- prodigalnounChapter 1 →
A person who has left home and wasted their money or opportunities through reckless, irresponsible living, often referring to the biblical parable of the son who squanders his inheritance.
- pigstynounChapter 1 →
An enclosed pen or shed where pigs are kept, typically filthy and foul-smelling; here it is the degraded place where the prodigal has ended up living and working.
- slopnounChapter 1 →
Liquid kitchen waste or watery food scraps fed to pigs; cheap, disgusting swill that represents the lowest form of sustenance.
- snoredverbChapter 1 →
Made a loud, rough breathing sound while sleeping; here the pigs sleep noisily, emphasizing the animal, unconscious world the prodigal is trapped in.
“The pigs stuck out their little feet and snored.”
- enormousadjectiveChapter 1 →
Overwhelmingly large or overpowering; used here to describe a smell so vast and all-surrounding that it becomes impossible to think clearly or gain perspective.
“the brown enormous odor he lived by was too close, with its breathing and thick hair, for him to judge.”
- odornounChapter 1 →
A strong, pervasive smell, especially an unpleasant one; here the stench of the pigsty is so constant and engulfing that the prodigal has become numb to it.
“the brown enormous odor he lived by was too close, with its breathing and thick hair, for him to judge.”
- judgeverbChapter 1 →
To step back and assess one's situation clearly and objectively; here it means the prodigal cannot evaluate how badly off he is because he is too immersed in his degraded surroundings.
“the brown enormous odor he lived by was too close, with its breathing and thick hair, for him to judge.”
- make his mind upphraseChapter 1 →
To finally reach a firm decision after a long period of hesitation or inner conflict; the phrase stresses how difficult and drawn-out the prodigal's choice to return home actually was.
“But it took him a long time / finally to make his mind up to go home.”
The ProdigalShort story by Elizabeth Bishop