Holes

Throughout the novel, fate plays a powerful role in the events that occur. Stanley and his family are cursed with bad luck because of how his great-great-grandfather slighted Madame Zeroni in the past. However, when Clyde Livingston’s sneakers fall from the sky and hit Stanley in the head “seemingly out of nowhere, like a gift from God,” the events that lead to Stanley ending the curse on his family begin (24). The shoes feel like fate to Stanley, and they eventually lead to him going to Camp Green Lake and meeting Hector Zeroni (also known as Zero) who is a descendent of Madame Zeroni. Later on in the novel, Zero reveals that he was actually the one who stole Clyde Livingston’s shoes from the shelter and that he was so scared of getting caught that he put them on top of a car. Zero being the cause of Stanley’s arrest is fated because that is what ultimately brings Zero and Stanley together at Camp Green Lake. Fate pushes them together so that they can end the curse on Stanley’s family.

When Stanley finds the lipstick tube belonging to Kissin’ Kate Barlow while digging, fate also seems to play a role.