Holes

Holes

by

Louis Sachar

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Holes makes teaching easy.
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Part 1, Chapter 3 Quotes

Stanley was not a bad kid. He was innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. He'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It was all because of his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!

He smiled. It was a family joke. Whenever anything went wrong, they always blamed Stanley's no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Elya Yelnats, Madame Zeroni
Page Number: 7
Explanation and Analysis:

All of them had something else in common. Despite their awful luck, they always remained hopeful. As Stanley's father liked to say, "I learn from failure."

But perhaps that was part of the curse as well. If Stanley and his father weren't always hopeful, then it wouldn't hurt so much every time their hopes were crushed.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Elya Yelnats, Stanley's Father
Page Number: 9
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 4 Quotes

"I see you're looking at my gun. Don't worry. I'm not going to shoot you. "He tapped his holster. "This is for yellow-spotted lizards. I wouldn't waste a bullet on you."

Related Characters: Mr. Sir (speaker), Stanley Yelnats
Page Number: 14
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 7 Quotes

He wasn't afraid of the curse. He thought that was a lot of nonsense. He felt bad because he knew Madame Zeroni had wanted to drink from the stream before she died.

Related Characters: Elya Yelnats, Madame Zeroni
Page Number: 37
Explanation and Analysis:

Stanley waited for him to drive away, then took another look at his hole. He knew it was nothing to be proud of, but he felt proud nonetheless.

He sucked up his last bit of saliva and spat.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Mr. Pendanski
Page Number: 40
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 8 Quotes

A lot of people don't believe in curses.

A lot of people don't believe in yellow-spotted lizards either, but if one bites you, it doesn't make a difference whether you believe in it or not.

Page Number: 41
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 11 Quotes

The more he thought about it, the more he was glad that he agreed to let X-Ray have anything he might find. If he was going to survive at Camp Green Lake, it was far more important that X-Ray think he was a good guy than it was for him to get one day off.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, The Warden, X-Ray/Rex
Page Number: 53
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 16 Quotes

It was wonderful to hear from you. Your letter made me feel like one of the other moms who can afford to send their kids to summer camp.

Related Characters: Stanley's Mother (speaker), Stanley Yelnats
Page Number: 75
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 17 Quotes

"That's your dirt," Zigzag said. "You have to dig it up. It's covering up my dirt."

Stanley felt a little dizzy. He could see a small pile of dirt. It took him a moment to realize that it was the dirt which had been on his shovel when he was hit.

He scooped it up, then Zigzag dug his shovel into the ground underneath where "Stanley's dirt" had been.

Related Characters: Zigzag/Ricky (speaker), Stanley Yelnats
Page Number: 79
Explanation and Analysis:
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:

Everyone in town had seen—and heard—the Walkers' new boat. It made a horrible loud noise and spewed ugly black smoke all over the beautiful lake.

Related Characters: Miss Katherine/Kissin' Kate Barlow, Charles "Trout" Walker
Page Number: 103
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 26 Quotes

Miss Katherine jerked her hand free. As she hurried to the door, she heard the sheriff say, "The law will punish Sam. And God will punish you."

Related Characters: The Sheriff (speaker), Miss Katherine/Kissin' Kate Barlow, Sam, Charles "Trout" Walker
Page Number: 114
Explanation and Analysis:

These are the facts:

The Walker boat smashed into Sam's boat. Sam was shot and killed in the water. Katherine Barlow was rescued against her wishes. When they returned to the shore, she saw Mary Lou's body lying on the ground. The donkey had been shot in the head.

That all happened one hundred and ten years ago. Since then, not one drop of rain has fallen on Green Lake.

You make the decision: Whom did God punish?

Related Characters: Miss Katherine/Kissin' Kate Barlow, Sam, Charles "Trout" Walker, The Sheriff
Page Number: 115
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 27 Quotes

Fortunately, Mr. Pendanski delivered the water more often than Mr. Sir. Mr. Pendanski was obviously aware of what Mr. Sir was doing, because he always gave Stanley a little extra. He'd fill Stanley's canteen, then let Stanley take a long drink, then top it off for him.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, The Warden, Mr. Sir, Mr. Pendanski
Page Number: 116
Explanation and Analysis:

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:
Part 2, Chapter 48 Quotes

"Will you do me a favor?" asked Squid.

"I guess," Stanley agreed, somewhat hesitantly.

"I want you to—" He turned to Ms. Morengo. "Hey lady, you have a pen and paper I can borrow?"

She gave it to him, and Squid wrote down a phone number which he gave to Stanley. "Call my mom for me, okay? Tell her...Tell her I said I was sorry. Tell her Alan said he was sorry."

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats (speaker), Squid/Alan (speaker), Ms. Morengo
Page Number: 221
Explanation and Analysis:
No matches.