The ending of this book is satisfactory to its readers; the bad guys get their due punishment and things turn out better than expected for the good guys. Sachar does an excellent job of wrapping up the story and, for the most part, answering any questions the reader might have. Some of these questions are answered directly, as in the case of the future of Camp Green Lake. However, the author also answers through implication, leaving it up to the readers to put the pieces together, like the woman sitting next to Zero on the couch, and whether or not the curse was real. One thing that I noticed about the last chapters was that except for one spot, Zero is referred to as Hector. Perhaps Sachar did this because the boys are no longer at camp and it is logical for them to not use their camp nicknames. However, I think he was indicating that there has been a drastic change in Zero’s life, and calling him Hector would reflect that. Sometimes having a new name can help to begin a new way of life.
I really enjoyed the ending of Holes, because of how it tied up all of the separate interlaced stories completely. Stanley finally breaks free of the curse by carrying Zero up God’s Thumb, and as he does this he grows as a character by taking charge of his own life. I appreciated this because when life is hard sometimes you have to carry a burden from your past up this proverbial mountain and lay it at the feet of God to move forward and grow as a person. Also, as I finished reading I came to really appreciate the strong, controversial female characters in the book. As Kissin’ Kate Barlow’s story came to a close I felt great pity for her. She had everything taken away from her and she in turn felt the need to take everything away from others. Her story is a sad one and it makes me feel compassion towards her, even though I know I should not like her because of how many lives she has taken. I also found myself pitying the Warden. Could her obsession with finding the loot just be linked to her family and their past? As a reader is it fair of me to expect her to act any differently? Both of these women have some dark characteristics, but I feel like Sachar makes them relatable in order for the reader to connect if they so decide.
The ending to this book has a typical happy ending that most all children’s books have. At first people may be wondering how the stories of Kissin’ Kate Barlow and Elya are relevant to Stanley. Sachar did a marvelous job of tying in all the stories and caharacters together. Little did Stanley know that he would carry a descendant of Madame Zeroni up the mountain which broke the “curse.” The treasure Kate Barlow stole and buried belonged to his family. The Warden was a relative of Trout and her family had been looking for the treasure ever since Kate died. I thought it was interesting how Sachar ended the book without directly answering the question “was the curse real?” He left it up to the reader to decide. He also let the reader assume that he found his mother. I also thought it was interesting how Sachar emphasized that the change in Staley’s weight did not matter but the change in his character did.
One difficulty I have with the conclusion of this book is Barlow's loot. Some people misconstrue the case of Stanley Yelnats I to be the ONLY object for which the Walkers were looking. Yet comments by Trout insinuate that there should be far more than the single case that Stanley IV eventually finds.
So what exactly gives? Barlow says that there is no loot, because obviously...there's some. So when Trout says she's robbed all those banks, what happened? Did she burn everything out of spite and then randomly save Stanley I's personals for kicks? Or is there a bigger trove near or directly under where Stanley IV found his ancestor's carrying case? Or was it just kind of a weird plot hole that will never get patched? As far as I know, they never explicitly cover exactly what's up with this. In both the film and the book, it seems odd that she would rob so many banks, apparently (or supposedly) keep none of her loot, and then suddenly decide to keep and hoard what she steals from Yelnats. It seems as if somewhere in the connecting time there's a whole mess of treasure missing.
Maybe some girl scout will dig it up in another 100 years.
The ending of the book showed that Stanley had progressed as a character. He went from the overweight kid that everybody picked on to carrying a kid up a mountain and then becoming a millionaire. Stanley showed a lot of courage and determination to go after his friend and see if he was still alive. He knew that he would be taking a chance going out and looking for Zero but he knew it was the right thing to do and he didn't want him to die out there. Stanley was determined to save Zero when he carried him all the way up the mountain by himself. I thought it was strange that they only found the suitcase from Stanley's grandfather but none of the other treasure that Kate Barlow was said to have stolen was found. If she did steal all of the money that she was accused of then why did she only keep Stanley's? We also found out that Sam's onion drink did keep the lizards away because Zero and Stanley were never bitten. If they hadn't eaten the onions then the lizards might have killed them.
The ending of this book is satisfactory to its readers; the bad guys get their due punishment and things turn out better than expected for the good guys. Sachar does an excellent job of wrapping up the story and, for the most part, answering any questions the reader might have. Some of these questions are answered directly, as in the case of the future of Camp Green Lake. However, the author also answers through implication, leaving it up to the readers to put the pieces together, like the woman sitting next to Zero on the couch, and whether or not the curse was real. One thing that I noticed about the last chapters was that except for one spot, Zero is referred to as Hector. Perhaps Sachar did this because the boys are no longer at camp and it is logical for them to not use their camp nicknames. However, I think he was indicating that there has been a drastic change in Zero’s life, and calling him Hector would reflect that. Sometimes having a new name can help to begin a new way of life.
ReplyDelete~Sheridan Weinbrenner
I really enjoyed the ending of Holes, because of how it tied up all of the separate interlaced stories completely. Stanley finally breaks free of the curse by carrying Zero up God’s Thumb, and as he does this he grows as a character by taking charge of his own life. I appreciated this because when life is hard sometimes you have to carry a burden from your past up this proverbial mountain and lay it at the feet of God to move forward and grow as a person. Also, as I finished reading I came to really appreciate the strong, controversial female characters in the book. As Kissin’ Kate Barlow’s story came to a close I felt great pity for her. She had everything taken away from her and she in turn felt the need to take everything away from others. Her story is a sad one and it makes me feel compassion towards her, even though I know I should not like her because of how many lives she has taken. I also found myself pitying the Warden. Could her obsession with finding the loot just be linked to her family and their past? As a reader is it fair of me to expect her to act any differently? Both of these women have some dark characteristics, but I feel like Sachar makes them relatable in order for the reader to connect if they so decide.
ReplyDeleteMacKenzie Woods
The ending to this book has a typical happy ending that most all children’s books have. At first people may be wondering how the stories of Kissin’ Kate Barlow and Elya are relevant to Stanley. Sachar did a marvelous job of tying in all the stories and caharacters together. Little did Stanley know that he would carry a descendant of Madame Zeroni up the mountain which broke the “curse.” The treasure Kate Barlow stole and buried belonged to his family. The Warden was a relative of Trout and her family had been looking for the treasure ever since Kate died. I thought it was interesting how Sachar ended the book without directly answering the question “was the curse real?” He left it up to the reader to decide. He also let the reader assume that he found his mother. I also thought it was interesting how Sachar emphasized that the change in Staley’s weight did not matter but the change in his character did.
ReplyDeleteKaitlyn Bevel
One difficulty I have with the conclusion of this book is Barlow's loot. Some people misconstrue the case of Stanley Yelnats I to be the ONLY object for which the Walkers were looking. Yet comments by Trout insinuate that there should be far more than the single case that Stanley IV eventually finds.
ReplyDeleteSo what exactly gives? Barlow says that there is no loot, because obviously...there's some. So when Trout says she's robbed all those banks, what happened? Did she burn everything out of spite and then randomly save Stanley I's personals for kicks? Or is there a bigger trove near or directly under where Stanley IV found his ancestor's carrying case? Or was it just kind of a weird plot hole that will never get patched? As far as I know, they never explicitly cover exactly what's up with this. In both the film and the book, it seems odd that she would rob so many banks, apparently (or supposedly) keep none of her loot, and then suddenly decide to keep and hoard what she steals from Yelnats. It seems as if somewhere in the connecting time there's a whole mess of treasure missing.
Maybe some girl scout will dig it up in another 100 years.
- Mason Trupe
The ending of the book showed that Stanley had progressed as a character. He went from the overweight kid that everybody picked on to carrying a kid up a mountain and then becoming a millionaire. Stanley showed a lot of courage and determination to go after his friend and see if he was still alive. He knew that he would be taking a chance going out and looking for Zero but he knew it was the right thing to do and he didn't want him to die out there. Stanley was determined to save Zero when he carried him all the way up the mountain by himself.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was strange that they only found the suitcase from Stanley's grandfather but none of the other treasure that Kate Barlow was said to have stolen was found. If she did steal all of the money that she was accused of then why did she only keep Stanley's?
We also found out that Sam's onion drink did keep the lizards away because Zero and Stanley were never bitten. If they hadn't eaten the onions then the lizards might have killed them.