Reading Report of Holes

Holes is a darkly humorous novel by Louis Sachar. It probes incisively into judicial problems and human’s greed through the eyes of the protagonist Stanley Yelnats and the story happened 110 years ago on Camp Green Lake. It may be regarded as just a joke, but if read deeply, it really discusses some much more solemn issues while shedding light on what redemption, friendship, and justice should be.

Take judicial problems for example. Though in most countries, most legal cases are judged fairly, there are still some wrong verdicts that need to be justified, and flaws that need to be righted. For example, nowadays, it is stipulated and enforced worldwide that before a suspect is pronounced guilty, he or she should be presumed innocent. Nevertheless, we can still see in some news reports that a suspect is already described as a criminal even before investigation, or that a judge jumps to a judgment just because he or she wants to clear it off the docket. It is an encroachment on human rights. Another example is that in some undemocratic regimes, unreasonable penalties are still in force, just like what Stanley experiences in the book. Maybe the criminal just commits some misdemeanor, but he or she has to receive the same punishment as those who commit a felony. That is an abuse of the law system.

Besides judicial system, the author also peeps into human’s greed. From Trout Walker 110 years ago to the Warden today, they all covet for Kate Barlow’s treasure, the fortune that doesn’t belong to them. If it seems impossible to put their greedy fingers on the fortune, they call for desperate and inhumane measures—Trout Walker tortures Kate Barlow, while the Warden enslaves hundreds of juvenile delinquents to dig holes in the desert, claiming that it“builds their characters. ” In a word, it can be easily found out in the story that if blinded by greed, he or she will lose better judgment and do absurd behavior. Furthermore, as the author implied, God will punish the greedy; that is, the greedy are to perish.

However, the book doesn’t wholly discuss grim problems. In the book, friendship also takes an important role. If it were not for Clyde Livingston’s sneakers, neither Stanley nor Zero will come to the camp, yet Stanley still cherishes the friendship. He pours out his heart to Zero and dedicates himself fully to his friend. It is sincerity that is the vital element of every relationship. As for the curse, it can be expelled neither by redemption nor by carrying Zero uphill singing the pig lullaby. It is expelled by the whole-heartedness of Stanley, which is irreplaceable and precious.

Little things can reflect big concepts, and small steps can lead to big accomplishments. Louis Sachar uses the simple story of Stanley to illustrate several ideas, while Stanley’s small steps show us what the truth should be, what values we can learn, and what the core of humanity is. Not every life is easy, but we can definitely obtain some priceless treasure from it as long as we think more and reflect on ourselves more.