How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter)
Quote #10
[John:] Baboons.
Baboons.
They build their own cages, we could almost hear the Pigman whisper, as he took his children with him. (15)
The novel ends with another of John's cryptic statements. This is an especially beautiful passage, and it is thought-provoking. In what way do baboons build their own cages? More likely, baboons are a metaphor for people. (See the discussion on cages in "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory.") Every character in the novel might be seen as trapped in a metaphorical cage. And who are the children that Mr. Pignati takes with him? Bobo, certainly, but Bobo is not plural, and the passage says "children." Could this refer to John's and Lorraine's earlier, less mature identities?