History Fridge / Holes

* So why did the Warden object so much to Stanley's teaching Zero how to read? Look at it this way, Stanley, who's white, is educating Zero, who's black, and treating him like the human being he is; which is exactly what Kate would have done. To the Warden, Stanley might as well be the second coming of the woman who she blames for ruining her family.

* Considering how easily the camp employees were willing to let Stanley and Zero die at the hands of some deadly lizards, and came very close to shooting the kids themselves, how many other kids have they allowed to die or straight-up murdered? Adding to that, Pendanski was able to hack into the state's records and erase Zero's records. Of course, he was only able to do this since Zero didn't have any family members, but how many others kids did they erase from the state's records? It would be a nightmare to have these adults having unsupervised jurisdiction over children.

* Stanley being the one who discovers to treasure on Walker's land makes sense for a few reasons:

** And so when the lack dries up along with the town's ability to farm or sustain people with potable water, there are no other industries that Camp Green Lake can use to fall back on. Any potential innovators who could move to the town are scared off by the violence that resulted in the destruction of a school and a lynching[[note]]It is documented that Jim Crow laws are what made the South poorer than the North.[[/note]] Hence why the older Trout has become a deranged pauper who has to threaten his nemesis at gunpoint and force his daughter to dig holes.

* Both Madame Zeroni and Hector Zeroni had one thing in common: they were outcasts in the places they lived. Madame Zeroni was thought of by the villagers as an evil nutcase, while Hector was treated by Camp Green Lake as a useless moron. Their only friend in the world was a member of the Yelnats family. Zeroni's curse on Elya was not DisproportionateRetribution: she was hurt that her only friend in the world forgot about her and didn't fill his end of the bargain. The good fortune that follows Stanley after he helps Hector up the mountain isn't just Stanley fulfilling his ancestor's debt: Madame Zeroni's ghost is moved by this young man showing her misfit descendant the kindness she never got to have in life.

** While the Yelnatses remained decent people despite indecent circumstances, the Walkers became worse and worse over generations. While the former family was able to break their curse and thrive, the latter's lives deteriorated to the point that Walker ended her life behind bars.

** Considering Linda's age, how ''old'' was she when Trout tied the knot? Since Kate wouldn't marry Trout, did he decide to groom one of her students out of some twisted kind of spite toward the woman who rejected her?

** While the inmates at Camp Green Lake aren't the worst kids in the world, none of them have grown into upstanding members of society after digging holes for months. They still pull scams on Stanley, like taking his bread and conning him out of a day off. Although ''Small Steps'' does seem to suggest that it's possible for at least some of them to get to better lives, but that doesn't mean Camp Green Lake gets credit for those.
** Some of the juveniles at Camp Green Lake aren't there for crimes that are ''that'' serious: Stanley was convicted of stealing a pair of shoes while another let animals out of the zoo. These crimes warrant some kind of punishment. But wasting away in the desert is a bit excessive.

* The Warden grew up to become her grandfather in many ways: Trout was a rich asshole who enjoyed luxury, looked down on others, and hurt people to get what he wanted. While the Warden isn't ''fabulously'' wealthy, she has a pretty [=OK=] life compared to the campers: a steady paycheck from the government using her land, a decent house, and some luxuries. She basically behaves like a cruel slave owner, mistreating the children under her care while enjoying a cushy existence, not too dissimilar to how her grandfather treated her. Like Trout, the Warden never learned to appreciate what she had and was instead consumed by obsession and greed.
* Both Madame Zeroni and Hector Zeroni had one thing in common: they were outcasts in the places they lived. Madame Zeroni was thought of by the villagers as an evil nutcase, while Hector was treated by Camp Green Lake as a useless moron. Their only friend in the world was a member of the Yelnats family. Zeroni's curse on Elya was not DisproportionateRetribution: she was hurt that her only friend in the world forgot about her and didn't pay her end of the bargain. The good fortune that follows Stanley after he helps Hector up the mountain isn't just Stanley fulfilling his ancestor's debt: Madame Zeroni's ghost is moved by this young man showing her misfit descendant the kindness she never got to have in life.

* The Warden is unhappy when she learns Hector was digging holes for Stanley. A naive person might assume the Warden's frustration stems from Stanley not doing the punishment, [[JerkassHasAPoint which is understandable if your job is reforming juvenile delinquents.]] But the Warden is probably upset because Stanley's refusal to dig [[SecretlySelfish lessens her chances of finding the treasure if one kid isn't digging.]]

** Trout Walker, meanwhile, was nothing but a self-centered monster who only cared about getting what he wanted. Even after his brutal murder of an innocent man damned him to a life of poverty, he [[AesopAmnesia he learned absolutely nothing]] or [[TheAtoner tried to change his ways]]: he married a GoldDigger, pointed a weapon at his former crush to get some treasure, and bullied his family into digging for treasure. His granddaughter also didn't try to better herself or escape her grandfather's toxic legacy: [[WardensAreEvil she projected her childhood trauma of digging holes onto a bunch of juvenile delinquents and becoming so corrupt as to cover up the death of one of her charges.]] In the end, Walker is arrested when all her sordid decisions come to the surface.

* Considering how easily the camp employees were willing to let Stanley and Zero die at the hands of some deadly lizards, and came very close to shooting the kids themselves, how many other kids have they allowed to die or straight-up murdered. Adding to that, Pendanski was able to hack into the state's records and erase Zero's records. Of course, he was only able to do this since Zero didn't have any family members, but how many others kids did they erase from the state's records? It would be a nightmare to have these adults having unsupervised jurisdiction over children.

** And so when the lack dries up along with the town's ability to farm or sustain people with potable water, there are no other industries that Camp Green Lake can use to fall back on. Hence why the older Trout has become a deranged man who has to threaten his nemesis at gunpoint and force his daughter to dig holes.

* Trout ending up in the poor house probably wasn't just because the lake dried up: he was an arrogant brat who turned down the chance to get a decent education. So it is likely he destroyed himself and the fortune his family had with bad business decisions and pure ignorance.

** The rain coming back as soon as Walker and her goons are arrested could reflect that while ''she'' didn't get better, society evolved for the better. Whereas 19th-century Texans helped her grandfather lynch an innocent man, 21st-century Texas society punished her for her corrupt behavior.
** While the Yelnats remained decent people despite indecent circumstances, the Walkers become worse and worse over generations, and the former were able to break their curse while the latter's lives deteriorated to the point that Walker ended her life behind bars.

* While Zeroni's curse has left the Yelnats family poor, it doesn't seem to be ''that'' cruel. While each of the Yelnats men never became wealthy, with Stanley I being robbed of his wealth, they still managed to find love and raise a family in spite of this. There are several explanations.

** Zeroni's curse was a relatively kind punishment. While Zeroni might have been disappointed with Elya, she still recognized that she was still a decent boy deep down. Hence the curse still allows him and his descendants to enjoy a degree of happiness.
* The Warden is unhappy when she learns Hector was digging holes for Stanley. A naive person might assume the Warden's frustration stems from Stanley not doing the punishment, which is understandable if your job is reforming juvenile delinquents. But the Warden is probably upset because Stanley's refusal to dig lessens her chances of finding the treasure if one kid isn't actually doing the digging.

* The rain is what brought Sam and Katherine together - as the leaky roof gave him an excuse to see her in the schoolhouse and their first kiss happens when it's raining. After Sam dies, it never rains again at Green Lake.
** And when does it start raining again? When Trout Walker's family is brought to justice.
* Neither the book nor the film elaborates why Kate spared Stanley Yelnats I. It's established that she killed all the men she robbed and kissed them to boot. There are a lot of explanations:

** As the son of an Eastern European immigrant, Stanley Yelntats I may have had to overcome discrimination. Kate, sympathizing with Sam's racial murder, would probably pity another soul who has been pushed around for his background.

* In the desert, Kate tosses her pistol away and tells Trout she's not going to kill him. Of course she wouldn't kill him, she kisses the men she kills.

* Mr. Sir creates a tough, cowboy persona in order to get over the embarrassment of his real name: Marion. This is very similar to Marion Michael Morrison, better known as Creator/JohnWayne.
** Looks like Mr. Pendanski wasn't too off saying how sensitive Mr. Sir was.

* Through the (well-deserved) misfortunes of the Walker family, one can see a highly localized version of the resource curse: when the abundance of primary resources can be a hindrance to long-term viability.

** Areas dependent on primary resources can create governing systems that have no incentive to care for the population or invest in their long-term future. Trout burning down the school and killing Sam was an example of Trout's disregard for the community: education is not only vital for lifting people up but ensures the long-term viability of society by creating a class of innovators. Sam was not just hardy but a resourceful guy who came up with all kinds of uses for onions, including a lizard repellent. Destroying two sources of innovation killed Camp Green Lake's long-term viability, but since Walker had a primary resource that provided him with easy money without the input of the community, he was not concerned with the damage he inflicted on his own town.

** While the Warden has somewhat gotten back on her feet by turning her grandfather's land into a detention camp, her strategy for getting rich amounts to using forced labor to find buried treasure rather than innovating or investing her resources into more sustainable industries. While she gets steady money from the state using her property, she would be at serious risk if, one day the government canceled her contract, [[LaserGuidedKarma which happens because the Warden also got complacent and committed illegal acts that got her arrested in the end]].
** Meanwhile, the first Stanley Yelnats and Stanley's father pursued more sustainable means of gaining wealth: the former made money through diligent investments, while the latter sought to develop a cure for odor, a product with a mass market appeal that many people would want to buy. When Stanley's father finally succeeds in developing a cure, he not only has access to capital from interested investors but can also invest his newfound wealth in making more innovations.

** The Walker family's wealth came from control of the land around a lake (and one throwaway line suggests there was gold to be found). Gaining access to an easy abundance of wealth made the Walker family wealthy but also complacent. Trout feels no need to get an education because he has money to fall back on, and he's shown wasting it on frivolous luxuries like his own private boat. Once the lake dried up, the Walker family wealth also went up in smoke because of a spoiled heir who wasted the fortune on useless things rather than building a diverse portfolio. While the Warden has somewhat gotten back on her feet, her strategy for getting rich amounts to using forced labor to find buried treasure rather than innovating or investing her resources into more sustainable industries. While she gets steady money from the state using her property, she would be at serious risk if one day the government canceled her contract.
** Meanwhile, the first Stanley Yelnats and Stanley's father pursued more sustainable means of gaining wealth: the former made money through diligent investments, while the latter sought to develop a cure for odor, a product with a mass market appeal that many people would want to buy. When Stanley's father finally succeeds in developing a cure, he not only has access to capital from interested investors, but he can invest his newfound wealth in making more innovations.
* The Warden did grow up to become her grandfather in a lot of ways: Trout was a rich asshole who enjoyed luxury, looked down on others, and hurt people to get what he wanted. While the Warden isn't ''fabulously'' wealthy, she has a pretty [=OK=] life compared to the campers: a steady paycheck from the government using her land, a decent house, and some luxuries. She basically behaves like a cruel slave owner, mistreating the children under her care while enjoying a cushy existence, not too dissimilar to how her grandfather treated her. Like Trout, the Warden never learned to appreciate what she had and was instead consumed by obsession and greed.

** Also, it's not like she has any kind of preexisting relationship with either of them, she barely knows them except to say hello. From her point of view, she's being asked to choose between two strangers -- how would ''she'' know that Elya would be a better husband than Igor? It's not like she knows anything about either of them.

* Mr. Sir creates a tough, cowboy persona in order to get over the embarrassment of his real name: [[spoiler:Marion]]. This is very similar to Marion Michael Morrison, better known as [[spoiler:Creator/JohnWayne]].

* In the movie, Pendanski is obviously lying when he says Barf Bag is "still in the hospital". According to "Stanley Yelnats' Guide To Camp Green Lake", [[spoiler:Barf Bag ran away from the hospital and disappeared, not realizing his sentence had now finished]], but the level of care usually shown to the campers would suggest he's buried in one of the holes. They ''did'' say "Plenty of graves to choose from" in the lizard hole scene... It's also almost certainly not the first time this has happened.

* Considering how easily [[spoiler: the camp employees were willing to let Stanley and Zero die at the hands of some deadly lizards, and came very close to shooting the kids themselves]], how many other kids [[spoiler: have they allowed to die or straight-up murdered]]. Adding to that, Pendanski was able to hack into the state's records and erase Zero's records. Of course, he was only able to do this since Zero didn't have any family members, but how many others kids did they erase from the state's records? It would be a nightmare to have these adults having unsupervised jurisdiction over children.

** All members of the Yelnats are cursed, and Stanley I was Elya's only son. If he were fatally shot, the curse wouldn't pass onto the rest of the Yelnats.

* Kate not being explicitly evil is important for the plot. Before Trout shot Sam, she was known to be generous with her time and food. Her spiced peaches were the pride of the town, and she traded them to Sam in exchange for repairs on the schoolhouse. Those same peaches help save Zero's life when they're in the desert because they were on Sam's boat. While she did a lot of bad, the peaches are a reminder of the good she could do during her life, and after her death.

* In a way, Sam got posthumous revenge on the Walker family: his onions are what save Stanley and Hector from being bitten by the lizards, which foils the Warden's plan to allow the boys to die by lizard.

** If Kate stealing Stanley I's treasure is part of the curse, then perhaps Stanley proving his decency and helping Hector up the mountain is both Madame Zeroni and Kate's ghost deciding to return the wealth as a reward for is courage.

** If Kate stealing Stanley I's treasure is part of the curse, then perhaps Stanley proving his decency and helping Hector up the mountain is both Madame Zeroni and Kate's ghost deciding to return the wealth.

* In the movie, Stanley's grandfather seems magnanimous enough to share the family fortune with Hector. But considering the emphasis he puts on the name "Zeroni" it is possible he's only sharing the money because he realizes Hector is Madame Zeroni's descendant and he doesn't want the curse to come back.

* Trout ending up in the poor house probably wasn't just because the lake dried up: he was an arrogant brat who turned down the chance to get a decent education. So it is likely he destroyed himself and the fortune his family had with bad business decisions.

** The Girl Scouts are an organization that empowers girls and instills in them things like civic pride, independence, and the outdoors. Trout was a misogynist [[EntitledToHaveYou who treated Kate very possessively]], even burning down her school when she kissed a black man over him. Kate's ghost would probably be ''thrilled'' to see her former foe's land turned over to an organization that empowers young girls.
** The Warden's ostensible reason for forcing her charges to dig holes was about "building character". Most researchers know that punitive sentencing doesn't help criminals, and in fact, turns them into better criminals. In reality, she wanted to find treasure. And the Warden herself is the furthest thing from someone with character: she's a spiteful and angry person who refuses to let go of her childhood obsession and perpetuates a cycle of abuse. Girl Scout Camps have actual policies and values that encourage growth: teamwork, tenacity, and accomplishment.

* Myra being unable to choose between Elya and Igor may not necessarily just be due to her being dimwitted, but her being raised in a society where women don't have the luxury of choosing who to marry so when presented with such an opportunity she doesn't even know how to comprehend such a choice. The fact that she is ''surprised'' to see her father letting her make the decision implies that Morris Menke just never let her make any serious decisions in her life. Myra isn't really dumb, so much she is emotionally stunted and dependent due to her sexist and overprotective father.

** The court was aware of the vacancy at Camp Green Lake, hence why Stanley was offered the chance to go there. They probably would've been aware if Barf Bag actually died or not.

** Linda was described as a good student, so why would she stoop so low as to marry Trout? Considering how a mob burned the school down, it is likely another school never opened up. Linda Miller never got the education that would allow her to become independent. For a misogynistic asshole like Walker, that suited him just fine.