"Death of a Pig"

The E.B White essay "Death of a Pig" was about a farmer that felt a great sense of grief for his sick pig. Many times during the day, throughout a reasonable time span, the farmer would go down and check on his sick pig. The farmer tried many different things to help make the pig better, but none of them worked. In the end of the essay, the pig finally passes and the farmer feels a great deal of grief. Not only does the pig have an effect on the farmer, but it also makes people of the town feel sympathetic. While reading this story, I also felt sympathetic for the farmer. It was easy for me to tell that he felt very bad for the pig and wanted to help, but didn't know what to do. I think that the farmer feels a connection with his pig, and I could relate that because I feel like my animals are part of the family. Seeing animals suffer isn't an easy thing for anyone to witness especially if it is your own. While I was reading this I found myself relating the farmer and I because I have had animals get sick in the past and had to put them down, which is hard for me to watch. Also, the beginning of this article made me think about the pigs that are just barely alive long enough to mature are slaughtered and barely get a chance to live. I feel like pigs should be given more of a chance to live than just long enough to make a profit off. Reading this article really caught my attention and got me thinking about the value of life in animals and the connections humans' form with them.