Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Mr. Pignati's prized pig collection, which is hidden in a small room behind a black curtain, seems to symbolize his happy life with Conchetta. The collection got started, he tells John and Lorraine, when he gave Conchetta a white ceramic pig, to remind her of him. John tells us that there are "glass pigs and clay pigs and marble pigs" (5) – all breakable materials. When the pig collection gets smashed, this seems to symbolize the end of Mr. Pignati's life and his will to live.