Holes — Chapter 27

About This Passage

This small conversation is where a boy quietly gives his friend the most important thing he has — his real name. Zero has been called 'Zero' for so long that almost no one remembers he is anyone else, and the word 'zero' means 'nothing.' When Zero tells Stanley he has another name, he is telling Stanley that he is not nothing — he is a person with a story that started before anyone at Camp Green Lake knew him. Copying this short passage helps a child notice how big news can come in small, soft words. Nobody shouts, nobody cries. A boy walking to dinner simply says, 'You know, that's not my real name,' and the reader suddenly understands that Stanley has been teaching a whole person to read, not just a boy called 'Zero.'

Narration Prompt

Retell Chapter 27 in your own words, starting with Stanley digging in the hot sun and saving his water, then Mr. Sir filling the canteen in a sneaky way, then Stanley teaching Zero to write his name, and ending with Zero telling Stanley, 'My real name is Hector Zeroni.'

Discussion Questions

1. What in the story tells you that Stanley and Zero have become real friends, and not just two boys who dig in the same place?
2. What in the story tells you that Stanley was right not to drink the water Mr. Sir handed back to him?

+ 2 more questions in the complete study guide