Topic > The Idea of ​​Justice in Holes by Louis Sachar

'Holes' is a novel written by Louis Sachar focusing on the story of Stanley Yelnats and the subplots of Kate Barlow and Madam Zeroni. The main story, as well as the subplots, show a strong theme of justice and injustice. This essay will explore how the idea of ​​justice is represented in this novel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The first type of justice represented in “Holes” is social justice and injustice. Social justice is equality for all people, so social injustice is the opposite. When the sheriff said, "It's against the law for a black man to kiss a white woman." There was a colloquialism about Sam being black when we said "nigger." This shows a social injustice as nowadays this word is socially unacceptable and very racist, but back then it was everyday slang. The townspeople often refer to Sam as "the onion picker", this represents a social injustice as the townspeople know him as nothing more than an onion picker, not even a person, and through repetition, Sachar has made this clear. "We are all equal in the eyes of God" is the dialogue said by Kate Barlow to the sheriff and shows social justice while defending a minority in a very discriminatory moment. Sachar depicted social injustice in "Holes" through Sam and Kate's subplot. Justice is represented a second time in "Holes" through moral injustice whenever Zero is bullied or deemed worthless. Moral injustice is based on a belief system rather than legal punishment. When Mr. Pendanski says "Zero is too stupid to learn to read." Repetition is used since Zero has been called stupid many times before and after, this technique is used to make Zero seem incredibly stupid. When he says "'do you know why he's called Zero?...because there's nothing in his head'" Mr. Pendanski uses a metaphor to compare Zero's name to the concept of nothing, implying that Zero is not intelligent. This is unethical as Zero is continually targeted for being "stupid" when he never had the chance to get a good education. "There was air conditioning in his cabin" is a part of the narration in 'Holes' that refers to the Director's cabin. This represents a moral injustice as the inmates of Camp Greenlake are exposed to the sun all day while working and then deprived of air conditioning when they return to their cabins while the Warden does nothing all day except sit in his cool cabin. The justice represented in 'Holes' is cosmic justice. Cosmic justice is the idea that everyone is punished by a higher power for everything bad they do, a bit like karma. "Madame Zeroni warned him that if he did not do so, he and his descendants would be condemned for all eternity." It is a narrative that shows cosmic justice as Madame Zeroni warned Elya that she would place a curse on his family if he did not keep his end of the bargain. Elya eventually ends up forgetting his promise to Madame Zeroni and the curse lives on, causing Elya to be known as Stanley's "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather". This is a dialogue that shows cosmic justice because, in the end, Elya became known for stealing a pig and placing the curse on his family and nothing more. After the murder of Sam, the onion man, "not a drop of rain fell on Camp Greenlake", this is a narrative that shows cosmic justice as the phrase.