Holes by Louis Sachar

              I am currently re-reading one of my all-time childhood books, Holes by Louis Sachar. This book is mainly about a young lad named Stanley Yelnats who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the book, Stanley gets arrested for stealing Clyde Livingston’s (a famous athlete) sneakers. In truth it wasn’t really him, however Stanley comes from a very poor family and their parents couldn’t afford a great lawyer. For his punishment, Stanley was sent to a Labour camp known as camp green lake, a camp in which you dig holes all day.

            While re-reading this book, I was mainly thinking about the judge who gave Stanley’s’ sentence, and the society that Stanley lives in. what happened to Stanley was not fair. Even though he told the truth in court, he was still punished. This makes me think about justice and the way we hand out punishment in America. However since we are studying philosophy, I will phrase my thoughts into a philosophical question. “Who has the right to hand out punishment in the U.S, and who gave the, the power to do so?”

            To answer my own question, I would think that no one really has the right to pass down judgment or condemn someone. This is because I believe it is not our place to do so. I mean, what makes the people who decide on the punishment any better than the accused? Why does that person have the right to end someone’s life if he or she wants? What makes them that much more important than us?

            Overall, however, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read.