That she is away. She is really dead
In "The Pigman," Mr. Pignati lies about his wife being away at a charity event in order to cover up the fact that she has passed away. He creates this story to avoid confronting the reality of her death and to provide himself with some comfort.
ditching. truancy, playing hooky, bunking off, cutting class,
to get away from the bad publicity.
To carry away the heat from the cutting edge and to lubricate it.
"In fact, the thing Lorraine and I liked best about the Pigman was that he didn't go around saying we were cards or jazzy or cool or hip. He said we were delightful . . ." (p. 16) In this quote, John explains why he likes the Pigman. John like him because the old man doesn't nag him like the other adults he knows like his parents. He just genuinely liked them and thought they were good kids. He also didn't try to be "cool" or anything and John liked that. "In fact, the thing Lorraineand I liked best about the Pigman was that he didn't go around saying we were cards or jazzy or cool or hip. He said we were delightful . . ." (p. 16) In this quote, John explains why he likes the Pigman. John like him because the old man doesn't nag him like the other adults he knows like his parents. He just genuinely liked them and thought they were good kids. He also didn't try to be "cool" or anything and John liked that.
I think Germany took away Alsace-Lorraine, which is not a city but a region of France.
pointing away from you..
When they are in school, John is very uncaring of his grades. He doesn't turn in homework. He used to set off small bombs in the boys bathrooms, and only goes to school to play pranks on some of the teachers. He even goes so far as to say, "I don't like school... Actually, I hate school, but then again, most of the time I hate everything." in the first sentence of the book!(Zindel 1) Lorraine, on the other hand, gets much quieter while in her classes because she doesn't want to get in trouble. Also, Lorraine cares a lot about not breaking school rules. She often tells John that he shouldn't play all the pranks he did, saying that he could get caught. Outside of class and her house, like when she walks to Mr. Pignati's house with John, she is more outspoken and snarky. She jokes around more with others, and she is more willing to voice her opinions. At home, John and Lorraine's personalities change significantly. At John's house, his father is very insistent on him to go into the same business that all of the family has been doing, even though John wants to be an actor. As such, John gets into fights with his dad a lot, leaving him bad-tempered, causing him to snap a bit at his mom. At Lorraine's house, she is very meek and talks quietly when her mother talks to her. This is because her mother is always criticizing something about her: the way she looks, the way she dresses, how she wears her clothes... her mom says stuff like "you're not a pretty girl, Lorraine, but you don't have to walk about stoop-shouldered and hunched." and you're putting on too much weight" (Zindel 11).While there, they are more at ease at Mr. Pignati's house that in any of the other places in the book. John is noticeably less aggressive and irritated than when he is at his own house, and he doesn't sound bored like when he's in school. Lorraine is much like herself around John; being more outspoken and worrying much less. Because of the Pigman's influence, they slowly start changing how they act outside of his house. Apart from the three fights with his dad near the beginning of the book, John doesn't argue as much, and plays fewer pranks. Actually, after John glues the lock on the phone shut, he doesn't do any other pranks in the book. Lorraine also changes a little bit, even if it's not as noticeable. She becomes more lax about rules and also worries less compared to what she was like at the beginning of their story. If she were the same person as the Lorraine before this all happened, she would be worrying a lot more about getting caught typing something that wasn't for school. However, there is almost no trace of that kind of worrying in Lorraine as she is now. Probably one of the most obvious occurrences of the two starting to let go of the personas they put up is during the time that they all went to the mall. Near the end of their trip, they all put on the rollerblades they bought, and start rolling around. They cause a ruckus, and as they are doing this, John and Lorraine realize that they are having fun when they don't care about what people think. Even if they never really realized it, the Pigman's influence impacted them greatly.In conclusion, Lorraine and John both slowly bleed their genuine personalities into their daily lives after meeting Mr. Pignati. They take away the fact that he doesn't care what the people around him think, and they really shouldn't either. John and Lorraine see that they can be more happy being themselves and doing what they want to do, rather than being afraid of what others could think of them.
deforestation ;)
It means she is at school. Away at school usually means a child has been sent to a school where the students live at the school, like a boarding school.
Laser cutting works by directing the output of a high-power laser, by computer, at the material to be cut. The material then either melts, burns, vaporizes away, or is blown away by a jet of gas