Essay, Research Paper: "View Of A Pig"

"View of a Pig" by Ted Hughes is about learning to think through problems and

inconveniences to end up finding acceptance. The poem runs through all the

frustrating steps of a new problem and yet finds sympathy and acceptance at the end.

With some thought the once frustrating encounter with the pig leads to sympathy when

remembering the being once had earthly pleasure.

First of all the poem starts off in a rather frustrating manner. There is an

encounter with a large lifeless pig laying on top of a barrow. First contact with the pig

causes the person to "Thump it without feeling remorse." The thumping however did no

good as "It was like a sack of wheat." After some physical abuse the pig turns out to be

not like a pig at all. The pig felt too dead to be mad at as it was like "A poundage of lard

and pork." The blame for where the pig lay was formally upon the pig but it "Did not

seem able to accuse." Through all the frustrating events, and attempts to accuse the

pig, sympathy for the pig starts to appear.

Instead of the anger, the poem changes to being more sympathetic towards the

pig. The frustrating resting place of the pig does not matter as much when thinking "Of

earthly pleasure it had been." When looking at the closed eyes with white eyelashes,

and its feet sticking straight out, its life "Seemed a false effort, and off the point." It

became hard to believe that all of the pigs "Distinctions and admirations such as this

one were long finished with." Although by the size of the pig it seemed to have a long

life, it seems too short when one minute it's nimbler than a cat and the next minute it's

dead. To get through the changes in life one must learn how to find acceptance.

To get something out of mind frustration and sympathy must be taken care of to

reach acceptance. The poem illustrates this with the quote "Too dead now to pity." All

the anger and sympathy for the pig is gone with the realization that the pig is no longer

alive. The first encounter with the pig made the person thump it because it was in the

way. Eventually with some acceptance, the person realized that it would be too hard to

move and cut up. Finally, looking at the pigs throat with a shocking gash on the

surface, the person now accepted the pig is gone.

In conclusion, reaching acceptance takes time. Several stages of frustration take

place when thinking of all the work the new problem would cause. It would be no easy

task to attempt moving a dead pig, especially alone. Time and mental anguish could be

better spent on other things so its understandable frustration arose. Acting out of

frustration may have caused the person the thump the pig and later on feel bad about

it. The next stage of sympathy came up when the person decided that it was not really

the pigs fault. The pig was once great and able to live life to its fullest but now looking

back it seems life is a false effort. When the person thought about how vulnerable life

is, sympathy was felt which finally led to acceptance. In reality everything dies, and

therefore the pig was "Too dead to pity." The death wounds were clearly visible so their

was no reason to wish it back. Nevertheless, without some frustration and sympathy

there would be no reason for acceptance.

The above essay is good, but if it could compare the themes of Death and Life in particular, it would be too good.