Holes — Chapter 20

About This Passage

This is the passage where the reader — and Stanley — finally learn the Warden's real secret. She paints her nails with rattlesnake venom. The two short sentences she speaks are some of the most chilling lines in the whole book: 'It's perfectly harmless … when it's dry' and 'It's only toxic while it's wet.' Notice that Louis Sachar does not tell us the Warden is scary; he SHOWS us by having her calmly explain the chemistry of her weapon while she paints her nails like any other woman sitting in her living room. She does not shout. She does not threaten. She just teaches Stanley — and us — how the poison works. The quiet, cosmetic, domestic feel of the scene is what makes it frightening. Copying the passage slowly lets the student feel the gap between what she is DOING (explaining nail polish) and what she is ACTUALLY doing (showing Stanley she can hurt people whenever she wants).

Narration Prompt

Retell Chapter 20 in six moments: (1) Stanley walks to the Warden's cabin with Mr. Sir and notices, surprisingly, how many holes are dug right up against the cabin wall; (2) Stanley confesses to stealing the sunflower seeds, and Mr. Sir tells the Warden he thinks Stanley is covering for someone; (3) the Warden sends Stanley to fetch a flowered makeup case from her dressing room; (4) the Warden paints her nails with rattlesnake-venom nail polish while Stanley watches; (5) the Warden strikes Mr. Sir across the face with her wet venom nails, leaving three long marks, and Mr. Sir falls screaming; (6) the Warden tells Stanley to return to his hole and coolly notes that Mr. Sir will not die, 'unfortunately for you.'

Discussion Questions

1. Stanley opens the chapter comparing himself to a 'condemned man … on his way to the electric chair—appreciating all of the good things in life for the last time.' He notices the shade, the two oak trees, the coolness. What does it tell you about Stanley's courage — and about what he is feeling inside — that he is STILL able to notice beautiful things on a walk he thinks might be his last?
2. Stanley is surprised to see that there are many holes dug very close to the Warden's cabin — 'right up against the cabin wall' — and 'of different shapes and sizes.' Why do you think those holes are there? How is their being there a clue about what Camp Green Lake is REALLY for, hidden beneath the cover story of 'building character through digging'?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide