English
The first similarity between madam Zeroni and zero as can be deduced from the novel holes is their social standing. In camp green lake, Zero is an outcast mainly because people do not see him as worth anything at all. He is underestimated and deemed by his colleague as stupid and not worth the time of day of anyone. Madam Zeroni was also viewed as a social deviant. The fact that she was a gypsy dictated how people responded to her and treated her. She was an outcast who people only turned to when they had problems that they desperately needed to solve. Thus, madam Zeroni and zero are similar due to the fact that society relegated them to the sideline as far as social standing was concerned. No one really wanted to be associated with them in the absence of an emergency or an extreme situation with no other option.
Another similarity between madam Zeroni and zero is their mental capacity. Zero is considered to be stupid by the other inmates at camp green lake. The truth of the matter is that zero is by all means very smart and indeed arguably the smartest individual in the whole of cam green lake. The only problem that he has is that he has no formal education but all the same he has a very formidable intellect. Madam Zeroni also proves to be very resourceful as far as her mental faculties are concerned. This is because while the entire community was mesmerized by Myra with the men trying hard to impress her, madam Zeroni was the only one smart enough to see Myra for who she really was. To that effect madam Zeroni advises Elya to turn a blind eye to Myra because she is stupid and move to America. Later Elya realizes that madam Zeroni was right all along and that Myra does not possess much as far as her mental capabilities are concerned.
Another similarity between madam Zeroni and zero is that they both had circumstances that were apparently holding them back. For madam Zeroni, the circumstance holding her back as the fact that she had one leg. This limited her physical movement. This is perhaps the reason why she instructed Elya to carry her up a mountain at some point in their bargain. For zero the circumstance that is holding him back is the fact that he has no formal education. This places him significantly lower than his peers as far as social standing is concerned. Despite being a very smart person this circumstance leads to him being considered stupid by society and being labeled an outcast even in the juvenile detention camp which houses juvenile deviants and outcasts.
The similarity between Stanley and Elya is ironic to say the least. This is because they are both falsely accused of theft. Stanley blames all his misfortunes on his great great grandfather who was a pig thief. According to Stanley it was his ancestor’s pig stealing tendencies that led to their entire lineage being cursed. As a result of this curse, Stanley has been the victim of countless misfortunes throughout his life. The truth, however, is that Elya was cursed not because of his pig stealing habits but because he did not come through on a deal he had made with madam Zeroni. Stanley’s latest misfortune is the fact that he has been accused of stealing a pair of shoe that had been donated by Clyde Livingstone popularly known as sweetfeet who is a basketball legend.no ne, least of all the judge, believes Stanley when he claims that the shoes conveniently fell on him from the sky and that he did not steal them. Just like Stanley falsely accused Elya of being a pig thief and therefore the cause of all his misfortunes in life, e is also accused of being a shoe thief and sent to a juvenile correction facility to pay for his crimes.
Another similarity between Stanley and Elya is that they are both self-serving. Stanley agrees to help zero in his pursuit for formal education. The condition is, however, that zero has to help Stanley in digging his hole which as a form of punishment at camp green lake. Stanley agrees to help zero but only because he is the biggest beneficiary of their agreement. He has his own interest in mind as opposed to interest in helping zero acquire an education and pursue a better life. Elya also agrees to carry madam Zeroni up the mountain on the last day of his ritual. This is because he is convinced that the ritual is instrumental to his plan to win the love of Myra. He has absolutely no interest in helping madam Zeroni but is rather obsessed with getting what he wants. When he fails to win the love of Myra he double crosses madam Zeroni. He fails to carry her up the mountain as agreed. This shows that he was only concerned with getting what he wanted and not helping madam Zeroni in return.
