A Day No Pigs Would Die

By: Robert Newton Peck


“You mean – this pig is going to be mine?”- Robert



Characters

Robert Peck – Robert is a simple farm boy whose wants to be like his father. Robert learns to become a man later on in this book when some problems arise.
Haven Peck – Haven is Robert’s father who butchers pigs for a living. He is Robert’s inspiration. He is a wise, shaker farmer. He is the provider for his family.
Lucy Peck- Lucy is Robert’s mother. She loves her son and treats him like a little boy and surrounds him with her love. She is a strong and brave woman.
Aunt Carrie- Aunt Carrie is Robert’s aunt. Carrie lives with the family and is like another mother to Robert.
Benjamin Tanner- Mr. Tanner is the Peck’s neighbor and friend. Mr. Tanner is a kind, Baptist who gave Robert a pig (Pinky) after he helped Mr. Tanner’s cow. He also took Robert to Rutland fair.
Pinky- Pinky is the pig that Mr. Tanner gave Robert for helping his cow. Pinky becomes Robert’s best friend. She becomes a huge pig and when the Pecks need food she is their only source to turn to.

Martha Plover- Martha is Robert’s Aunt Matty, who isn’t really his aunt. Aunt Matty loves Robert and when she finds out that his English grade is a D she decides to tutor him since she was an English teacher once.
Apron- Apron was Mr. Tanner’s prize cow who Robert helped when she was giving birth.
Bob and Bib- Bob and Bib are Mr. Tanner’s calves that Robert helps bring into this world. Bob is named after Robert. These two calves make the finest team in the country.
Bess Tanner- Bess is Mr. Tanner’s wife who is a large but kind lady. She is also the Peck’s neighbor. She likes Robert quite a bit.
Iris Bascom- Iris is another neighbor of the Pecks. At first Robert thinks she is crazy because she hit him with a broom. Later on he realizes she is a sweet and kind lady.
Ira Long- Ira long is a hired hand of Iris Bascoms. He is a hardworking, large man. In the book Iris and he are thought to have a relationship, but later on they get married. Ira is a nice gentleman.


Book Themes

Becoming a man
One theme in the book is the difficulty of Robert becoming a man. Robert is forced to become a man when he is only thirteen years old. He struggles with growing up, but by the end of the book he is really a man. Some things that made him a man were his laboring chores, his helping Mr. Tanner’s Cow. What made him a man the most was when he and his father had to butcher his pet pig Pinky. This was the hardest thing he had to do. Another scene in the book when he showed he had grown up was when his father died. He comforted his mother and aunt, and he also planned the funeral.

Being an outsider
Robert and his family are outsiders. They are Shakers and live the simple way. They don’t take anything from everyone and they think that Baptists are crazy. They live in a small community. They are very poor and Robert gets made fun of in the book because of his clothes. He doesn’t really have any friends (Pinky was his best friend).

Friendship
Friendship is an important theme in the book. Robert and Pinky have a very close relationship. They go everywhere together. They are best buddies, and their friendship means a lot. Their friendship ends when Robert and his father has to slaughter Pinky, but Robert forgives his father which shows that he and his father have a strong friendship.



Book Mood

This book was a pretty good book. At first the book was happy and cheery because of Pinky and Robert’s friendship. Later on in the book it was very sad because Pinky was slaughtered by his owner and best friend. Later on Robert’s father died and he had to take care of his family and the funeral. Robert became a man and like his father by the end of the book, which was good and made him the man of the family and the provider.

Character vs. Character

Robert Peck vs. Aunt Matty: Aunt Matty was a smart lady and her and Robert bumped heads when it came to his report card. Robert got all A’s on his report card except for English which he got a D. When he showed his mother and Aunt Carrie they were proud of him but Aunt Matty wasn’t. She told his mother that she could tutor him, so she did.
Robert Peck vs. Edward Thatcher: Edward made fun of Robert’s clothes one day at school in front of everyone and Robert hated him for that. Robert said that one day he would make him bleed like a stuck pig, and that he would kick him from one end of Vermont to another.
Robert Peck vs. Iris Bascom: Iris yelled at Robert when he and another boy went across her yard. She grabbed a broom and wacked them and she hit Robert so hard that he had a welt on his shins from a few day. Later on in the book though they help each other out and become friends.
Robert Peck vs. Apron: Robert helped Apron when she was having her calves. He pulled out a goiter in her throat and she bite him and dragged him all over the place. Robert was beat up bad and had to stay in bed for a few days.
Robert Peck vs. Haven Peck: Robert loved his father and wanted to be like his father. His father loved him but sometimes was hard on him and Robert’s mother was the one that treated him well. At the end of the book Robert forgives his father for killing Pinky and he loves his father and get along better with him.


Personal Reflection
The book A day no pigs would die by Robert Newton Peck was a very good book. It was sad but a good book. It just was a little too sad for my taste. The thing I loved about the book was the friendship between Robert and his pig Pinky. I loved how Pinky and Robert went everywhere together and how Robert would talk to her. It was very sad when Robert and his father had to kill Pinky, that to me just ruined the whole book. I would recommend it to others just to hear what they would say and if they thought the same things I think. This book was good but you could almost see what was going to happen in a lot of it because hints the title " A Day No Pigs Would Die". This book taught me that freindship is a precious gift and you will have it with you always.


Summary

The book a day no pigs would die by Robert Newton Peck was about a boy named Robert and his life. It started off when Robert runs away after being made fun of and then seeing that his neighbor’s cow is ready to give birth, and he helps her. He discovers that the cow (Apron) is having trouble breathing and so he sticks his hand down her throat and pulls out a goiter. While he was pulling in out Apron bites him and drags him all over. After a few days of laying in bed, Robert and his father go to repair the fence which Apron escaped from. Mr. Tanner, Apron’s owner, comes over while they are working and thanks Robert and tells him that Apron actually had two calves. Then Mr. Tanner as a present for helping him out gives Robert a pig. Robert names her Pinky.

Robert takes good care of Pinky and they become best friends. Mr. Tanner invites Robert to come to Rutland Fair, which people bring their animals to win prizes and awards. Not only does Robert get to go, but he gets to bring Pinky. At the fair Robert has to help show Mr. Tanner’s calves around the ring, then he get to show pinky. Pinky receives a prize and Robert gets sick. Robert and Pinky go through a lot of rough and hard times together, but they are each other’s best friend. Mr. Peck thinks that Pinky might be barren, so Mr. Tanner brings over his prize boar and Pinky is barren. As winter comes and the Peck’s hunting isn’t good they have to kill pinky. Mr. Peck’s job is to slaughter pigs, but this is one pig he really doesn’t want to slaughter.

Pinky is Robert’s best friend. So one morning Mr. Peck and Robert go out to the barn and slaughter Pinky. Robert kisses his father’s hands after they slaughter Pinky to show him that he forgives him and loves him. This really shows how mature Robert is for his age. Mr. Peck has been sick, and he dies in his sleep in the spring of next year. Robert takes care of the funeral arrangements and telling everyone of his death. He comforts his mom and his Aunt Carrie. In the book Robert grows from a young boy into a mature adult. He is the man ofthe household by the end of the book.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont