| The overall theme of The Pigman, by Paul Zindel, is �It is better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all.� This quote says the benefits and joy that you get from love are worth the pain of losing a loved one. This philosophy is credible. In The Pigman, Mr. Pignati and John would agree with it, while Mrs. Jensen would not. Although many of Mr. Pignati�s beloved friends died, the value of the time they spent together was worth the pain he felt at losing them. Mr. Pignati is unhappy about losing Conchetta, but he enjoyed the time he spent with her and is consequently cheerful. For example, he is happy on the phone when Lorraine prank called him even though Conchetta has recently died. After he loses Conchetta, he befriends Bobo, Lorraine, and John. At his discovery of Bobo�s death, Mr. Pignati had a heart attack which caused his death. He still took joy out of the time spent with Bobo, Conchetta, and all of his friends while he was alive. John thinks the relationship between Mr. Pignati and him was worth the catastrophic consequence of Mr. Pignati�s death. Unhappiness overcomes him at the moment of Mr. Pignati�s death but he almost instantly recovers and begins to contemplate philosophical ideas. He tells us that �our life would be what we made of it-nothing more, nothing less.� He thinks that Mr. Pignati led a productive, happy life. He says that he and Lorraine had trespassed in the realm of adulthood by being friends with Mr. Pignati. Unhappy though he was that his and Lorraine�s trespassing had caused Mr. Pignati�s death, he was glad he had trespassed because of the benefits for all three of them from their relationship. If Mrs. Jensen, Lorraine�s mother, had lost her husband through death instead of divorce, she would agree with the quote. Mrs. Jensen loved her husband until his affair. After she discovers his adulterous actions, she loses a loved one though not through death. She also begins to hate her husband and be suspicious of all males. Because of her overall loathing of men, Mrs. Jensen never fails to find something wrong with every man she meets. Thus, Mrs. Jensen was probably not upset by her husband�s death. She recounts to Lorraine the saga of her hatred for her father at least twice each year. When she finds out about Mr. Pignati, she is immediately suspicious that their relationship was somehow sexual. Mrs. Jensen tells Lorraine stories that act as warnings attempting to rouse her suspicions of males. She thinks that a man whose wife is dying is flirting with her. In a picture Lorraine once saw of her parents, they were happy students who loved each other. Her mom had loved her dad before his extramarital affair. Losing a loved one through adultery or betrayal is an exception to the quote. In conclusion, love reduced the quality of Mrs. Jensen�s life. Because Mrs. Jensen was betrayed by her love, the quote does not hold true for her. However love tremendously improved both Mr. Pignati�s and John�s life. Therefore, Mr. Pignati and John would agree with the quote, �It is better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all.� This quote is true for most people. John agrees with the quote because he knows that although Mr. Pignati lost his life, he, Lorraine, and Mr. Pignati benefited from their relationship. Mr. Pignati would agree with the quote because of all the enjoyment and happiness he got from his relationship with Bobo and Conchetta. Life would be better for Mrs. Jensen if she had lost her husband through death before divorce. It can be inferred that she would then agree with the quote. In the case of death, the benefits from love outweigh the pain of losing a loved one. |
| The Value of Love |