What are some themes in The Pigman?

One
theme that I think is integral to the entire story deals with friends and family.John and
Lorraine do not come from great homes.Each home situation is abusive in different ways, so John
and Lorraine simply do not have a family unit that is there to comfort them.This support system
is found through being friends with each other.John has other "friends" in the book,
but none of them care for him the way that Lorraine and Mr. Pignati do.Mr. Pignati has lost his
family as well, and he has essentially found a replacement through John and Lorraine.This shows
that deep friendships can absolutely be equivalent to a loving family.

Another theme is mortality.For such a short book that is written to a young adult
audience, the book is filled with death.Mr. Pignati's wife is dead, Bobo dies, Mr. Pignati dies,
and Lorraine's mother cares for dying patients.Even John fears that his own dad is going to die
soon which seems odd considering what a terrible father he is; however, that speaks volumes
about the strong bonds that exist between family members no matter how broken those bonds might
appear.All in all, the reader is constantly being reminded that death is real and often right
around the corner.