6 Death of a Pig

? Suds: (pl.) lots of small bubbles on top of water that has soap in it ? Assume charge: to take charge of sth or control sth

? Irrigate: to wash out ( a body cavity or wound) with water or a medicated

fluid

65. Once, when I lowered the bag to check the flow, he reached in and hurriedly drank a few mouthfuls of the suds to test their potency.

? potency: the strength of a medicine, drug or chemical. E.g. improper storage

may decrease the potency of the medicine.

66. I have noticed that Fred will feverishly consume any substance that is associated with trouble--- the bitter flavor is to his liking.

? The dog will eat anything that is connected with trouble ? Feverish: extremely excited, enthusiastic

? to someone‘s liking: if something is to someone‘s liking, he or she likes it or

approves of it. E.g. flattery is to most people‘s liking.

67. When the bag was above reach, he concentrated on the pig and was everywhere at once, a tower of strength and inconvenience.

? to be everywhere at once: to move swiftly from one place to another. Here it

means the dog was so excited that he followed the author or the pig everywhere

? a tower of strength: (Brit Eng.) someone you can depend on to work hard or

to help in a difficult situation

? .. a tower of strength and inconvenience.

It is amusing to put the two contradictory images together. The tower of strength shows the dog‘s enthusiasm and concern to the sick pig. He was everywhere at once, eager to help. However, can he really help anything? In fact, he can only add more trouble because he was always in the way, that is what ―inconvenience‖ refer to. In other words, he was meddlesome, although he meant well.

68. The pig, curiously enough, stood rather quietly through this colonic carnival, and the enema, though ineffective, was not as difficult as I had anticipated.

? There is a funny contrast between the dachshund (which is enthusiastic and

active) and the pig (which is quiet and passive). The sick pig was supposed to struggle violently during the uncomfortable medical treatment.

? Colon: the lower part of the bowel ( the tube that takes waste out of your

body)

? Carnival: a lively festival in which people walk through the streets playing

music, dancing, and often wearing unusual and colorful clothes. (Have you ever seen on TV the carnival celebration held in Brazil?)

? By ―colonic carnival‖, the author means when the pig was given irrigation,

the dog was excited. He welcomed this event as a festival. The author makes a deliberate contrast between the dog with all its liveliness and lustiness and the sick pig.

Para.17

69. I discovered, though, that once having given a pig an enema there is no turning

back, no chance of resuming one of life‘s more stereotyped roles.

? resume: to start something again after stopping temporarily, to take up

? stereotyped role: traditional role. Here referring to the author‘s original role as

a butcher and the pig‘s role to be killed for food.

70. The pig‘s lot and mine were inextricably bound now, as though the rubber tube were the silver cord

? lot: fate, one‘s fortune or destiny, especially when it is not very good.

? Inextricably: (fml) inseparable, used for emphasizing that two things always

exist together and that they cannot be separated or considered as separate.

71. 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. ? in the bowl of my mind: very much on my mind. In the bible, the bowl or the

golden bowl, refers to the head. (This is a song with the word like ―You are always on my mind…‖)

? deliver: (fml) to free someone from an unpleasant situation (remember in text

two, it can also mean to help a woman to give birth to a child) ? obsession: a compulsive, often unreasonable idea or emotion

72. His suffering soon became the embodiment of all earthly wretchedness.

? His suffering soon became the symbol of all miseries in life.

73. Along toward the end of the afternoon, defeated in physicking, I phoned the veterinary twenty miles away and placed the case formally in his hands.

? physic: (physicked, physicking, physics) to treat a disease with medicine,

especially with a cathartic.

? Veterinary: adj. [attib] of or for the diseases and injuries of farm and domestic

animals.

Veterinary surgeon: (also vet or veterinaian) a person who is skilled in the treatment of animal diseases and injuries.

? Place the case formally in his hands: to ask a doctor to take care of this case.

The use of serious words creates humor.

74. He was full of questions, and when casually mentioned the dark spots on the pig‘s back, his voice changed its tone.

? Note the contrast between the author‘s casual mentioning of the dark spots

and the vet‘s sudden alarm. A new tension is created here. The doctor knew what these dark spots could mean.

Para.19

75. Together we considered erysipelas, with frequent interruptions from the telephone operator, who wasn‘t sure the connection had been established.

? The author was eager to know what those dark spots could possibly be, but

his conversation with the vet was frequently interrupted by the operator, who wanted to know whether the author had got through.

Para.24

76. ―I can‘t come myself,‖ said the vet, ―but McFarland can come this evening if that‘s all right.‖

? Mc-/Mac-: a common prefix in Scottish and Irish surname. Other examples

include McDonald,

Para.30

77. My throat felt dry and I went to the cupboard and got a bottle of whisky. Deep hemorrhagic infarcts--- the phrase began fastening its hooks in my head.

? The narrator was very worried by the vet‘s words about the pig‘s getting

erysipelas and the possibility of his catching it, so he chose to drown his worries with whiskey. I wonder if men have the habit of drinking a bit when confronted with some trouble.

? begin fastening its hooks in my head: in other words, the narrator can‘t get the

disease name off his mind. He kept thinking of it and the possibility of his getting infected.

78. 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.

? The narrator was reluctant to accept that there was something seriously wrong

with his pig, because he had expected all pigs, especially his, to be healthy and strong. It is a common psychic tendency that people refuse to believe that things unpleasant or disastrous would happen to themselves or to people close to them. (The author‘s logic or confidence is: firstly, pigs are always healthy; secondly, only if pigs do get sick sometimes, they would not be my pigs.) ? Groom: to make neat and tidy; to train for a particular purpose

? Being groomed for murder: in this context, being prepared /fed for the final

killing

? Proud scheme: the plan of raising and killing the pig,

79. The awakening had been violent and I minded it all the more because I knew that what could be true of my pig could also be true of the rest of my tidy world.

? All of a sudden I realized that something went wrong with the pig. And I felt

even more upset when I thought that what happened to the pig could also easily happen to me or to my world. A healthy pig could become ill all of a sudden, and this kind of sudden change could happen to anyone or anything. My life, my world up t now, has been pretty tidy, but disaster could occur without any warning. Life is quite insecure. ? Tidy: (colloquial) well-ordered, neat

80. I tried to put this distasteful idea from me, but it kept recurring.

? recur: to happen again, as in talk or memory; to come up again for

consideration

81. I took a short drink of the whiskey and then, although I wanted to go down to the yard and look for fresh signs, I was scared to, I was certain I had erysipelas. ? a short drink: a drink that is less than usual ? fresh signs: new signs of the disease

Para.31

82. I could just make her out in the darkness—she seemed young and pretty

? make out: to see, hear, or understand with difficulty e.g. it is hard to make out

the way through this thick frog.

Para.32

83. McFarland stood in the driveway and stripped off his jacket, then his shirt.

? strip: to take off one‘s clothes, to undress

84. His stocky arms and capable hands showed up in my flashlight‘s gleam as I helped him find his coverall and get zipped up. ? stocky: short, heavy and strong

? coverall (US, = overalls): a loose garment made of heavy material and

covering the body, arms and legs, usu worn over other clothing by workers to protect them from dirt, etc.

85. The rear seat of his car contained an astonishing amount of paraphernalia, which he soon overhauled, selecting a chain, a syringe, a bottle of oil, a rubber tube, and some other things I couldn‘t identify.

? an astonishing amount of: a large amount of, to one‘s astonishment.

? Paraphernalia: a set of objects, especially equipment used for a particular

activity e.g. skiing paraphernalia

86. I led the way down the warm slope of the orchard, my light picking out the path for them and we three all climbed the fence, entered the pighouse, and squatted by the pig while McFarland took a rectal reading. ? warm: recently made; fresh

? take a rectal reading: take the rectal temperature for the sick pig

87. My flashlight picked up the glitter of an engagement ring on the girl‘s hand.

? pick up: to detect here, to bring into range of sight, hearing, etc.

? glitter of an engagement ring: the engagement ring shines brightly in the

flashlight.

? Glitter and gleam: the two words are synonyms with slight differences. The

former means ―to shine brightly‖, the latter ―to shine softly‖. The flashlight is softer than that of a diamond or gold ring.

Para.33

88. ―No elevation,‖ said McFarland, twisting the thermometer in the light.

? no elevation: the temperature is normal. The pig doesn‘t have a fever.

89. ―You needn‘t worry about erysipelas.‖ He ran his hand slowly over the pig‘s stomach and at one point the pig cried out in pain.

? run: to move or rub something along something else e.g. he ran his fingers

gently through her long hair.

Para.34

90. ―Poor piggledy—wiggledy!‖ said Miss Owen.

? piggledy—wiggledy: coined by Miss Owen to show her sympathy for the