Holes

Holes

by

Louis Sachar

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Zero/Hector Zeroni Character Analysis

Zero is the smallest boy in Group D. He's black and is often scowling and angry-looking, though Stanley notices that when Zero smiles, his smile seems too big for his face. Zero is the only boy at Camp Green Lake who is referred to by his nickname by other campers and Mr. Pendanski alike; Mr. Pendanski is vocal about his belief that Zero is stupid and useless. This understandably makes Zero even angrier. None of the other boys like Zero much; he's consistently relegated to the last spot in line for water and the other boys join in Mr. Pendanski's jokes about Zero's worthlessness. He and Stanley become friends when Zero admits that he doesn't know how to read and asks Stanley to teach him. Stanley eventually learns that Zero is a very quick study and is skilled at performing mental math, despite having no formal education. In exchange for reading lessons, Zero digs part of Stanley's hole every day. After an altercation over this arrangement, Zero hits Mr. Pendanski across the face with a shovel and heads off into the desert alone. A day later, Stanley discovers that Zero is a ward of the state and thus, Mr. Pendanski and the Warden decide to destroy Zero's records and erase his entire existence. When Stanley goes out after Zero and finds him, Zero has been living under Sam's boat, eating Miss Katherine's peach preserves that he calls "sploosh." This makes him very ill. After carrying Zero to the top of God's Thumb, Stanley helps Zero drink and sings him his great-great grandfather's lullaby. As Zero recovers and as he and Stanley head back to camp, he tells Stanley about his mother. Zero also confesses that he stole Clyde Livingston's shoes; he thought it was better to steal old shoes than brand new ones. In the epilogue, the reader learns that Zero is actually Madame Zeroni's great-great-great grandson, and it broke the Yelnats family curse when Stanley carried Zero up the mountain. Zero uses his money from the first Stanley's suitcase to find his mother.

Zero/Hector Zeroni Quotes in Holes

The Holes quotes below are all either spoken by Zero/Hector Zeroni or refer to Zero/Hector Zeroni. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Fate and Destiny Theme Icon
).
Part 1, Chapter 18 Quotes

"Sorry," Stanley said again.

His muscles and hands weren't the only parts of his body that had toughened over the past several weeks. His heart had hardened as well.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats (speaker), Zero/Hector Zeroni
Page Number: 82
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 19 Quotes

Stanley kept his mouth shut most of the time. He didn't talk too much to any of the boys, afraid that he might say the wrong thing. They called him Caveman and all that, but he couldn't forget that they were dangerous, too. They were all here for a reason. As Mr. Sir would say, this wasn't a Girl Scout camp.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni, Mr. Sir, X-Ray/Rex, Zigzag/Ricky, Squid/Alan, Magnet/José, Armpit/Theodore
Page Number: 84
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 23 Quotes

A lot of men in town were not educated. This didn't bother Miss Katherine. She knew they'd spent most of their lives working on farms and ranches and hadn't had much schooling. That was why she was there—to teach them.

But Trout didn't want to learn. He seemed to be proud of his stupidity.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni, The Warden, Miss Katherine/Kissin' Kate Barlow, Charles "Trout" Walker
Page Number: 103
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 27 Quotes

Zero wrote the letters as Stanley said them. "Zero," he said, looking at his piece of paper. His smile was too big for his face.

Stanley watched him write it over and over again.

Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero...

In a way, it made him sad. He couldn't help but think that a hundred times zero was still nothing.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni
Page Number: 119
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 30 Quotes

"He's a genius, all right!" said Mr. Pendanski. "He's so stupid, he doesn't even know he's stupid."

Stanley didn't know why Mr. Pendanski seemed to have it in for Zero. If Mr. Pendanski only thought about it, he'd realize it was very logical for Zero to think that the letter "h" made the "ch" sound.

Related Characters: Mr. Pendanski (speaker), Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni, The Warden, Zigzag/Ricky
Page Number: 138
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 31 Quotes

He knew he never should have let Zero dig part of his hole for him. He still could've taught him to read. If Zero could dig all day and still have the strength to learn, then he should have been able to dig all day and still have the strength to teach.

What he should do, he thought, was go out after Zero.

But he didn't.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni
Page Number: 141
Explanation and Analysis:

"I don't think I can erase him completely from all the state files, said Mr. Pendanski. "Too many cross-references. But I can so make it so it would be very difficult for anyone to ever find a record of him. Like I said, though, no one will ever look. No one cares about Hector Zeroni."

"Good," said the Warden.

Related Characters: The Warden (speaker), Mr. Pendanski (speaker), Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni, Mr. Sir
Page Number: 144
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 34 Quotes

He kept walking toward it, although he didn't know why. He knew he'd have to turn around before he got there. But every time he looked at it, it seemed to encourage him, giving him the thumbs-up sign.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni
Related Symbols: God's Thumb
Page Number: 153
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 38 Quotes

Higher and higher he climbed. His strength came from somewhere deep inside himself and also seemed to come from the outside as well. After focusing on Big Thumb for so long, it was as if the rock had absorbed his energy and now acted like a kind of giant magnet pulling him toward it.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni
Related Symbols: God's Thumb
Page Number: 170
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 41 Quotes

"I didn't go to the homeless shelter very often," Zero said. "Just if the weather was really bad. I'd have to find someone to pretend to be my mom. If I'd just gone by myself, they would have asked me a bunch of questions. If they'd found out I didn't have a mom, they would have made me a ward of the state."

"What's a ward of the state?"

Zero smiled. "I don't know. But I didn't like the sound of it."

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats (speaker), Zero/Hector Zeroni (speaker), Zero's Mother
Page Number: 183
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 43 Quotes

"Then later a boy asked me if I wanted a piece of cake, but then that same mother told me, 'Go away!' and she told all the kids to stay away from me, so I never got the piece of cake. I ran away so fast, I forgot Jaffy."

"Did you ever find him—it?"

For a moment, Zero didn't answer. Then he said, "He wasn't real."

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats (speaker), Zero/Hector Zeroni (speaker), Zero's Mother
Page Number: 195
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 47 Quotes

"It's got his name on it," said Zero.

Stanley's lawyer pushed past the tall man to have a look.

"See," Zero showed her. "Stanley Yelnats."

Stanley looked, too. There, in big black letters, was STANLEY YELNATS.

Related Characters: Zero/Hector Zeroni (speaker), The Warden, Mr. Sir, Mr. Pendanski, The First Stanley Yelnats, Ms. Morengo, The Attorney General
Page Number: 216
Explanation and Analysis:
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Zero/Hector Zeroni Quotes in Holes

The Holes quotes below are all either spoken by Zero/Hector Zeroni or refer to Zero/Hector Zeroni. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Fate and Destiny Theme Icon
).
Part 1, Chapter 18 Quotes

"Sorry," Stanley said again.

His muscles and hands weren't the only parts of his body that had toughened over the past several weeks. His heart had hardened as well.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats (speaker), Zero/Hector Zeroni
Page Number: 82
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 19 Quotes

Stanley kept his mouth shut most of the time. He didn't talk too much to any of the boys, afraid that he might say the wrong thing. They called him Caveman and all that, but he couldn't forget that they were dangerous, too. They were all here for a reason. As Mr. Sir would say, this wasn't a Girl Scout camp.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni, Mr. Sir, X-Ray/Rex, Zigzag/Ricky, Squid/Alan, Magnet/José, Armpit/Theodore
Page Number: 84
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 23 Quotes

A lot of men in town were not educated. This didn't bother Miss Katherine. She knew they'd spent most of their lives working on farms and ranches and hadn't had much schooling. That was why she was there—to teach them.

But Trout didn't want to learn. He seemed to be proud of his stupidity.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni, The Warden, Miss Katherine/Kissin' Kate Barlow, Charles "Trout" Walker
Page Number: 103
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 27 Quotes

Zero wrote the letters as Stanley said them. "Zero," he said, looking at his piece of paper. His smile was too big for his face.

Stanley watched him write it over and over again.

Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero Zero...

In a way, it made him sad. He couldn't help but think that a hundred times zero was still nothing.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni
Page Number: 119
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 30 Quotes

"He's a genius, all right!" said Mr. Pendanski. "He's so stupid, he doesn't even know he's stupid."

Stanley didn't know why Mr. Pendanski seemed to have it in for Zero. If Mr. Pendanski only thought about it, he'd realize it was very logical for Zero to think that the letter "h" made the "ch" sound.

Related Characters: Mr. Pendanski (speaker), Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni, The Warden, Zigzag/Ricky
Page Number: 138
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 31 Quotes

He knew he never should have let Zero dig part of his hole for him. He still could've taught him to read. If Zero could dig all day and still have the strength to learn, then he should have been able to dig all day and still have the strength to teach.

What he should do, he thought, was go out after Zero.

But he didn't.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni
Page Number: 141
Explanation and Analysis:

"I don't think I can erase him completely from all the state files, said Mr. Pendanski. "Too many cross-references. But I can so make it so it would be very difficult for anyone to ever find a record of him. Like I said, though, no one will ever look. No one cares about Hector Zeroni."

"Good," said the Warden.

Related Characters: The Warden (speaker), Mr. Pendanski (speaker), Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni, Mr. Sir
Page Number: 144
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 34 Quotes

He kept walking toward it, although he didn't know why. He knew he'd have to turn around before he got there. But every time he looked at it, it seemed to encourage him, giving him the thumbs-up sign.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni
Related Symbols: God's Thumb
Page Number: 153
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 38 Quotes

Higher and higher he climbed. His strength came from somewhere deep inside himself and also seemed to come from the outside as well. After focusing on Big Thumb for so long, it was as if the rock had absorbed his energy and now acted like a kind of giant magnet pulling him toward it.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni
Related Symbols: God's Thumb
Page Number: 170
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 41 Quotes

"I didn't go to the homeless shelter very often," Zero said. "Just if the weather was really bad. I'd have to find someone to pretend to be my mom. If I'd just gone by myself, they would have asked me a bunch of questions. If they'd found out I didn't have a mom, they would have made me a ward of the state."

"What's a ward of the state?"

Zero smiled. "I don't know. But I didn't like the sound of it."

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats (speaker), Zero/Hector Zeroni (speaker), Zero's Mother
Page Number: 183
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 43 Quotes

"Then later a boy asked me if I wanted a piece of cake, but then that same mother told me, 'Go away!' and she told all the kids to stay away from me, so I never got the piece of cake. I ran away so fast, I forgot Jaffy."

"Did you ever find him—it?"

For a moment, Zero didn't answer. Then he said, "He wasn't real."

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats (speaker), Zero/Hector Zeroni (speaker), Zero's Mother
Page Number: 195
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 47 Quotes

"It's got his name on it," said Zero.

Stanley's lawyer pushed past the tall man to have a look.

"See," Zero showed her. "Stanley Yelnats."

Stanley looked, too. There, in big black letters, was STANLEY YELNATS.

Related Characters: Zero/Hector Zeroni (speaker), The Warden, Mr. Sir, Mr. Pendanski, The First Stanley Yelnats, Ms. Morengo, The Attorney General
Page Number: 216
Explanation and Analysis: