by Laurent de Brunhoff
Pantheon, 1979
I love this book.
It's the story of a pig with an anger problem. He loses his head too often. In his struggle to manage his emotions he does deep soul searching in order to find his identity. He finally gains control over his anger when
he finds and accepts his true self.
One reviewer on Amazon says, "My son who is now 31 loved this book as a child. He had quite a temper and this book understood."
Well...
This book may be about anger, but I think that the one pig with horns has a few other problems stirring around inside. He needs several therapy sessions to sort out some deep issues.
(Click on each picture for a full view. Some of them are cut off in the thumbnail view.)
Pantheon, 1979
I love this book.
It's the story of a pig with an anger problem. He loses his head too often. In his struggle to manage his emotions he does deep soul searching in order to find his identity. He finally gains control over his anger when
he finds and accepts his true self.
One reviewer on Amazon says, "My son who is now 31 loved this book as a child. He had quite a temper and this book understood."
Well...
This book may be about anger, but I think that the one pig with horns has a few other problems stirring around inside. He needs several therapy sessions to sort out some deep issues.
(Click on each picture for a full view. Some of them are cut off in the thumbnail view.)
 |  |
The book begins with Pig standing on his garbage heap. He declares that he's the strongest, handsomest of all. It's hard to take him seriously when he's talking about being handsome while standing on a garbage heap. It's apparently given him some self esteem problems which makes him get really angry when he thinks people are laughing at him.
He gets really, really angry. In fact, he's violently angry.
He seems to hate the pigs who don't have horns. Perhaps they remind him that he is an impostor. He wears horns to make himself seem important, strong and as "handsome as a bull."
He hates the cows whose horns are authentic.
Pig doesn't feel comfortable in his own skin. In fact, except for one instance, he's the only animal in the book that is wearing a coat not his own. So he hates the sheep, too because of their authentic wool.
His face turns every shade of red and he gnashes his teeth in a terrible GRRR!! After threatening the other animals with his gun (is that a gun?) his head explodes and pops off of his body.
He seems to hate the pigs who don't have horns. Perhaps they remind him that he is an impostor. He wears horns to make himself seem important, strong and as "handsome as a bull."
He hates the cows whose horns are authentic.
Pig doesn't feel comfortable in his own skin. In fact, except for one instance, he's the only animal in the book that is wearing a coat not his own. So he hates the sheep, too because of their authentic wool.
His face turns every shade of red and he gnashes his teeth in a terrible GRRR!! After threatening the other animals with his gun (is that a gun?) his head explodes and pops off of his body.
 But he finds it again and puts it back where it belongs. He maniacally changes moods. He's suddenly in a good mood and clowns around: "I AM THE ONE CLOWN PIG." |  |
"Sad to say, no one thinks clown pig is funny. He's the only one laughing." (We're fascinated by, but usually don't laugh at train wrecks. ) It's no surprise that this makes Pig mad all over again.
Of course, his head pops off when he gets mad at the other animals for not laughing. Only this time, instead of becoming giddy and clownish, he puts on a wig and make up. "I AM A LADY PIG NOW."
Ok, I can't even figure this one out. Maybe his therapist told him to get in touch with his feminine side.
He sits down and sings rock-a-bye to the other animals, cradling them in his maternal arms. He's got a smile on his face and the other animals seem to like this side of Pig. "What about me?" and "My turn!" they say as they wait for a chance to be rocked to sleep by the now gentle "Miss" Pig.
Ok, I can't even figure this one out. Maybe his therapist told him to get in touch with his feminine side.
He sits down and sings rock-a-bye to the other animals, cradling them in his maternal arms. He's got a smile on his face and the other animals seem to like this side of Pig. "What about me?" and "My turn!" they say as they wait for a chance to be rocked to sleep by the now gentle "Miss" Pig.
 |  "But that night, when everyone's asleep... Pig has a bad dream." He dreams that the other animals are trying to eat his head. They circle round the head holding forks and knives. The nightmare is so bad that it makes him regress to his infancy. He wakes up forgetting who he is. "I WANT TO BE A BABY," he says. And that's what he becomes. He drinks from a bottle, crawls on the ground and sits in a buggy. The little cricket who makes a running commentary thinks that the Pig is pathetic and ridiculous. |
This makes Pig really very angry again. "Ridiculous? Me?? The handsomest, the strongest? GRRR!! I'll teach you to call me names!" Pig apparently doesn't realize that acting like a baby is not handsome nor a sign of strength.
His head pops off again. But this time he's getting tired of it. "I don't want to lose my head any more!!! This is the last time - I don't want to be angry any more." In order to change, you have to want to change, right?
He calmly puts his head back on and then plants himself in the ground. He becomes a "flower pig." "Look how lovely I am now!" But, wouldn't you know it. His head pops off again, this time because of a big sneeze.
His head pops off again. But this time he's getting tired of it. "I don't want to lose my head any more!!! This is the last time - I don't want to be angry any more." In order to change, you have to want to change, right?
He calmly puts his head back on and then plants himself in the ground. He becomes a "flower pig." "Look how lovely I am now!" But, wouldn't you know it. His head pops off again, this time because of a big sneeze.
It was only a sneeze that popped his head off, but he's angry about it nevertheless. "GRRR. I hate everyone! "Go get me my gun!" says his head. But he (his body) refuses to obey his angry head.
With self-loathing fury he gets into a fight with his head. This internal struggle is a turning point for pig. He really has lost his head this time. It's landed high in a tree and is stuck. Pig sits under the tree without it.
The good-hearted animals, those animals who have taken his abuse over all this time, gather around him and tell him that they'll make him a new head, "a nicer head."
One of the sheep (who is wearing clothes) paints some samples. The new heads are made of vegetables (Meat is murder? Peace, love vegetables?) and are very nice. The cricket is partial to one that's made of a squash, an eggplant, and an artichoke among other things. That's the one Pig chooses. He tries it out and the other animals dance around him in happiness. But his own head, in the tree, cries big tears.
With self-loathing fury he gets into a fight with his head. This internal struggle is a turning point for pig. He really has lost his head this time. It's landed high in a tree and is stuck. Pig sits under the tree without it.
The good-hearted animals, those animals who have taken his abuse over all this time, gather around him and tell him that they'll make him a new head, "a nicer head."
One of the sheep (who is wearing clothes) paints some samples. The new heads are made of vegetables (Meat is murder? Peace, love vegetables?) and are very nice. The cricket is partial to one that's made of a squash, an eggplant, and an artichoke among other things. That's the one Pig chooses. He tries it out and the other animals dance around him in happiness. But his own head, in the tree, cries big tears.
 The horns - the very thing of which Pig is proudest - come unstuck. He put them on his head in the first place (seen on the title page). But they became unstuck after Pig accepted the kindness of the other animals. After his anger softened, the horns fell away. |  |
He puts his head back on "for good." We can only hope it's for good. After all, he has put it on before and it's just popped right off for the most trivial reasons. But maybe this time will be different. After all, he's lost his horns, not his head. Were the horns a symbol of pure anger or of anger born of pride?
Whatever it was, it controlled him. But now, he controls the horns.
The last page of the book shows the Pig sitting comfortably on the ground. "Pig is happy again, content to be a pig. He has kept one horn though - he uses it to make music."
We all have to have some anger and passionate emotions within us. We aren't human without them.
But we must channel these emotions and control them in a productive, non-violent way.
So... I love this book. It's so twisted but it makes sense at the same time.
Whatever it was, it controlled him. But now, he controls the horns.
The last page of the book shows the Pig sitting comfortably on the ground. "Pig is happy again, content to be a pig. He has kept one horn though - he uses it to make music."
We all have to have some anger and passionate emotions within us. We aren't human without them.
But we must channel these emotions and control them in a productive, non-violent way.
So... I love this book. It's so twisted but it makes sense at the same time.
RSS Feed