The central theme in A Day No Pigs Would Die is a coming of age that is prevalent throughout most young adult literature novels. This theme generally follows a consistent path; the central character, Robert, learns adult knowledge as the book progresses. This "adult knowledge" which was generally forbidden to children also follows a pattern from birth to death. These two categories can be further broken down into subcategories such as the aspects of violence in birth, sex, and death and the effects on Robert by examining excerpts from the book.

In the first chapter, Robert is exposed to birth as he aided a cow, Apron, in the delivering of her calves. From this, he learned that while he saved the animal's lives, he also learned "where babies come from." A second scene of birth concerns Letty Phelps' birth. From eavesdropping on a private conversation and the experience...