,what was the last purchase of Mr. Pignati?
10. How did John and Lorraine react to this final event of their day?

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Chapter 9

1. Why does John hate Norton?
2. Who is D.D.?
3. What are Norton's plans regarding Mr. Pignati?
4. What is John's reaction to Norton's plans?
5. To what does John attribute his drinking habit?
6. What contrast exists between John's parents and Mr. Pignati which makes John say "I knew I'd kill Norton if he tried to hurt the old man."?

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Chapter 10

1. What were John and Lorraine accustomed to doing after school each day?
2. What is Lorraine's mother "fixated" about? Does she have a good reason for this?
3. On page 98, Lorraine says : "So, all things considered, it was wonderful getting over to Mr. Pignati's for a little dash of wine every day." What does "all things considered" refer to?
4. What did John "break down" and do eventually?
5. When John and Lorraine told Mr. Pignati the truth finally, how did he respond?
6. How did John break up the tension?
7. Describe the game they played at Mr. Pignati's suggestion.
8. What event is the climax (end point) of this chapter?

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Chapter 11

1. What was Lorraine referring to when she said, "You just never know when to stop"?
2. Why did Lorraine give the Pigman eleven gladiolas instead of an even dozen?
3. What does loathe mean? "...if I had overlooked the fact that I loathe spaghetti." (p.116)
4. What do John and Lorraine do in the evening, after they visited the Pigman?

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Chapter 12

1. Lorraine thinks John has changed. In what ways? Be specific.
2. What idea did John have at the end of this chapter?

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Chapter 13

1. Why did John think having the party was a good idea?
2. About how many people came to the party?
3. Once the party had started, things gradually began to get out of control. List the events which you think helped cause the party to get out of hand.

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Chapter 14

1. What happened to John and Lorraine when the Pigman returned home?
2. Why does Lorraine get angry and upset with John?
3. Does Lorraine think that her mother finally understands her? Why or why not?
4. What does Lorraine mean when she says they were "just playing?"
5. Why did John suggest to the Pigman that they go to the zoo?
6. What happend at the zoo?

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Chapter 15

1. What unpleasant realities does John face in this chapter about ageing and the Pigman?
2. What realities does John face about his own life and death?
3. What does John mean by saying Mr. Pignati "trespassed", that he and Lorraine trespassed?
4. What do the last four paragraphs mean?

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