Prejudices in “Holes”: Bias Is the Source of Tragedy
投稿類別：英文寫作
Prejudices in Holes:
Bias Is the Source of Tragedy
Min, Chen (陳旻)
Cheng, Chen (陳蓁)
Yi-Cheng, Lai (賴怡臻)
National Hsinchu Girl’s High School
Instructor: Ms. Li-Feng, Chu (朱麗鳳)
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Prejudices in “Holes”: Bias Is the Source of Tragedy
I. Introduction
Holes, written by Louis Sacher, was a winner of the Newbery Medal. The book revolved around
three stories from different times in history. In the first story, a poor young man fell in love with a
feather-brained girl. In the second story, a white woman fell in love with a black man and was
forced to separate by the townspeople. The first two stories ended in tragedy. But the ending of the
third story was encouraging. In the third story, a white boy developed his friendship with a black
boy and consequently broke the curse placed on his family for generations. The book started with
the boy Stanley being sent to a residential camp for troubled boys. The unlucky boy was always in
the wrong place at the wrong time. As the stories progressed, the tangled relationships among the
three stories unfolded through a mixture of current events and flashbacks.
From our observation, the stories of the three generations were set against a background of
different biased views. Like the symbolic meaning of the title Holes, most of the characters in the
book were trapped in a big black hole too deep for them to climb out. They were victims of either
personal or public prejudices. In fact, bias is the source of their tragedy. In the thesis, we will
analyze in detail the various prejudices involved in the three generations and discuss the insight we
acquire from their stories.
II. Thesis
1. The story of the first generation: a poor young man pursuing a beautiful girl in vain
1.1 The story between Elya Yelnats and Myra Menke
The story of the first generation concerns a sad love story of Elya Yelnat, the great-great
grandfather of the main character Stanley. The fifteen-year-old young man was so desperately
enchanted by beautiful Myra Menke that he would try every possible way to get married with her.
However, Igor Barkov, a fifty-seven year old pig farmer, also wanted to marry Myra. Since Elya
could not offer Myra’s family a pig as Igor Barkov did, he visited Madame Zeroni, a witch, to ask
for help. Madame Zeroni reminded Elya not to be fooled by superficial beauty because Myra was
feather-brained and would be too delicate to be a good housewife. But Elya was so madly in love
that he made a deal with Madame Zeroni to win Myra’s heart. Despite all his efforts, Elya was
disappointed to find that Myra did not love him at all. In despair, Elya ran away from his hometown
and left for America, completely forgetting his deal with Madame Zeroni. Because Elya failed to
fulfill his promise, his family was believed to be cursed and fell prey to bad luck since then. Things
never went well with the descendents of the Stanley’s family.
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Prejudices in “Holes”: Bias Is the Source of Tragedy
1.2. Analysis of biased views in the first generation:
A. Elya: illusion about love and superficial beauty
The initial cause of the Yelnats’ mishap could be traced back to Elya’s impulsion and naivety.
For one thing, he was naïve enough to think that “a heart full of love” was the only thing he needed
for marriage. For another, he unwisely ignored Madame Zeroni’s warning that Myra’s head was as
empty as a flowerpot and would be too delicate to take care of him or do any household chores.
Under the illusion that a crazy desire for beautiful appearance was synonymous with love, Elya
went to the stake for it, making reckless promises irresponsibly without thinking about the
consequences. After becoming disillusioned with the girl he thought he loved, he hopped a boat to
America. However, the curse stayed his family even when Elya traveled to the new world. His
biased conceptions led him to live in misery and put all his descendents under a curse.
B. Father of Myra: focus on financial success
When Elya first came to ask for permission to marry Myra, his competitor Igor aged
fifty-seven also came. Faced with such a dilemma, Myra’s father gave top priority to profits. The
best offer with a pig, a symbol of financial success, was of the essence. He was only concerned
about “economic power” and cared nothing about “a true heart”.
“I will trade you my fattest pig for your daughter,” Igor offered.
“And what have you got? “Myra’s father asked Elya.
“A heart full of love,” said Elya.
“I’d rather have a fat pig,” said Myra’s father. (Holes,p.29)1
Myra’s father only cared about the fortune that could be expected from marriage. As long as the
candidates for her daughter’s marriage were rich, he was willing to leave the choice up to her.
Since Elya was at a economic disadvantage, he was forced to seek help from a witch and eventually
cursed with misfortune.
C. Myra: lack of independent thinking
The young girl Myra was a typical example of social expectation for females. Traditionally,
women confined themselves to being a beautiful doll without thoughts. The lack of intellectual
education and economical independence caused women to rely on men. Females were so used to
following men’s orders that they had difficulty making a decision on their own even if they were
given the chance to choose. When being asked which candidate she preferred, Myra couldn’t make
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Prejudices in “Holes”: Bias Is the Source of Tragedy
a decision of her own. Like her father, she first asked whose pig was bigger, an ideology based on
financial success. Since the two pigs were of equal weight, she played a game of luck and decided
to marry whoever guessed the closest number in her mind. She made the choice of a lifetime neither
with her heart nor with her mind. Elya finally realized that Myra did not love him at all. He gave up
in despair, leaving the heart-breaking place forever and forgetting about his promise to the witch.
Myra’s choice incurred Elya’s disillusion about love and brought about a curse on Elya as well as
all his descendents.
2.
The story of the second generation : a sad love story between a white and a black
2.1 The story between Katherine and Sam
One hundred and ten years before Stanley arrived at Camp Green Lake, the town of Green
Lake was a beautiful place. Katherine was an intelligent, sweet schoolteacher and Sam was an
honest, hard-working labor, who often helped Katherine renovate the classroom. As time went by,
Katherine fell in love with Sam. Katherine being a white and Sam being a black, they were doomed
to be star-crossed lovers because the townspeople were racists. When the news of their love affair
spread, the townspeople flew into a rage and killed Sam. Driven mad by Sam’s death, Katherine
became Kissin’ Kate Barlow, one of the most feared outlaws in the west. In her twenty years of
robbing people, she happened to rob Stanley’s great-grand father’s money. Finally, Katherine
returned to Green Lake to reminisce about the past time when Sam still kept her company. One
morning, Charles, or Trout, Walker and his wife Linda came to force Katherine to reveal where her
treasure was. Still, she would rather die than tell them the location of the treasure.
2.2 Analysis of biased view in the second generation
A. Sensibility at the mercy of reality
Katherine was true to her feelings and courageous enough to disobey the authorities. She did not
care about the color of Sam’s skin and just loved him the way he was. However, their love was
destined to be a tragedy because racial discrimination raged at that time. Racism was legalized and
it was against the law for a black man to kiss a white woman. To our sadness, their fearless love
was prohibited. An initiative feminist was at the mercy of harsh reality. But for Sam’s death, she
would have retained her warm and helpful personality
B. Stupidity, jealousy, and phony
As the richest man in town, Trout Walker had always gotten everything he ever wanted and
seemed to be proud of his stupidity. Certainly, he felt humiliated to be turned down by Katherine.
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Prejudices in “Holes”: Bias Is the Source of Tragedy
When he found out that Katherine fell in love with Sam, Trout gathered the townspeople to burn the
schoolhouse and kill Sam. At the excuse of administrating the law and disciplining the black, Trout,
out of jealousy, successfully tortured Katherine for refusing his love.
C. Racism and inequality
Most of the government administrators were white people and so were those who could get
higher qualification. In reality, the black people were regarded as inferior. It was against the law for
any of the two races to mingle with each other. After the love affair was discovered, Katherine’s
school was destroyed and she was considered “The Devil Woman.” Nevertheless, Katherine was
spared but Sam was killed. Sam was strictly disciplined simply because he was a black. Professor
Lee Chia-Tung mentioned that racism was legalized in the south of the United States. When a black
man committed a crime, it was a common practice to kill him without a fair trial (Lee, 1995) 2.
D. Fatal consequence of bias
Green Lake used to be a lush green place. However, after the day that Sam was killed, rain
stopped falling on Green Lake and the lake dried up. The whites considered them superior to the
blacks and rationalized what they did. However, Nature seemed to bellow with rage at what the
white people in town did. The whites thought they could play the role of God to punish Sam, yet
they were those who were penalized by Nature, the real God. After the death of Sam, the place
became a dry, hard, and hot desert. In fact, all the townspeople finally moved away and it turned
into a ghost town.
3. The story of the third generation: a friendship between a white and a black
3.1 The story between Stanley and Zero
Stanley and Zero were sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp, to rebuild their
criminal teenagers’ spirit. But they were always busy digging holes. The unreasonable rule that
anybody found something interesting could have a day off in return made Stanley suspect that the
Warden, dean of Camp Green Lake and a descendent of Charles and Linda Walker, aimed to find
something instead. During their stay in the camp, Stanley and Zero got to know each other. After
knowing that Zero could not read, Stanley promised to teach Zero to read and Zero helped Stanley
dig holes in exchange. Not before long, the boys in the tent D got into a fierce fight and because of
the quarrel Zero ran away from the camp. After Zero’s escape, Stanley followed him because he
was worried that Zero would die of thirst in the desert. Instead of searching for the boys, the
Warden just removed their record and pretended that the two boys had never existed in the camp. In
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Prejudices in “Holes”: Bias Is the Source of Tragedy
the desert, Zero told Stanley that he was an orphan and confessed that he was sorry to steal
Livingston’s sneakers in all innocence. The two boys made peace and struggled together to survive.
A few weeks later, Stanley realized that it was hopeless to stay in the mountain; hence, he suggested
Zero get back to the camp and dig the buried treasure. After their returning to the camp, they
successfully found the treasure. However, the Warden suddenly showed up and threatened them to
give her the treasure. Fortunately, Stanley’s lawyer and the Texas Attorney General arrived in time
to save them. The lawyer suspected Warden enslaved the teenagers in the camp and tried to gather
evidence. In the end, the Warden was sent to prison and Stanley as well as Zero got the fortune they
had longed for. The curse on Stanley’s family seemed to be lifted. In addition, Stanley’s father
eventually succeeded in his business..
3.2 Analysis of biased views in the third generation
A. Warden’s Hypocrisy
The reason why the criminal teenagers in Camp Green Lake were always digging holes was that
the Warden wanted to find the treasure buried by Katherine. However, the Warden exploited the
boys at the excuse of developing their strength and character. She created a false image that Camp
Green Lake was a normal summer camp full of joy. In fact, the false image was just one of
Warden’s devices to deceive those teenagers to work for her without suspicion or complaint.
B. Abuse of authority
Because of the abuse of authority, the children were not supported either on the court or in the
camp. For one thing, Stanley was punished for a crime he did not commit. Without clear evidences,
the judge insisted that Stanley was guilty. In other words, children did not have any supportive
resources to help them even if they were innocent. For another, since the government cared nothing
about the benefits of those criminal kids, the Warden could wantonly exploit those children. When
Stanley and Zero escaped, the supervisor simply removed their file, ignoring their existence. The
abuse of authority and the helplessness of the abused children appeared in Q & A, too. In the name
of charity, children were forced to commit crimes (Swarup, 2005)3.
C. Stanley’s salvation
Stanley was white and Zero was black. However, Stanley never teased or laughed at Zero like
others. At first he tried to keep away from trouble but gradually he became brave enough to stand
up for his own right and the rights for his friends, disregarding the opinions of the other boys. He
even taught Zero to read and saw him through the hard time. Actually, his concern about friends
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Prejudices in “Holes”: Bias Is the Source of Tragedy
also made a big impact upon those around him. That was the reason why he could break the curse
placed on his family.
D. Social justice prevails over greed
Social justice was the reason why Stanley and Zero succeeded in fighting against the abuse of
authority. Stanley’s lawyer and the Texas Attorney General came to their rescue and checked the
administration of the camp. They suspected the Warden enslaved the children cruelly and tried to
prove it. The Warden insisted she did not remove the files of Stanley and Zero after their escaping.
In fact, she was the one who ordered to do so in order to cover the escape of Stanley and Zero.
Although the Warden had made prevention, she still could not prevail over justice. Finally, she was
subject to penalty and Stanley as well as Zero was proved innocent.
4. Insight from the stories
Biased views caused the characters of the three stories to live in misery. In the first generation,
Elya was biased and so were Myra and her father. Myra’s lack of intelligence and her family’s
emphasis on economic success were the source of Elya’s tragedy. Still Elya was responsible for his
adversity. He mistook superficial beauty as love and made a promise recklessly.
In the second story, Katherine and Sam were free of bias. They fell victim to biased social
views of their time. They loved each other with all their heart without thinking about profits. They
attempted to escape but failed. The people around them forced them to obey the biased social views
like racialism.
In the third story, we finally find the key to overturn our fate. Stanley was the turning point of
the whole story, his action not only realized his ancestor’s promise toward the witch but also broke
the curse that caused the tragedies. All through the story, Stanley remained optimistic and treated
everyone equally without discrimination in spite of his bad luck. At first, he was indifferent to Zero
because he was angry that he was punished for a crime he did not commit. Later on, he corrected
his attitude and was brave to do what he thought was right. He was willing to risk his life to save
Zero’s life. Stanley and Zero worked together to accomplish their goal. Finally, they were released
and became rich because of the buried treasure. Their families also benefited. Stanley’s father
prospered in business and Zero reunited with his mother.
Stanley was able to lift the curse placed on his family because of his cooperation with Zero.
Most importantly, the help from Stanley’s lawyer and the Texas Attorney Genera was essential. The
restoration and prevalence of social justice provided the abused children with timely assistance.
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Prejudices in “Holes”: Bias Is the Source of Tragedy
Without their rescue, Stanley and Zero would still be at the mercy of misery. After all, being nice to
each other did them good. Being cruel to others or placing a curse on them hurt both sides. Needless
to say, the two boys’ positive perspective free of bias brought about their eventual fortune as well as
blessings. Nonetheless, the help of social justice was the catalyst that caused all the good things that
came after.
III. Conclusion
In the first two stories, life seemed to be pessimistic. Either individual or public prejudices
could incur their mishap. Their stories seemed to be a reflection of “naturalism” (High, 1984). In
other words, life is unpredictable. Human beings are humble and at the mercy of a complex blend of
social, economic, and psychological causes. Various bias put people at a disadvantage, making their
life miserable. Bias was the source of their tragedy.
However, Stanley’s story seemed to be very encouraging and enlightening. It goes without
saying that both the individuals and the public may be influenced by some prejudices, or biased
views. Nevertheless, if we stick to the principle of treating everyone equally and look at things in
perspective, we can avoid causing tragedy as much as we can.
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Prejudices in “Holes”: Bias Is the Source of Tragedy
References
(1) Sacher, L. (2000). Holes. New York: Scholastic
(2) 李家同 (1995) .。 讓高牆倒下。臺北市：時代。
(3) Swarup, V. (2005). Q&A. India: Crown.
(4) High, P. B. (1984). An Outline of American Literature. New York: Longman.
(5) http://www.fantasticreviews.com/holes-sachar.htm
(6) Http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/holes/summary.html
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