Dry

Prior to the fateful call from the jeweler, Burroughs is utterly lost, drinking himself nearly to death and trolling the streets for crack. His relationship with Foster has fallen to a place of shared addiction. When he hears the jeweler’s message, however, the very mention of Pighead’s name is enough to pull his wrecked body and spirit out of bed and out of his apartment. The first glimpse of the gold pig’s head is an instantaneous shot of therapy: “It comes out of me at once, propelled by a force all its own, a noise I’ve never made before. A gigantic laugh straddling a guttural sob” (282). The gift is symbolically so important because it represents to Burroughs several things at once. It is a literal reminder of his best friend, a jewel pig’s head to replace the living Pighead, still in his life even after death. It is also a totem of Pighead’s spiritual presence, watching Burroughs, keeping him honest and sober. It is the perfect gift for the author struggling with addiction and in the wake of death—a token of love and forgiveness. For Burroughs, who must live with the guilt of so much lost time, the gift is Pighead’s way of saying, I understand, I forgive you, and I will always love you. For Burroughs, the pig’s head implies an agreement: As long as the spirit of Pighead lives within the gold token, Burroughs must honor that gift by staying sober, not only for the sake of atonement but simply for himself.