I really enjoyed our discussion today on Holes and I wish we got to spend more than one day on this book. To be honest, while I was reading this novel I did not "read into" any part of the story in detail. I read it as just a fun read, as some of you did as well.
As we said that this book was "clean" and had a nice, connected ending, I think that some of the points Sachar might have been trying to make are not so clear and, unlike the plot, may be open-ended. A topic that we discussed today (somewhat) and I think would be interesting to discuss in more detail (as an open-ended question) is race.
When the question, "What was Sachar trying to say about race?" was brought up, I started thinking of different reasons, but I still couldn't come to an answer. I decided for my blog I wanted to share a few specific examples that stuck out to me when thinking about this.
The instance that stood out to me was when the first Stanley Yelnats (a white man) went to Madame Zeroni (essentially a black woman) for help. I know I might be taking this way out of context and going too far with it, but here I thought that Sachar might be trying to make a point about slavery. Back when slavery was legal, white people essentially turned to black people for “help” to benefit their own lives. I saw this paralleling with Stanley Yelnats as he turned to Madame Zeroni to benefit his own life, but did not bother to help her in return when she asked for it, just as slaves were mistreated.
Another incident that stood out was Stanley carrying Zero up God’s Thumb. Again, I might be reading in to this too much, but I thought that Sachar might have included this to show that white people have helped black people, which is contradictory to the previous message. In this situation, I thought Stanley carrying Zero paralleled the Civil War when the whites in the north fought for the freedom of slaves. (I think you could take this even farther by saying that The Warden and her staff represent the south during the civil war who was trying to keep the slaves oppressed).
As those two instances specifically stuck out in my head and they contained different (but related) messages, I asked myself one more question that I will leave you with to ponder:
When thinking about the specific instances of situations where race is prevalent in the novel, do you think these instances complement each other, or do you find them to be somewhat contradictory?
I think they complement each other, I found that Sachar was trying to make a point that race is an issue, but one that we are beginning to overcome. I feel that Stanley carried Zero up the hill to represent redemption in a way. I thought it was interesting that Sachar stated that the boys were different colors but once they started digging their holes they were all the same color of dirt. This represented them as equals even though their crimes were not equal.
ReplyDeleteOR maybe he is showing that whites have historically forgotten or disenfranchised blacks (such as Elya with Zeroni), whether they meant to or not. Elya did not purposefully forget to help her, but he still did, just as people who are oppressed are sometimes not intentionally oppressed, but it still happens due to ignorance or laziness. Then, I think, Sachar might be showing that it is not too late to try to correct these errors, as we see with Stanley's efforts to help and empower Zero.
ReplyDeletei think that they complemented eachother. I agree with what we concluded in class that alough there are different races within the novel, there is more importance placed on the fact that race is no longer an issue once the boys go through a trial together. I found this book to remind me of fraternities. All of the boys may be different, and come from different backgrounds but when hazing is involved they become unified and form a collective bond. This is what I saw from the boys in Holes by experiecing hardships, there differences no longer mattered.
ReplyDeleteLauren, like you, I did not connect a race issue with this book either. As the topic was brought up in class, I did think that is anything was being said about race it was a positive thing. I think that the ever cliche idea about everyone getting along is very prominent in this book. Wouldn't it be awesome if this was true?!
ReplyDeleteLauren, what great ideas! I think the tidiness of this story makes it more challenged to dig deeply into issues of race. I think that the situations mentioned could be read several different ways. Maybe Sachar is drawing a contrast between the way that whites have oppressed blacks systemically, while also highlighting the ways that individual relationships have challenged this authority. All the boys were forced into labor at Camp Green lake because they did not conform to society. Stanley and Zero take it a step further, and through their friendship (and events therein) defy the unjust order of the Camp as well. So, maybe their friendship is the model for positive systemic change.
ReplyDeleteAt first I have to agree that I did not connect race either in this novel. I don't think I would have thought about it until we discussed it class last Tuesday. As I thought about it I think that the two examples you chose complement each other. That although, in the beginning Sachar describes the different races between Zero and Stanley in the end they are the same, especially when digging holes.
ReplyDeleteI thought this book was such an easy read. I thought it was fun and lighthearted and didn't think more about it. However, when we talked about it in class on Tuesday my perspective began to change. I agree with what you said that even though the plot of the novel is tidy, Sachar does leave a lot of unanswered questions.
ReplyDeleteThe two instances you have pointed out are indeed a contrast of each other, for a meaningful reason. I think the message that Sachar is trying to point out is the way in which conflict unites everyone and anyone. For example, think of a war. The same army is bound to have both black and white soldiers fighting for the same goal. This same concept can be seen in Holes at the camp. Everyone is forced to face the same hardships, such as the horrible task of digging endless holes in the dirt without water sometimes. In times of conflict, there is no room for discriminating, but rather, one is forced to embrace another and simply work towards the same goal without any bias against each other. This may sound "cumbaya-ish" but it's the truth! Just look to history...
ReplyDeleteWow! I didn't read into either one of those instances at all. I think these are both excellent points and they deserve to be discussed. I believe that Sachar does intend to have subtle hints at race all throughout the novel, especially with the relationships between characters of differing races, whether romantic or friendly. I think it is the fact that the book is so easy to read that makes it rather difficult to read into it too much.
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