{"id":7624,"date":"2021-09-08T15:36:48","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T19:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schuylervillelibrary.sals.edu\/?p=7624"},"modified":"2021-09-08T15:36:50","modified_gmt":"2021-09-08T19:36:50","slug":"discussion-guide-holes-by-louis-sachar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schuylervillelibrary.sals.edu\/index.php\/2021\/09\/08\/discussion-guide-holes-by-louis-sachar\/","title":{"rendered":"Discussion Guide: Holes, by Louis Sachar"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Discussion Guide: Holes, by Louis Sachar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. How is the story illustrated by the author\u2019s use of wordplay?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    _______________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (We see the development of irony and double meaning in expressions :Clyde \u201cSweet Feet\u201d Livingston and dad\u2019s foot odor spray, Camp \u201cGreen\u201d Lake, \u201cKissing\u201d Kate Barlow, Mr. \u201cMom\u201d Pendanski, Mr. \u201cSir\u201d.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Why do the boys use undesirable nicknames for each other? <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      _________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      (Perhaps it serves as a coping mechanism during this hardship. It may help them feel like tough guys who are unaffected by the hazardous conditions. It also might be a bit rebellious, distancing their true selves from the staff.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Stanley lies to his parents when he sends home letters depicting camp as ideal. Why?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        __________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        (He wants to spare them the burden of knowing the painful truth.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. When Stanley blames his \u201cno-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing\u201d great-great grandfather for all the family troubles, is he just avoiding accountability?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          ___________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          (We believe this at first, but throughout the book we discover more than injustice that affects generations.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          1. When Zero runs away, all evidence of him is destroyed as they let him run to his inevitable demise. How does this work to his favor in the end?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            ____________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            (They are forced to release him from camp since there is now no evidence that he belongs there.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            1. Zero eventually confesses his part in the stolen sneakers story. What effect does this have on his friendship with Stanley?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              ___________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Stanley finds it easy to forgive his best friend. In fact, he is tickled to have a best friend at all.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              1. What causes the yellow spotted lizards to decide not to bite the boys?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                ___________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                (They have been eating onions – the ones from Sam\u2019s field. The lizards don\u2019t like \u201conion blood\u201d and refuse to bite them.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                1. Barfbag allowed himself to be bitten by a rattlesnake and Kate allowed herself to be bitten by a yellow spotted lizard? Why?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                  ___________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  (Barfbag puts an end to his misery. Kate uses death as revenge, avoiding Trout, who demands to know where she hid the loot that she stole from Stanley\u2019s great great grandfather.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  1. What is sploosh?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                    _________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    (Canning jars of Kate\u2019s spiced peaches. Zero and Stanley find these under Sam\u2019s old boat and enjoy drinking\/eating them. The jars are many years old by now, but give the boys something to sustain themselves.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    1. The song \u201cIf Only\u201d seems to link Stanley and Zero. How?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                      ___________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      (Zero is a descendant of Madame Zeroni, who gave Stanley\u2019s great-great grandfather the pig in order to impress an eligible bachelorette in town. Stanley\u2019s ancestor broke his promise to carry Madame Z up the mountain to drink the water and sing the song to her. Thus a curse was born, and Stanley\u2019s ancestor became a pig thief. Once Stanley performed this act for Zero, the curse was lifted.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      1. How was Kissing Kate Barlow\u2019s curse lifted?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                        _____________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        (Once it is revealed that Stanley\u2019s name is on the box and the warden has no claim to it, Stanley and Zero are happily on their way to freedom. Now the rain begins after 110 years of drought.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                        Discussion Guide: Holes, by Louis Sachar How is the story illustrated by the author\u2019s use of wordplay? _______________________________________________________________ (We see the development of irony and double meaning in expressions :Clyde \u201cSweet Feet\u201d Livingston and dad\u2019s foot odor spray, Camp \u201cGreen\u201d Lake, \u201cKissing\u201d Kate Barlow, Mr. \u201cMom\u201d Pendanski, Mr. \u201cSir\u201d.) Why do the boys use undesirable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schuylervillelibrary.sals.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7624"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schuylervillelibrary.sals.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schuylervillelibrary.sals.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schuylervillelibrary.sals.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schuylervillelibrary.sals.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7624"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/schuylervillelibrary.sals.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7625,"href":"https:\/\/schuylervillelibrary.sals.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7624\/revisions\/7625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schuylervillelibrary.sals.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schuylervillelibrary.sals.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schuylervillelibrary.sals.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}