His works include hole in my life, a memoir that won the michael l. This was a life quite unlike those of many other children. This study guide consists of approximately 32 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more. Jack gantos has written books for people of all ages, from picture books and middlegrade fiction to novels for young adults and adults. What probably drew him to writing about this is the idea of letting others know his mistake and. Many of his youthful mistakes are driven by a need to find adventure, so that adventure can be turned into a novel. Hole in my life download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. A memoir, by turns harrowing and hilarious, about a huge mistake. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. For his part in the conspiracy, gantos was sentenced to serve up to six years in prison. Later in the book, jack was arrested and put in jail. In addition, the dual character names denote two sides of each characters image.
This novel is narrated and told from the point of view of jack. In the summer of 1971, jack gantos was an aspiring writer desperate for adventure, college cash, and a way out of a deadend job. Major themes in holes include the consequence of choices resulting from fate and destiny and the importance of friendship. I have chosen hole in my life by jack gantos because a senior last year recommended i read this memoir.
Life after life themes from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. This 40page guide for hole in my life by jack gantos includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 16 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. Conflict man vs man man vs self another person he is always having. Hole in my life is an autobiography of jack gantos life leading up to, and life in jail. In this truly offbeat memoir, jack gantos, now a successful author of childrens books, recounts a teenage vision quest gone horribly awry. After finishing the novel in one sitting, gantos deserves five stars for giving his readers a relatable and believable story, in which he perceived his own life experiences.
Seeking redemption developed into one of the novels major themes. I teach fourth grade in a very highneed inner city community. To ask other readers questions about hole in my life, please sign up. The subplots are talltale motifs that provide explanations about incidents involving previous yelnats generations that significantly impact stanleys life as well as the lives of others. Ancestry is a heavily emphasized theme in holes, and it goes hand in hand with the themes of fate and destiny. Learning life lessons from the bookholes by louis sachar my students need 30 copies of the book holes along with 4 copies of the unabridged book holes on compact disk. I certainly believe this to be true hole in my life example two while living in st croix, they cannot build. Gantos was a young man with little supervision who led a life that involved many moves and opportunities. Holes are a recurring image in the story with symbolic value. Features 16 chapter summaries and 5 sections of expert analysis.
I had read the joey pigza books in elementary school and the jack henry books in sixth grade and thoroughly enjoyed them. Equal parts bildungsroman, seafaring adventure, cautionary tale, and redemption story, hole in my life is the most mercurial book ive read in a long time. Hole in my life by jack gantos is a story of one young mans struggle to become a writer. One of the primary themes in the novel is the ability for a person to recover from mistakes. The desire for lived experience in order to write perhaps the greatest ongoing thread in the story is that of gantos obsession with becoming a great writer. Jack gantos, bestselling author of the joey pigza books, had a peripatetic childhood. A hole in my life battling chronic dizziness, by philippa thomson is a must read for anyone with unexplained dizziness. There are several different kinds of holes and digging in the aptlynamed holes. In her fantasy novels she harnesses arthurianera language and rhythms to offset the sting of her oftendark themes.
Sibert honors, joey pigza swallowed the key, a national book award finalist, joey pigza loses control, a newbery honor book, and dead end in norvelt, winner of the. Croix to new york city, and the time he spent in prison after being busted. Life after life themes from litcharts the creators of. Click download or read online button to get hole in my life book now. Digital rights management drm the publisher has supplied this book in encrypted form, which means that you need to. Instead, he creates characters that his readers can empathize with and involves them in plots that are fun to read. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. In 1971 jack gantos was scraping through his final year of high school. Jack gantos conclussion i think that hole in my life was a good book. This study guide consists of approximately 32 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of hole in my life. Hole in my life summary and study guide supersummary.
Hole in my life is the autobiographical story of jack gantos during his younger years. I feel like mainly everything about the book was good and interesting. Jack gantos makes a series of mistakes throughout his autobiography, but instead of being beaten by them he uses them to his advantage as much as he can. With illustrations and funny words and touching themes. There are, however, two stories told in this riveting narrative. Gantos was a young man with little supervision who led a life that involved many moves and. He was born in pennsylvania and him and his family moved around a lot. Summary hole in my life by jack gantos is a story of a young mans struggle to become a writer. Study guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. The book hole in my life is an autobiography of jack gantos life in prison and what lead up to it. Jack was in prison for smuggling marijuana from st. A message of hole in my life novel free essay example. I can recommend this book as far as a scare them straight book for kids headed down the wrong path, but while it could have been much worse, the prison rape and homosexuality content is distubing in my opinion.
Jack gantos is an american author of childrens books most famously known for joey pigza swallowed the key 1998. Jack gantos was a troubled teenager who could not set his priorities straight. The book i just finished reading is hole in my life by jack gantos i liked the book because it was interesting. Someone once said anyone can be great under rosy circumstances, but the true test of character is measured by how well a person makes decisions during difficult times. The craving for lived involvement with request to compose maybe the best continuous string in the story is that of gantos fixation on turning into an extraordinary author. The book is about the time gantos sailed a boat that was full of hashish from st. We hear about the joyful days spent sailing a ship full of hash, and also about the gruesome nights spent in solitary confinement in prison. Three stories from separate times in history are combined in holes to create one story and to create a theme of the importance of history. In the beginning of hole in my life, gantos finds himself unable to attend high school in san juan, as he is unable to speak spanish. The narrator is given information from all three stories but stanley and zero only know the history that has been passed down to them through stories and song. His parents had moved to st croix in the virgin islands, but he was.
The boys dig holes at camp green lake, there is a hole in stanleys life before camp green lake, and there are holes in the story that the reader must fill in as the plot develops. Themes of hole in my life by colin cameron on prezi. In hole in my life, this prizewinning author of over thirty books for young people confronts the period of struggle and confinement that marked the end of his own youth. Holes book summary sachar writes the humorous plot of holes in a straightforward manner. Learning life lessons from the bookholes by louis sachar. A considerable lot of his energetic missteps are driven by a need to discover experience, with the goal that experience can be transformed into a novel. His book the trouble in me is an autobiographical novel about a fourteenyearold jack gantos, and his book dead end in novelt won the newbery medal, the scott odell award for historical fiction. May have been a little boring at times when he was in prison and on the boat but an overall good book with meaning. Featured content includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay topics, and key themes like the desire for lived experience in order to.
Gantos facepicking at skin gantos frequently cautions the peruser to the status of his face all through the story. The first is of a gallant british woman struggling to make sense of a world turned upside down by symptoms that she cannot understand in her case scds. Sibert honors, joey pigza swallowed the key, a national book award finalist, joey pigza loses control, a newbery honor book, and dead end in norvelt, winner of the newbery medal and the scott odell award for historical fiction. About 40 instances of swearing and profanity, including 3 fwords. This book takes us on his journey, from his young life in florida to his higher teen years in the virgin islands.
Man of my life quotes my happy quotes about life dance is my life quotes jack gantos hole in my life quotes its my life quotes living my life quotes ur my life quotes my family is my life quotes story of my life quotes men in my life quotes my life my love quotes all my life quotes my life changing quotes. The book hole in my life is about jack gantos the author and main character trying to become a good writer, but when he moves from fort lauderdale, florida, to san juan, puerto rico. In hole in my life, jack gantos recounts an experience from his own life that many other writers would. The book hole in my life by jack gantos is a very well written novel that gives the reader a detailed understanding of one young mans travel through life. The first is toward the start at the journal, where he enables the peruser to decipher his jail picture. He managed to get caught up in a drug running scheme. For each of the major characters, ancestry affects their surroundings, decisions, and even daytoday life. This is the autobiographical account on gantoss batcrap crazy life from 1970 1973 when he bounces aimlessly around the world, eventually ending up agreeing to pilot a ship full of drugs across the ocean. This book tells of his teenage years, right after graduating from high school. Hole in my life by jack gantos goodreads share book. Hole in my life was written by jack gantos in 2002. The book thus argues that even as minor choices have the ability to shape the direction of ones life, its impossible to predict.