Chapter 42 · Holes

Copywork

It occurred to him that he couldn’t remember the last time he felt happiness. It wasn’t just being sent to Camp Green Lake that had made his life miserable.

Read the passage aloud. What does the second sentence add to the first?

Discussion

Narration Tell back what happens in this chapter, from Zero finishing the hole to Stanley waking him in the night.

Stanley wonders if his happiness is like the warmth a person feels right before freezing to death. What does that comparison tell us about him? Character
Before, Stanley did not especially like himself. Now he does. What might have changed for him? Theme
Stanley is glad Zero left the shoes on the parked car, though that is part of why they are both at the camp. Is that a fair way to feel? Moral reasoning
A flower petal moves on Zero's face as he sleeps, and Stanley decides not to put it back. What mood does the author build with that small scene? Tone
Zero says, “That’s the last hole I will ever dig.” Stanley ends the chapter asking if he wants to dig one more. Why might the author end here? Author's choice

Make a Connection Tell about a time you felt so good that you wondered if you could trust the feeling.

Vocabulary

occurred: It occurred to him that he couldn’t remember the last time he felt happiness Came into the mind.
miserable: that had made his life miserable Very unhappy.
delirious: He wondered if he was delirious. Confused and not thinking clearly, as in a fever.
destiny: It had to be destiny. A future that seems planned by fate.
coincidence: It was more than a coincidence. Two things happening together by chance.
fugitive: living the rest of his life as a fugitive A person running away from the law.
identity: He would have to somehow get a new identity. Who a person is, with name and records.
civilization: follow the dirt road back to civilization Places where people live in towns and cities.
glittering: the glittering night sky Sparkling with little flashes of light.

Critical thinking

Zero says Big Thumb must have a hole filled with water. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how Zero reasons about where the water comes from.
The boys work out how many onions they have eaten. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how life on the mountain has changed them.
Stanley thinks through escaping and living as a fugitive. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what it would cost him and how he would get by.