Holes Transformation Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

Three days after Sam's death, Miss Katherine shot the sheriff while he was sitting in his chair drinking a cup of coffee. Then she carefully applied a fresh coat of red lipstick and gave him the kiss he had asked for.

For the next twenty years Kissin' Kate Barlow was one of the most feared outlaws in all the West. (26.45-46)

Talk about a transformation. "Miss Katherine" goes from a quiet, peach-preserving schoolteacher to wanted outlaw "Kissin' Kate" in the course of three sentences. Why doesn't the narrator give us more information about Miss Katherine's thought process here? Is it important?

Quote #8

It occurred to him that he couldn't remember the last time he felt happiness. It wasn't just being sent to Camp Green Lake that had made his life miserable. Before that he'd been unhappy at school, where he had no friends, and bullies like Derrick Dunne picked on him. No one liked him, and the truth was, he didn't especially like himself.

He liked himself now. (42.20-21)

This is a pretty big statement. What's so different about Stanley that he now likes himself? Or is he essentially the same person, just with a new perspective?

Quote #9

It would mean living the rest of his life as a fugitive. The police would always be after him. At least he could call his parents and tell them he was still alive. But he couldn't go visit them, in case the police were watching the apartment. Although, if everyone thought he was dead, they wouldn't bother to watch the apartment. He would have to somehow get a new identity. (42.32)

Here, Stanley-the-almost-outlaw contemplates the possibility of becoming a fugitive from the law and having to "get a new identity." Shmoop thinks this is pretty ironic: in some ways, he already has a new identity after his experiences at Camp Green Lake. Do you agree?