Holes Quote Analysis

“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is more painful than staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” -Mandy Hale
This quote is perfect for the novel because Stanley doesn’t know he’s changing, but when he finds out he is, he realizes that he belongs anywhere he wants to be. In Holes, Stanley has been impacted in many ways, from the other boys, Zero, and even a little bit of himself.
Stanley wasn’t the same at the beginning. He was shy and didn’t want to talk, and he wasn’t always loyal to Zero. Text evidence to support that is,“Theodore whirled and grabbed Stanley by his collar.”My name’s not Theodore” he said,”It’s Armpit.” He threw Stanley to the ground.”(Sachar 20) This shows that Stanley wasn’t “big” enough to defend himself from Armpit which shows his timidness. Also, he didn’t really have any feelings towards Zero at the beginning. “You know why his name’s Zero?” Mr. Pendanski asked.”Because there’s nothing inside his head.”(Sachar 19) This statement
proves that Stanley didn’t care that he was being bullied, and he didn’t stand up for Zero. As Mr. Pendanski said,”You’re all special in your own way. You’ve all got something to offer. You have to think about what you want, then do it. Even you, Zero, you’re not completely worthless.”(Sachar 58) This shows that Stanley has the potential to be outgoing and loyal to the other boys, but it hasn’t showed yet. Although, he won’t always be like this. He will eventually change and from the influence and help of Zero, and he will become more loyal.
Through loyalty and friendship, Zero and Stanley will become close and be comfortable telling each other things. “I’ll try to teach you how to read, if you really want.”(Sachar 96) This proves Zero influenced him so much that Stanley will try to be helpful to Zero and they will be able to get to know each other better. Some other text evidence that Zero influenced Stanley is,”...Suddenly, Zigzag was off of him. Stanley managed to look up, and he saw Zero had his arm around Zigzag’s long neck.”(Sachar 135) Zero was helping Stanley in a fight, because after Stanley agreed to teach him to read, he was loyal to Stanley. It influenced Stanley to go after Zero later in the novel. The last piece of text evidence is,”I can’t leave Hector.”(Sachar 219) Even though this comes at the end, he doesn’t trust that the counselors would treat Zero as he did on the journey. Their friendship grew and grew to a point where Zero was like a part of Stanley that he couldn’t leave behind. The influence on Stanley from Zero was was immense on how Stanley was changed at the end of the story.
By the end of the novel, Stanley changed into almost a completely different person because of Zero and the other campers making him more brave and again, loyal.
One way I can prove this is,”Isn’t it more important for him to learn to read?”Stanley asked.”Doesn’t that build character more than digging holes?”(Sachar 137) He’s standing up to the Warden to prove that Zero can learn and he’s not really stupid, which shows bravery. More text evidence is that Stanley goes after Zero to try to bring him back to camp. He wants Zero to live and he can’t live with himself knowing that Zero is out there alone, and no food or water to keep himself alive, he is showing bravery to go without water and loyalty towards Zero. The last way he changed is staying in a nest of yellow-spotted lizards with Zero. In the beginning, he would’ve never been able to do that, especially for someone else, which shows more loyalty and bravery. He has now completely changed for the better, so we can conclude Stanley’s
changes.
Changes have happened to Stanley that he didn’t even think about. He was shy and unloyal to the other campers, but through Zero’s friendship and loyalty, he now is internally stronger and loyal, making him a better person.