Holes+Inferences

= Inferences in Holes =

Choose three parts of Holes where you need to make an inference. Include the text page and quote from the book, the inference you need to make, and what, specifically, a reader needs to use to make that inference. Remember to include your name!

10/19 Hi Everyone! So far, people have found inferences that require understanding of referential relationships. Glad to see people thinking about what we talked about it class! But, don't feel you HAVE to find one of these kinds of inferences. There are lots of other inferences we have to make, especially in a book like Holes. For example, on p. 5, we read, "Stanley was from a poor family. He had never been to camp before." We are supposed to infer that Stanley chose CGL when given the choice by the judge. We're also supposed to infer that Stanley is sort of looking forward to CGL. We make these inferences by what the text has said (1) he had a choice, (2) he had never been to camp before. We have to put those two things together to predict that he chose CGL, and because (causal/logical) he had never been to camp, he might be expecting something different. Dr. Deeney (page # and quote) || Inference needed to be made || What was used to make the inference || "No one even said anything except "Thank you, Mr. Sir" as he filled each canteen. No one even dared to look at his grotesque face. " || Who's face is being looked at. || The prior sentence where it says who they are speaking with gives an idea of who is going to be spoken about next. Also, the fact that they describe him with a "grotesque face" gives us reason to think back to when the text describes Mr. Sir as having scratches on his face by the Warden. (Colleen Hart) || "He knew he never should have let Zero dig part of his hole for him. He still could have taught him to read. " || Who "he" is and who is being taught to read. || He is going to be Stanley. This is not as clear a reference since in the first two paragraphs of this beginning chapter, Stanley's name is only listed once. But, if you follow the successions of "he" after Stanley it becomes more clear. Also, since the author is writing about Stanley the whole book including his feelings, it becomes even more clear. As far as who "him" is, the inference can be made as far as who was being taught to read throughout this book. Clearly Zero was the one who Stanley was teaching to read. Also, the fact that he spoke of Zero in this prior sentence helps out a bit. (Colleen Hart) || " This isn't a Girl Scout camp. " || What "this" is and what isn't a Girl Scout camp. || "This" refers to Camp Green Lake. It is tough since the Camp is not referred to on this whole page. But, this statement references to the beginning of the book when these words were also said to Stanley. Also, the reference to a camp helps out. The inference can also be aided by the fact that when these words were said to Twitch, they were introducing him to the camp. (Colleen Hart) || "Stanley had to remove his clothes in front of Mr. Sir, who made sure he wasn't hiding anything" || Who "he" is || Since there are two males in the sentence, in order to realize who "he" is, the reader has to figure out which character the author is talking about by re-reading the sentence. (Conley Burns) || "He caught his breath. There was no way he could have done that a few months ago" || Who "he" is and what "that" is || In order to find out who "he" is referring to readers have to go back a page to find out that Stanley is the one climbing the steep ledge, which also shows us what "that" is. (Conley Burns) || "Here, I'll say the whole thing, just to kind of refresh your memory, then you can try it" || What the "thing" is and who "your" is || Going back a few paragraphs we learn that Stanley is teaching Zero the alphabet, which is what the "thing" refers to. Since there are two people involved in order to find out who "your" is we have to find out who the speaker of the quote is (Stanley) and the "your" refers to the other person in the conversation, Zero. (Conley Burns) || "He tried to imagine how he must have felt after Kissin' Kate had left him stranded in the desert." || If the two 'hes' are the same individual, and if not, who are he(1) and he (2)? || If you use context clues and refer back a few lines, you will see that Stanley is busy walking around thinking about his Great- grandfather which leads the reader to infer that the first "he" is Stanley and the second is his Great-grandfather. (Kelly Zimmerman) || "When Stanley found the onion the night before, he didn't question how it had come to be there. He ate it gratefully. But now as he sat gazing at Big Thumb and the meadow full of flowers, he couldn't help but wonder about it." || What was it that he wondered about? || I think that Stanley was wondering where the onion came from, even though it is a few thoughts back, it is clear that everything else he has thought through while he still questioned where the wild onion had come from. (Kelly Zimmerman) || "Using all his might, he brought the shovel back down onto the dry lake bed." || Who is the male figure that is using the shovel? || Considering the entire book so far is about Stanley's experience, it is easy to infer that this is Stanley that is using all of his might to break the top layer of the dirt with his shovel. ( Kelly Zimmerman) || "This is no bigger than it was when I left you yesterday, she said after arriving late one morning, well after sunrise." || Who is this "she" that is talking? || We have been introduced to a few women throughout the story and it can get confusing as to who is who and who is being talked about. It is important for the reader to distinguish between past and present and realize that in the present tense, the "she" they are referring to is the warden. It is also important to refer back in the text to double check that this "she" is in fact the warden. (Megan McHugh) || "He said that onions were good for the digestion, the liver, the stomach, the lungs, the heart, and the brain." || Who is this "he" that is talking? || This passage about Doc Hawthorn and Sam the onion man can be quite confusing. You dont know who is speaking because the author talks about them both at the same time. It is important for the reader to notice that the author mentions him talking about the onions and to make the connection to Sam. (Megan McHugh) || "Then it was gone." || What is it? || Not only can "he" and "she" get confusing for a young reader but "it" "that" and many others can be confusing as well. It is important not to lose train of thought because you will find yourself not remembering what "it" is. In this particular case the "it" is an unusual rock formation on top of one of the mountain peaks. (Megan McHugh) ||
 * Text
 * Page 105
 * Page 141
 * Page 146
 * pg. 13
 * pg. 166
 * pg. 97
 * pg. 92
 * pg. 177
 * pg. 26
 * pg. 77
 * pg. 108
 * pg. 128

"We did it," said Stanley. || Who is "we" and what is "it"? || To understand this statement you need to read before and understand what is going on. The characters involved in this passage and what they are trying to accomplish together. The characters are Zero, Stanley, and the Warden. They are in the hole trying to dig out the treasure chest they found. They finally pulled the box out of the hole. (Kara Zuercher) || "Thank God, I found you," she sighed, hugging him. "We've got to get out of here. Now!" || Who "you" or "him" is and where are they? || The "him" in this passage is Sam. The reader must already know that because in sentences above they said her boyfriend. In the book he has been identified as her boyfriend. Where they are is clear because in the sentences above it states that about how woman were destroying desks and bulletin boards at the schoolhouse so Miss Katherine ran to sam at the lakefront. (Kara Zuercher) || (Kara Zuercher) || (Amanda Padovano) || (Amanda Padovano) || (Amanda Padovano) || "Just keep digging until someone says otherwise," Mr. Pendanski said. Then he smiled. "But if I were you, Rex, I wouldn't dig too hard." || Why did Mr. Pendanski tell X-Ray not to dig too hard? || This is the part of the book where X-Ray tells Mr. Pendanski that he found something while he was digging. He wants Mr. Pendanski to show it to the Warden so he can have the rest of the day off. The reader would infer from reading the previous page that Mr. Pendanski is telling X-Ray not to dig too hard because most likely he will get the day off. (Natalie Mallilo) || "Then he turned to Zero, who had been quietly digging in his hole since Stanley's return. Zero's hole was smaller than all the others." || Who finished digging Stanley's hole? || In the previous paragraph on this page, Stanley is wondering who finished digging his hole for him, but none of the boys took credit for it. He saw Zero still digging his hole and realized that his hole was much smaller than everyone else's. The reader would infer that since Zero's hole was smaller than the rest of the boys' holes, he finished digging Stanley's hole for him. (Natalie Mallilo) || "He bit into it without peeling it. The hot bitter juice burst into his mouth. He could feel it all the way up to his eyes. And when he swallowed, he felt its warmth move down his throat and into his stomach." || Who is "he" and what is "he" eating? || "He" refers to Stanley and Stanley is eating an onion. The reader would infer these two things after reading the previous two paragraphs where the book describes the part when Stanley found an onion in the hole he dug on the mountain. (Natalie Mallilo) ||
 * pg. 202
 * pg. 114
 * < pg. 144 "He was never here," said the Warden. ||< Who was never there? ||< The reader has to know who "he" is in order to understand the sentence. The "he" is zero. The reader has to read the sentences before this statement to comprehend that zero is no longer there and they are going to pretend he was never there.
 * pg.6 "Stanley and his parents had tried to pretend that he was just going away to camp for a while, just like the rich kids do." || The difference between Stanley going to camp and a rich kid going to camp || The reader has to connect that Stanley is attending this camp because it was his alternative to jail. He is going here because he was" bad." Rich kids attend camp as a privledge or because their parents are too busy to watch them. One must be able to infer what the meaning of pretending to have a rich kid experience means. (Megan Brown) ||
 * pg. 41 "A lot of people don't believe in yellow-spotted lizards either, but if one bites you, it doesn't make a difference whether you believe in it or not." || One would have to infer why it doesn't matter if the person believes you or not. || The reader must remember from the first page that the yellow-spotted lizard kills you if you are bitten by it. The reason why the narrator says it doesn't matter is because you will be dead if it bites you so whether or not people believe it exists is irrelevant. It does not mean that the yellow-spotted lizard is not important. (Megan Brown) ||
 * pg 232 "I couldn't even be in the same room with his socks." || Why could she not be in the same room as the socks || One must infer it was because his socks and feet smelled gross. Above they were talking about Sploosh making your feet smell better and killing bacteria. One was supposed to infer that this was used by Clyde and made is feet and socks smell better so his wife could be in the same room as them. (Megan Brown) ||
 * pg.35 "He thought about quitting. He wondered what they would do to him. What could they do to him?" || Who is they? || In this little paragraph one would wonder who the they is? At this point in the boo, Stanley is frightened and not really sure if there is anyone here that he can trust. The "they" in this paragraph could refer to the kids in his group, the Warden, Mr.Sir, or any of the combination. The main question is who is going to be most angry with Stanley if he does quit?
 * pg.63 "When the water truck came, Stanley started to take his place at the end of the line, but X-Ray told him to get behind Magnet, in front of Zero. Stanley moved up one place in line. || Why did Stanley move up one place in line? || One would have to make the inference that Stanley is now starting to be accepted into his group. Because Stanley had given X-Ray what he had found, he proved to the rest of his groupd that he was a loyal friend and the rest of the group is starting to accept him because of that. The reader infers that because Stanley was a good friend to the rest of the group, the rest of the group is becoming a better friend to him as well.
 * pg. 96 " Zero stared at him. his eyes seemed to expand,and it was almost as if Zero were looking right through him. 'You didn't steal the sneakers,' he said." || How does he know that Stanley did not steal the sneakers? || There are two different ways that the reader can infer what Zero is saying in this passage. Either Zero believes that Stanley is innocent and that he would never be able to steal the pair of sneakers that he was accused of stealing, or that Zero knows something about the stolen sneakers that Stanley does not. The reader must infer what Zero is saying and then think about this information later on in the book.
 * Page 66
 * Page 94
 * Page 172

1.) pg. 166 "I bet she was really pretty," said Zero. "Somebody must have loved her a lot, to have a boat named after her." Who was pretty? Who was loved?  "She" could refer to two people: the Warden or Mary Lou. The "she" refers to Mary Lou. The reader could find this out by reading the two sentences before the aforementioned quote. (Erica Cusumano)  2.) pg. 71 "She watches us all the time," said Zigzag. "She's got hidden microphones and cameras all over the place. In the tent, the Wreck Room, the shower." Who watches them all the time? The "she" in the passage is the Warden. The reader has to know that the Warden oversees the camp grounds to know who the "she" is. (Erica Cusumano) 3.) pg. 213 "You think it's them?" asked the Warden. Who is them?  To find out who "them" was, the reader would have to know what the current situation was. If they put the clues together or if they read on, they would find out that the "them" is Ms. Pendanski and two other people. (Erica Cusumano)

"Hector," Stanley repeated. "Hector Zeroni." || the connection between hector and madam zeroni || We can figure out that there is some relation between Zero and Madam Zeroni because they have the same last name which can also tell us that there is a reason stanley and him have met. It also forshadows that something is going to happen. (Raya Perry) || “the second hole’s a lot harder. You’re hurting before you even get started. If you think you’re sore now, just wait and see how you feel tomorrow morning, right?” || Who “you” is referring to. || Stanley said prior to X-Ray’s statement that the first hole was the hardest. Then X-Ray corrected him by saying that the second one is. The “you” is referring to Stanley, but also to every other person that has dug their first and second holes. You can tell he is directing the question towards everyone else because they responded after to him saying “that’s right”. (Samantha Reeps) || “ using all his might, he brought the shovel back down onto the dry lake bed. The force stung his hands but made no impression on the earth. He wondered if he had a defective shovel.” || Who “he” is and who has the shovel. || Before this paragraph the two paragraphs before talk about Stanley. It says how the shovel felt in Stanley’s hand and how he couldn’t start to dig the hole. You can make an inference that the “his” and “he” that is being talked about after is Stanley because he was the one holding the shovel prior, and no one else was mentioned expect Mr. Pendanski who wouldn’t have a shovel. (Samantha Reeps) ||
 * pg. 47 "Uh, sure," he said. He put the piece of stationery back in the box, then got up and followed the boys out to the tables. The Lump wasn't the Caveman. He was. He shrugged his left shoulder. It was better than Barf Bag." || Who is caveman? What is the lump and why do you think it was capitalized? || The "he" could be referring to Stanley because he is the narrator. The reader could distinguish this because "he" has been narrating throughout the book. (Aly Stein) ||
 * pg. 64 "For once in his unlucky life, he was in the right place at the right time, and it still didn't help him". || Who is unlucky? What does him being in the "right place at the right time" tell you about the narrator and his luck? || Stanley is unlucky because he is the one who has gotten in trouble. The fact that "he's in the right place at the right time" means tells us that even though narrator seems to be at the right place, it's wrong because it "still didn't help him". (Aly Stein) ||
 * pg. 73 "By lunchtime the Warden was beginning to lose her patience. She made them eat quickly, so they could get back to work." || How do we know the Warden is losing patience? || We can infer that because the Warden wants them to eat quickly it is because she is losing patience. We could also infer that she wants them to get back to work sooner than they are and that is she is becoming impatient. (Aly Stein) ||
 * pg. 119 "Oh. Okay. My real name is Hector."
 * pg. 118 "Mr. Sir held it up to his ear and shook it. He smiled at the swishing sound. Stanley hoped he wouldn't dump it out. To his surprise, Mr. Sir held the canteen under the stream of water and filled it." || who are the "he's" in this passege. || First you have to see that the he in the beginning is Mr. Sir becuase that starts off the sentence but in the next second the He is still talking about Mr. Sir. Then the third He is stanley. This can be very confusing because it goes back and forth. (Raya Perry) ||
 * pg. 38 "Their life was not easy. Elya worked hard, but bad luch seemed to follow him everywhere. He always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." || Why did he have such bad luck? || We can infer that the bad luck has come from the curse from madam zeroni. Also what will later be infered is that the bad luck has been passed on from generation to generation. Which is why stanley ended up in CGL because he never really did anything. He was inncoent. (Raya Perry) ||
 * pg. 201 "He knew he had to dig very carefully. He didn't want the side of the hole to collapse, long with the huge pile of dirt directly above it." || Who is the "he" and what can we assume will happen if he digs to quickly? || The "he" is referring to Stanley. If Stanley doesn't dig carefully he will bury himself in the hole. (Sarah Leach) ||
 * pg. 86, "You Girl Scouts having a good time? asked Mr. Sir. He moved from one hole to another. He kicked a dirt pile by Magnet's hole, then he moved toward Stanley." || Who are the "girl scouts" and who is "he" || The girl scouts are referring to the campers. We know this because several of the boys are mentioned in the sentences before. The "he" is referring to Mr. Sir. (Sarah Leach) ||
 * pg. 94 "He went over to his hole, and to his surprise it was nearly finished. He stared at it, amazed." || How did Stanley's hole get finished? || At first Stanley thought all the boys helped dig his hole because he took the blame for stealing the seeds. But no one took credit for it. Then he sees Zero digging his own and it is not nearly as close to be done as the other boys. We can infer that Zero finished Stanley's hole, because he is usually the fastest digger. (Sarah Leach) ||
 * pg. 71 "One this was certain: They weren't just digging to "build character." They were definitely looking for something." || Who are "they" that is being referred to? || "They" are the campers at Camp Green Lake. And they are starting to catch on to the real reason they are digging all of the holes. (Sara Lacey) ||
 * pg. 92 "//He won't die//, the Warden had said. //Unfortunately for you//." || Who is "he", and why does the Warden say this? || "He" is Mr. Sir. The Warden says this to Stanley because Mr. Sir had brought him to see the Warden hoping to get Stanley in trouble, and instead Mr. Sir gets slapped and burned by the Warden. She knows Mr. Sir will not be happy about this, and he will take it out on Stanley, so Stanley will wish Mr. Sir was dead. (Sara Lacey) ||
 * pg. 47 "The Lump wasn't the Caveman. He was." || What does Stanley mean by this? || In this sentence you are supposed to use your prior knowledge from a few pages back, when the rest of the campers were talking about "Caveman" and how much they liked him. Stanley thinks they are talking about the boy he walked into, that was a "lump" on the couch. They they call to him and he realizes that they were saying those good things about him. (Sara Lacey) ||
 * Page 45
 * Page 26
 * Page 22

“ Stanley had a poster of him hanging on the wall of his bedroom. He used to have it anyway. He didn’t know where it was now. It had been taken by the police and was used as evidence of his guilt in the courtroom.”

Page 154

"Hey!" Stanley shouted, hoping to scare it back inside. His mouth was very dry, and it was hard to shout very loudly. "Hey", the thing answered weakly. Then a dark hand and an orange sleeve reached out of the tunnel.

Page 206

Stanley felt tiny claws dig into the side of his face as the lizard pulled itself off his neck up past his chin. " It wont be long now," the Warden said.

Page 142

Mr. Pendanski had two black eyes and a bandage over his nose." I always knew he was stupid." || Who the poster of “him” is.

What is this "thing" that answered Stanley. Who is the dark hand and orange sleeve referring to?

What "It" is the Warden referring to when she says " It wont be long now"

Who is "he" that Mr. Pendanski is talking about when he says " I always knew he was stupid." || The paragraph before this talks about Clyde Livingston, a famous basketball player. The inference you need to make is that the poster is of a famous person, that famous person being Clyde. You can also make this inference because he was telling a story about how he “stole” the sneakers which were Clyde’s and how the poster was used against him and as evidence in court for his case (Samantha Reeps)

The "thing" that answered weakly was Zero. If you look back in the story you can remember that Zero had ran away from Camp Green Lake. When the author speaks of a dark hand and orange sleeve you have to make an inference that Zero had ran away, he has dark skin and would be wearing an orange jumpsuit. ( Jackie Cianciolo)

The Warden is talking about the fact that once you get bit by a yellow spotted lizard it wont be long before you begin to suffer. When she says "it" wont be long she means that death will be coming upon them shortly. ( Jackie Cianciolo)

Mr. Pendankski is speaking of Zero. In the text is says he had two black eyes and a bandage over his nose. This is because Zero had whacked him over the head with his shovel and then ran away from camp. The reader has to go back and remember that it was Zero. || - Brianna Champy ||
 * Page 12 A man was sitting with his feet up on a desk. He turned his head when Stanley and the guard entered, but otherwise didn't move. Even though he was inside he wore sunglasses. || Which "he" was wearing sunglasses. || When I first read this part I was confused because this whole time everything had mostly been about Stanley and we suddenly changed focus to this nameless man. But then it continues on to say "he" held a soda in his hand and Stanley was thirsty. So, we know it must be the guard holding the soda.
 * page 78 I had to.. you know... go. || Who's talking and where did they have to go? || In order to keep track of who is speaking, we have to infer that since Armpit has just re-entered the scene that the Warden was talking to him. She does not address him by his name nor does it tell us that Armpit is replying. Since we know he has just returned from his bathroom break, we can also infer that he was talking about going there. Brianna Champy ||
 * Pg. 187 Stanley considered placing it back in front of Zero's nose, but it wouldn't be the same.

Pg. 143 If it was the same mountain. If water was still there.

Pg 95 "I guess he likes to dig holes," Armpit had said. "He's a mole," Zigzag had said. "I think he eats dirt." || What was "it"?

What was "it" and "there"?

Who are they talking about? || We had to go back to the previous paragraph when Stanley was watching Zero sleep. Each time Zero breathed in, the flower petals were being sucked in toward Zero's chin. Then they, the flowers, had fluttered off to the side. I thought it was funny that the flowers were "right under his nose."

In the previous paragraph Stanley had been hoping that Zero had the same urge as his great-grandfather had to climb the mountain.

We had to know by the reference in the previous paragraph that they were talking about Zero. This section actually confused me a little when they were moving from previous discussion to Stanley's time alone before the other boys were done. - Sarah Baker ||