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Zero/Hector Zeroni
The Warden, the novel's villain, owns and runs Camp Green Lake in the Texas desert. She's a tall, red-haired woman who is soft spoken but nasty: she knows that she's the most powerful person at camp and uses this to intimidate anyone who challenges or bothers her, children and adults alike. When she feels as though Mr. Sir is wasting her time by bringing up his stolen sunflower seeds to her, she viciously hits him across the face with her rattlesnake venom-infused nail polish, leaving him in excruciating pain and with massive swelling on his face for days. Though it's never confirmed, the boys of Tent D tell Stanley that the Warden has hidden cameras and microphones around the camp to constantly spy on the teenage inmates. Stanley discovers relatively quickly that the Warden is looking for something specific in the desert. Through flashbacks, the reader learns that the Warden is Trout Walker's descendant and her family has owned the land around Green Lake for generations. When X-Ray "discovers" the lipstick tube from Kate Barlow, the Warden gets excited and proves a terrifying overseer when it becomes clear that she's not going to find what she's looking for. Later, when Zero walks off into the desert alone, the Warden shows just how cruel she is and how little she thinks of her charges: she asks Mr. Pendanski to erase Zero's records, implying that if Zero somehow doesn't die in the desert, he'll somehow die when he returns to camp. Days later, when Stanley and Zero do unearth the first Stanley's suitcase that Kate Barlow buried in the desert, the Warden engages in a standoff for more than twelve hours with the boys, who are surrounded by yellow-spotted lizards. She callously asks Zero why he isn't dead yet and when Ms. Morengo and the Attorney General arrive, she attempts to act as though she cares about the boys and about observing protocol, though her constantly changing story reveals she cares only about herself. After Stanley and Zero leave camp, the Warden is forced to sell Camp Green Lake.
The Warden Quotes in Holes
The Holes quotes below are all either spoken by The Warden or refer to The Warden. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1, Chapter 11
Quotes
The more he thought about it, the more he was glad that he agreed to let X-Ray have anything he might find. If he was going to survive at Camp Green Lake, it was far more important that X-Ray think he was a good guy than it was for him to get one day off.
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Part 1, Chapter 23
Quotes
A lot of men in town were not educated. This didn't bother Miss Katherine. She knew they'd spent most of their lives working on farms and ranches and hadn't had much schooling. That was why she was there—to teach them.
But Trout didn't want to learn. He seemed to be proud of his stupidity.
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Part 1, Chapter 27
Quotes
Fortunately, Mr. Pendanski delivered the water more often than Mr. Sir. Mr. Pendanski was obviously aware of what Mr. Sir was doing, because he always gave Stanley a little extra. He'd fill Stanley's canteen, then let Stanley take a long drink, then top it off for him.
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Part 2, Chapter 30
Quotes
"He's a genius, all right!" said Mr. Pendanski. "He's so stupid, he doesn't even know he's stupid."
Stanley didn't know why Mr. Pendanski seemed to have it in for Zero. If Mr. Pendanski only thought about it, he'd realize it was very logical for Zero to think that the letter "h" made the "ch" sound.
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Part 2, Chapter 31
Quotes
"I don't think I can erase him completely from all the state files, said Mr. Pendanski. "Too many cross-references. But I can so make it so it would be very difficult for anyone to ever find a record of him. Like I said, though, no one will ever look. No one cares about Hector Zeroni."
"Good," said the Warden.
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Part 2, Chapter 47
Quotes
"It's got his name on it," said Zero.
Stanley's lawyer pushed past the tall man to have a look.
"See," Zero showed her. "Stanley Yelnats."
Stanley looked, too. There, in big black letters, was STANLEY YELNATS.
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The Warden Quotes in Holes
The Holes quotes below are all either spoken by The Warden or refer to The Warden. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1, Chapter 11
Quotes
The more he thought about it, the more he was glad that he agreed to let X-Ray have anything he might find. If he was going to survive at Camp Green Lake, it was far more important that X-Ray think he was a good guy than it was for him to get one day off.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 23
Quotes
A lot of men in town were not educated. This didn't bother Miss Katherine. She knew they'd spent most of their lives working on farms and ranches and hadn't had much schooling. That was why she was there—to teach them.
But Trout didn't want to learn. He seemed to be proud of his stupidity.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1, Chapter 27
Quotes
Fortunately, Mr. Pendanski delivered the water more often than Mr. Sir. Mr. Pendanski was obviously aware of what Mr. Sir was doing, because he always gave Stanley a little extra. He'd fill Stanley's canteen, then let Stanley take a long drink, then top it off for him.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 30
Quotes
"He's a genius, all right!" said Mr. Pendanski. "He's so stupid, he doesn't even know he's stupid."
Stanley didn't know why Mr. Pendanski seemed to have it in for Zero. If Mr. Pendanski only thought about it, he'd realize it was very logical for Zero to think that the letter "h" made the "ch" sound.
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Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 31
Quotes
"I don't think I can erase him completely from all the state files, said Mr. Pendanski. "Too many cross-references. But I can so make it so it would be very difficult for anyone to ever find a record of him. Like I said, though, no one will ever look. No one cares about Hector Zeroni."
"Good," said the Warden.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2, Chapter 47
Quotes
"It's got his name on it," said Zero.
Stanley's lawyer pushed past the tall man to have a look.
"See," Zero showed her. "Stanley Yelnats."
Stanley looked, too. There, in big black letters, was STANLEY YELNATS.
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