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Holes
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Mr. Sir chokes a boy until he gasps “Fine” about his face, and later pours water onto the ground in front of Stanley. Is he forcing the boys to lie, or showing them what he can do?
The tension One boy is choked into gasping that Mr. Sir's scarred face is fine while the rest stay silent, and later Stanley thanks him for water poured on the dirt, so the words said do not match what everyone sees.
Notice what Mr. Sir makes people say, what he does with the water, and what Stanley says in return.
Stanley sees Mr. Sir at breakfast with a swollen face and three scratches. A boy from another tent asks what happened, and Mr. Sir chokes him and makes him say his face looks fine. Out on the lake the other boys ask Stanley about the face, and he says nothing. At the water truck Mr. Sir lets the water pour onto the ground and hands Stanley an empty canteen.
Start with Mr. Sir's question, "Does anyone see anything wrong with my face?" Ask the student what the boys know and what they say.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: breakfast, the boy at the oatmeal pot, the question about Mr. Sir's face, the lake, the water truck and Stanley's thanks.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes one sentence in the same pattern: a plain action, then a clause that gives an object a feeling.
Debate Take sides on the big question: is Mr. Sir forcing the boys to lie, or showing them what he can do? Each side must use one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why an author might show a man with power using calm words after violence.
Easier Read the scene at the oatmeal pot aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 3 only.
On level Talk through all four discussion questions, then have the student write one critical-thinking answer with two pieces of evidence from the chapter.
Harder Ask the student to find one more place where someone says the words he is expected to say, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
1. Mr. Sir asks the boy, “How does my face look to you now?” What is Mr. Sir really asking?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to say what Mr. Sir wants from the question, since he is not asking for an opinion.
He wants everyone to say aloud that nothing is wrong, so the matter is closed.
“Does anyone see anything wrong with my face?” asked Mr. Sir, as he continued to choke the boy.
Nobody said anything.
He wants to see who will give in, and to make sure everyone knows what happens to those who do not.
Mr. Sir let the boy go. His head banged against the table as he fell to the ground.
“I’m kind of handsome, don’t you think?”
A strong answer Mr. Sir is not asking for an opinion. He wants the boy to say that his face is fine, and when the boy gasps “Fine,” he asks another question, “I’m kind of handsome, don’t you think?” A strong answer says what Mr. Sir wants, and points to what happens to the boy before he gets it.
2. Mr. Sir pours the water onto the ground and says, “There, that should be plenty.” What do you hear in that?Tone
What it asks It asks the student to hear a calm, helpful-sounding sentence said over a wasted stream of water.
It sounds mocking: he says it as if he has done a favor.
“You want more?” he asked.
There, that should be plenty.
It sounds flat and businesslike, which makes it more chilling than if he shouted.
He handed Stanley his empty canteen.
Stanley stared at the dark spot on the ground, which quickly shrank before his eyes.
A strong answer Mr. Sir speaks as though he has been generous, and asks if Stanley wants more once the water has run onto the dirt, so the line can sound mocking. It can also sound flat, since he hands over an empty canteen without a change of voice. A strong answer picks what it hears and says why the calm matters.
3. Stanley says “Thank you, Mr. Sir” at the end, with an empty canteen in his hand. Was that wise, or was it giving in?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to judge saying thanks to someone who has just wasted what you need, and what that costs the one who says it.
It was wise: saying anything else could have got him hurt.
Stanley turned to see Mr. Sir holding the boy’s head against the oatmeal pot.
No one said anything except “Thank you, Mr. Sir”
It was giving in: he thanks a man for taking away his water.
Stanley watched the water splatter on the dirt
He handed Stanley his empty canteen.
A strong answer Stanley saw what happened to the boy at breakfast, and the group says only “Thank you, Mr. Sir,” so keeping quiet looks sensible. But he thanks the man who has just poured out his water, which feels like giving in. A strong answer picks wise, giving in or both, and says what Stanley is protecting.
4. Stanley decides, “If he didn’t talk about it, maybe it would go away.” What does that thought show about how he deals with fear?Character
What it asks It asks what Stanley's wish to keep quiet shows about how he copes with something that frightens him.
It shows a habit in Stanley: when something is too much, he goes quiet and digs.
but he just shrugged and dug his hole
If he didn’t talk about it, maybe it would go away.
It shows how hard it is to hide from: the thing is written on a man's face, where everyone can see it.
The left side of Mr. Sir’s face had swollen to the size of half a cantaloupe.
Out on the lake, the other boys asked Stanley what he knew about Mr. Sir’s face
A strong answer Stanley shrugs, keeps quiet and digs, so he copes with fear by not talking about it. But the thing he is trying to put away is Mr. Sir's face, which is hard to ignore and which everyone has seen. A strong answer says what the thought shows about Stanley, and whether it is likely to work, and points to the line.
1. The other boys in the tent have the good sense not to say anything about Mr. Sir's face. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what they understand that the boy at the pot does not.
What it asks It asks the student to see what the boys in Stanley's tent know about Mr. Sir, and how the other boy learns it.
They know Mr. Sir is dangerous, so silence is safest.
but they had the good sense not to say anything
He kept his eyes down and hardly breathed as Mr. Sir ladled some oatmeal-like stuff into his bowl.
They have seen the Warden's marks on his face, and know it is his sore point.
There were three dark-purple jagged lines running down his cheek where the Warden had scratched him.
The other boys in Stanley’s tent had obviously seen Mr. Sir as well
A strong answer The boys in the tent see Mr. Sir's face, say nothing and keep their eyes down, so they know silence is safest. The boy from another tent asks what happened to his face, and the chapter shows what that costs him. A strong answer uses two different pieces of evidence and says how the boys in the tent might have learned it.
2. At the water truck, the boys say only “Thank you, Mr. Sir.” Using two pieces of evidence, explain what their silence shows about the group.
What it asks It asks the student to read the group's silence at the truck, and to say what it shows about how they relate to Mr. Sir.
They are afraid, and keep their eyes away from him.
No one even dared to look at his grotesque face.
No one said anything except “Thank you, Mr. Sir”
They have learned what to say, and say it together in the same words.
“Thank you, Mr. Sir,” said Magnet, as he took his canteen from him.
“Yes, Mr. Sir,” Stanley said, handing his canteen to him.
A strong answer The boys do not look at Mr. Sir's face and say only “Thank you, Mr. Sir,” which shows fear. They also use the same words every time, which shows they have learned what to say. A strong answer uses two pieces of evidence and says what the group has learned, and from whom.
3. Stanley has worked hard and fast all morning and still has an empty canteen. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what that means for his day.
What it asks It asks the student to see what the empty canteen means for Stanley, for his thirst and for the break he was counting on.
It makes the rest of the day harder, since his mouth is dry and the sun is hot.
His mouth was as dry and as parched as the lake.
He just wanted to get off the lake and away from Mr. Sir as soon as possible.
It dulls the break he was counting on: Zero had said to let him know when he was ready, but Stanley will have nothing to drink when it comes.
Besides, he knew he’d get a break.
“Whenever you’re ready, just let me know,” Zero had said.
A strong answer The empty canteen is a real problem, since his mouth is already as dry and parched as the lake. It may also dull the break he was counting on, since Zero had said to let him know when he was ready and Stanley will have nothing to drink when it comes. A strong answer uses two different pieces of evidence and says which matters more, the thirst or the break.