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Legend of Kissin' Kate
In Louis Sachar's novel Holes we read about the story of Katherine Barlow, Green Lake, and God's Thumb. This happens before the rain stopped and the lake dried to blend in with the desert floor. It happens with racism is rampant and the west was still wild. The story of Kate, Elya Yelnats (Stanly Yelnats' great-great-grandfather) and curses intertwine looping together decendants from the town, Madame Zeroni, and the Yelnats. -
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The Legand & Curse
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School Teacher
Before Katherine Barlow became the notorious outlaw Kissin' Kate, she was the town's school teacher. She was much loved by the children and town's people. She and her peaches were well known. Then she fell in love... -
Falling in Love
The town's much loved teacher, Katherine Barlow fell in love with a black young man named Sam. Sam traveled the area selling his onions. Onions that he claimed was a miraculous cure all for anything that ails a person. Sam keeps the location of where he digs up these magical onions a secret. -
Secrets
Racism was alive and well, which is why Katherine and Sam marry in secret. They were caught kissing by the Sherriff their secret is exposed. Sam on the run because of the exposed secret is run over by a boat and is killed. The secret location of where onions are ever-growing is lost when Sam dies. -
GREIF
In her life altering greif over her husband's killing and the Sherriff's part in it, It doesn't help that the entire town turned against the couple since they were seen kissing. Katherine the school teacher becomes Kissin' Kate the outlaw. She leaves Green lake. -
Outlaw
Kissin' Kate returns to Green lake and goes into hiding. The new name of Kissin' Kate is because she kisses those she kills. She came up with the kissing because of the intolerance her kissing of Sam caused. This began her grief and hardships. She stashes her loot from her robberings, but after 3 months of hiding she was captured and forced to show where she had hid her loot. -
Yellow Lizards
"Vernom of the Yellow Lizards" Towards the end of our story we find out that eating onions repeal the lizards. However Kissin' Kate is bitten by a yellow lizard while her kidnappers demand for the location of her loot. To the dismay of the Sherriff, she dies laughing without giving up the location of her teasure.. -
Land of Ever-Growing Onions
When Sam was killed not one more drop of water fell in to Green lake and after 100 years Green lake turned to a vast wasteland. The onion Sam knew many secrects in healing. Sam had a land full of onions that grows whole year round and where the water runs uphill. This knowledge was lost until Zero and Caveman escaping the camp through the desert went to God's Thumb and followed Elyse Yelnats' path into the mountains. -
Full Circle
They go to God's Thumb because Stanley (Caveman) finds Zero (Hector) alive but unwell under a boat. Its Kate Barlow's boat and it has her sealed jars of liquid called SPLOOSH. Stanley sees how weak Zero is, Stanley fulfills the promise and breaks Madame Zeroni's curse by carrying Hector Zeroni to the water on the mountain. -
Cited Work
Cited Work Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. The Flicker Image Site. Web. August 3, 2012. The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. August 3, 2012.
