7 ms·

Death of a Pig (1948)

129 points by samclemens 9y ago

davis 9y ago
Wow. I was just listening to Conversations with Tyler with Jill Lepore[1] this morning. She mentioned this article at the end: COWEN: Final question. The world of social media, we all know it’s not going away. Maybe it has some problems, but if you were to give a student or a person some piece of advice or intellectual ammunition to carry with them through this world — some book, some essay, some thought — so as to make it marginally better rather than marginally worse, what would that be? LEPORE: Read this E. B. White essay called “Death of a Pig.” COWEN: And what does he tell us in “Death of a Pig”? LEPORE: A pig dies on his . . . He was in Maine. He’s trying to understand what it means when something dies when you didn’t expect it to die and you couldn’t save it, and I just find it a very beautiful essay. But I think something is dying, and we can’t save it, and that’s a good place to start, to figure out how to feel about that. [1]: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/tyler-cowen-jill-lepore-wonder-woman-harvard-new-yorker-aafbd123f165 https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/tyler-cowen-jill...
tptacek 9y ago
That's a hell of a last sentence.
vool 9y ago
some pig
- duskwuff 9y ago
  Not sure if you noticed the author or not -- but he would go on to write Charlotte's Web a few years later. :)
jeffwass 9y ago
For those that may not click on title alone, this essay is by E. B. White, author of Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and coauthor of Strunk & White's The Elements of Style.
abetusk 9y ago
I have to say I really don't understand this story. For those of you who don't want to read, it's a 1948 story about a farmer (presumably E.B. White?) who tries to save his pig before slaughter that has fallen sick and dies (from erysipelas presumably?). The narrator seems to have a lot of investment in the pig's health: The pig's lot and mine were inextricably bound now, as though the rubber tube were the silver cord. From then until the time of his death I held the pig steadily in the bowl of my mind; the task of trying to deliver him from his misery became a strong obsession. His suffering soon became the embodiment of all earthly wretchedness. The ending few sentences concludes with I have written this account in penitence and in grief, as a man who failed to raise his pig, and to explain my deviation from the classic course of so many raised pigs. The grave in the woods is unmarked, but Fred can direct the mourner to it unerringly and with immense good will, and I know he and I shall often revisit it, singly and together, in seasons of reflection and despair, on flagless memorial days of our own choosing. On a superficial reading, there might be a confusion as to the empathy of the narrator, but the narrator clearly understands what the conclusion of a healthy pig is: I had assumed that there could be nothing much wrong with a pig during the months it was being groomed for murder; my confidence in the essential health and endurance of pigs had been strong and deep, particularly in the health of pigs that belonged to me and that were part of my proud scheme. So it's understood that in the best of cases, the pig is being cared for so that it can be murdered for food. Is the sense of loss one of not conforming to a rigid script that society sets out? Is it because the narrator has a genuine sense of empathy but just ignores the fact that they'll slaughter and eat the thing they have empathy for? Or is it a statement that we are all eventually bound for a soulless premeditated murder and the only thing we can hope for is a comfortable prison before the time comes? Or am I just expecting too much introspection from someone who hasn't examined their own motives and actions?
- reitanqild 9y ago
  I guess the point is to make the reader think. The author is fully aware of the irony that he cares and thinks so much about this pig that he was planning to butcher. It reminds me about when I was a kid and didn't care much about animals until one of my rabbits died because I'd placed it in a cage without shelter and not brought it back in before a heavy cold rain. I had to kill it, as I realized it was suffering and I guess that was the day I started caring about animals.
pmoriarty 9y ago
This reminds me of how recently an activist was charged with criminal mischief for giving water to thirsty pigs on the way to a slaughterhouse.[1] (She was found not guilty.[2]) [1] - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/animal-activist-gives-water-to-thirsty-pigs-gets-charged-with-mischief-1.3302624 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/animal-activist-... [2] - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/05/05/judge-finds-activist-who-gave-water-to-pigs-not-guilty-of-a-crime/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/05/05/j...
bonzi_buddy 9y ago
I loved the emotional paradox here and all, but why can't you eat a pig that died from some natural cause?
- duskwuff 9y ago
  Because you suspect that the cause of death may have been a disease which is communicable to humans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erysipelothrix_rhusiopathiae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erysipelothrix_rhusiopathiae
  - bonzi_buddy 9y ago
    But the vet determined that it was not erysipelas
    - tpeo 9y ago
      Even if it wasn't erysipelas, they didn't know what it was. Eating the pig could've been fine if they at least were able to tell what is it that it had and whether it was infectious or not. Eating animals whose cause of death is unknown is usually not a sound decision.
- jff 9y ago
  The pig had died at some unknown time before. It was summertime. The residual heat of the internal organs would have quickly spoiled the meat; this is why hunters, even in the winter deer season, try to get the guts out and the skin off as soon as possible, in order to let the heat out before it ruins the meat. Also, the pig died for a reason. Could have been a twisted intestine, or it could have been some sort of disease, but in any case the vet couldn't figure out what was making the pig sick which means they don't know if it's communicable. I grew up on a farm. One winter day, years back, my sister's sheep just started dying. 3 or 4 of them died over the course of an afternoon, for no reason we could discover, and then the rest of the sheep were fine. We didn't eat the sheep, even the ones we had literally watched expire; it's just not safe.
aptwebapps 9y ago
Compare and contrast with Mona, by James Taylor. Superficially similar subject, but very different effect. E. B. White certainly could make every word tell.
0xbear 9y ago
Exquisite use of the English language. Thanks for posting.
nitin_flanker 9y ago
I asked my friends about this (not telling them about the article). They said that they will not grief or go through regret related to saving the pig or any animal in that case. The explanation was "If I was already aware of the fact that pig will die eventually in butcher house; I wouldn't have worried too much about it's natural death beside just the fact that I lost an animal who could have become my dinner sometime." While I can totally relate to the farmer in the article. I might have also cried of my pig's death regardless of knowing that the pig is going to be butchered sooner or later.
rtx 9y ago
We can't say we didn't knew better.

129 points by samclemens 9y ago

Wow. I was just listening to Conversations with Tyler with Jill Lepore[1] this morning. She mentioned this article at the end: COWEN: Final question. The world of social media, we all know it’s not going away. Maybe it has some problems, but if you were to give a student or a person some piece of advice or intellectual ammunition to carry with them through this world — some book, some essay, some thought — so as to make it marginally better rather than marginally worse, what would that be? LEPORE: Read this E. B. White essay called “Death of a Pig.” COWEN: And what does he tell us in “Death of a Pig”? LEPORE: A pig dies on his . . . He was in Maine. He’s trying to understand what it means when something dies when you didn’t expect it to die and you couldn’t save it, and I just find it a very beautiful essay. But I think something is dying, and we can’t save it, and that’s a good place to start, to figure out how to feel about that. [1]: https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/tyler-cowen-jill-lepore-wonder-woman-harvard-new-yorker-aafbd123f165 https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/tyler-cowen-jill...

tptacek 9y ago

That's a hell of a last sentence.

vool 9y ago

some pig

duskwuff 9y ago
Not sure if you noticed the author or not -- but he would go on to write Charlotte's Web a few years later. :)

jeffwass 9y ago

For those that may not click on title alone, this essay is by E. B. White, author of Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and coauthor of Strunk & White's The Elements of Style.

abetusk 9y ago

I have to say I really don't understand this story. For those of you who don't want to read, it's a 1948 story about a farmer (presumably E.B. White?) who tries to save his pig before slaughter that has fallen sick and dies (from erysipelas presumably?). The narrator seems to have a lot of investment in the pig's health: The pig's lot and mine were inextricably bound now, as though the rubber tube were the silver cord. From then until the time of his death I held the pig steadily in the bowl of my mind; the task of trying to deliver him from his misery became a strong obsession. His suffering soon became the embodiment of all earthly wretchedness. The ending few sentences concludes with I have written this account in penitence and in grief, as a man who failed to raise his pig, and to explain my deviation from the classic course of so many raised pigs. The grave in the woods is unmarked, but Fred can direct the mourner to it unerringly and with immense good will, and I know he and I shall often revisit it, singly and together, in seasons of reflection and despair, on flagless memorial days of our own choosing. On a superficial reading, there might be a confusion as to the empathy of the narrator, but the narrator clearly understands what the conclusion of a healthy pig is: I had assumed that there could be nothing much wrong with a pig during the months it was being groomed for murder; my confidence in the essential health and endurance of pigs had been strong and deep, particularly in the health of pigs that belonged to me and that were part of my proud scheme. So it's understood that in the best of cases, the pig is being cared for so that it can be murdered for food. Is the sense of loss one of not conforming to a rigid script that society sets out? Is it because the narrator has a genuine sense of empathy but just ignores the fact that they'll slaughter and eat the thing they have empathy for? Or is it a statement that we are all eventually bound for a soulless premeditated murder and the only thing we can hope for is a comfortable prison before the time comes? Or am I just expecting too much introspection from someone who hasn't examined their own motives and actions?

reitanqild 9y ago
I guess the point is to make the reader think. The author is fully aware of the irony that he cares and thinks so much about this pig that he was planning to butcher. It reminds me about when I was a kid and didn't care much about animals until one of my rabbits died because I'd placed it in a cage without shelter and not brought it back in before a heavy cold rain. I had to kill it, as I realized it was suffering and I guess that was the day I started caring about animals.

pmoriarty 9y ago

This reminds me of how recently an activist was charged with criminal mischief for giving water to thirsty pigs on the way to a slaughterhouse.[1] (She was found not guilty.[2]) [1] - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/animal-activist-gives-water-to-thirsty-pigs-gets-charged-with-mischief-1.3302624 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/animal-activist-... [2] - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/05/05/judge-finds-activist-who-gave-water-to-pigs-not-guilty-of-a-crime/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/05/05/j...

bonzi_buddy 9y ago

I loved the emotional paradox here and all, but why can't you eat a pig that died from some natural cause?

duskwuff 9y ago
Because you suspect that the cause of death may have been a disease which is communicable to humans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erysipelothrix_rhusiopathiae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erysipelothrix_rhusiopathiae
- bonzi_buddy 9y ago
  But the vet determined that it was not erysipelas
  - tpeo 9y ago
    Even if it wasn't erysipelas, they didn't know what it was. Eating the pig could've been fine if they at least were able to tell what is it that it had and whether it was infectious or not. Eating animals whose cause of death is unknown is usually not a sound decision.
jff 9y ago
The pig had died at some unknown time before. It was summertime. The residual heat of the internal organs would have quickly spoiled the meat; this is why hunters, even in the winter deer season, try to get the guts out and the skin off as soon as possible, in order to let the heat out before it ruins the meat. Also, the pig died for a reason. Could have been a twisted intestine, or it could have been some sort of disease, but in any case the vet couldn't figure out what was making the pig sick which means they don't know if it's communicable. I grew up on a farm. One winter day, years back, my sister's sheep just started dying. 3 or 4 of them died over the course of an afternoon, for no reason we could discover, and then the rest of the sheep were fine. We didn't eat the sheep, even the ones we had literally watched expire; it's just not safe.

aptwebapps 9y ago

Compare and contrast with Mona, by James Taylor. Superficially similar subject, but very different effect. E. B. White certainly could make every word tell.

0xbear 9y ago

Exquisite use of the English language. Thanks for posting.

nitin_flanker 9y ago

I asked my friends about this (not telling them about the article). They said that they will not grief or go through regret related to saving the pig or any animal in that case. The explanation was "If I was already aware of the fact that pig will die eventually in butcher house; I wouldn't have worried too much about it's natural death beside just the fact that I lost an animal who could have become my dinner sometime." While I can totally relate to the farmer in the article. I might have also cried of my pig's death regardless of knowing that the pig is going to be butchered sooner or later.

rtx 9y ago

We can't say we didn't knew better.