Mr. Pendanski Character Analysis In Holes - LitCharts

Holes Introduction + Context Plot Summary Detailed Summary & Analysis Part 1, Chapter 1  Part 1, Chapter 2  Part 1, Chapter 3 Part 1, Chapter 4 Part 1, Chapter 5 Part 1, Chapter 6 Part 1, Chapter 7 Part 1, Chapter 8 Part 1, Chapter 9 Part 1, Chapter 10 Part 1, Chapter 11 Part 1, Chapter 12 Part 1, Chapter 13 Part 1, Chapter 14 Part 1, Chapter 15 Part 1, Chapter 16 Part 1, Chapter 17 Part 1, Chapter 18 Part 1, Chapter 19 Part 1, Chapter 20 Part 1, Chapter 21 Part 1, Chapter 22 Part 1, Chapter 23 Part 1, Chapter 24 Part 1, Chapter 25 Part 1, Chapter 26 Part 1, Chapter 27 Part 1, Chapter 28 Part 2, Chapter 29 Part 2, Chapter 30 Part 2, Chapter 31 Part 2, Chapter 32 Part 2, Chapter 33 Part 2, Chapter 34 Part 2, Chapter 35 Part 2, Chapter 36 Part 2, Chapter 37 Part 2, Chapter 38 Part 2, Chapter 39 Part 2, Chapter 40 Part 2, Chapter 41 Part 2, Chapter 42 Part 2, Chapter 43 Part 2, Chapter 44 Part 2, Chapter 45 Part 2, Chapter 46 Part 2, Chapter 47 Part 2, Chapter 48 Part 2, Chapter 49 Part 3, Chapter 50 Themes All Themes Fate and Destiny Cruelty vs. Kindness Justice Power, Money, and Education Man vs. Nature Quotes Characters All Characters Stanley Yelnats Zero/Hector Zeroni The Warden Miss Katherine/Kissin' Kate Barlow Elya Yelnats Madame Zeroni Sam Mr. Sir Mr. Pendanski Charles "Trout" Walker Clyde Livingston Zero's Mother Stanley's Father The Sheriff The First Stanley Yelnats X-Ray/Rex Zigzag/Ricky Stanley's Mother Myra Menke Myra's Father Igor Barkov Sarah Miller Ms. Morengo Symbols All Symbols Girl Scouts God's Thumb Download PDF Download Teacher Edition The LitCharts.com logo. Sign In Sign up for A+ The LitCharts.com logo. AI Tools Guides Guides Sign In Sign up for A+ Sign up Introduction Intro Plot Summary Plot Summary & Analysis Themes Quotes Characters Symbols Theme Wheel Theme Viz Download this Chart (PDF) Download the Teacher Edition Download this Chart (PDF)
Previous Mr. Sir Mr. Pendanski Character Analysis Next Charles "Trout" Walker
Mr. Pendanski is the Tent D counselor. He's relatively young and wears a buzz cut, but he also has a thick curly beard. The Tent D boys refer to him as “Mom,” which he allows. He does, however, make a point to call his charges by their given names. He often attempts to give them pep talks and inspirational speeches about personal responsibility and life after Camp Green Lake. Of all the named authority figures, Mr. Pendanski is by far the kindest; he gives Stanley extra water when he realizes Mr. Sir is depriving Stanley and even offers to give Stanley a ride back to camp after his first day digging. Despite these positive qualities, Mr. Pendanski also thinks very little of Zero and is constantly cruel to him. He insists that Zero has nothing to offer, is unable to learn, and is only good for digging holes. This culminates in Zero hitting Mr. Pendanski across the face with a shovel. Later, Mr. Pendanski is complicit in destroying Zero's records. It's unclear what fate befalls Mr. Pendanski after the camp shuts down.

Mr. Pendanski Quotes in Holes

The Holes quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Pendanski or refer to Mr. Pendanski. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: Fate and Destiny Theme Icon ). Part 1, Chapter 7 Quotes

Stanley waited for him to drive away, then took another look at his hole. He knew it was nothing to be proud of, but he felt proud nonetheless.

He sucked up his last bit of saliva and spat.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Mr. Pendanski Cruelty vs. Kindness Theme Icon Justice Theme Icon Man vs. Nature Theme Icon Page Number and Citation: 40 Cite this Quote Explanation and Analysis: Part 1, Chapter 27 Quotes

Fortunately, Mr. Pendanski delivered the water more often than Mr. Sir. Mr. Pendanski was obviously aware of what Mr. Sir was doing, because he always gave Stanley a little extra. He'd fill Stanley's canteen, then let Stanley take a long drink, then top it off for him.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Mr. Sir, Mr. Pendanski, The Warden Cruelty vs. Kindness Theme Icon Power, Money, and Education Theme Icon Page Number and Citation: 116 Cite this Quote Explanation and Analysis: Unlock with LitCharts A+ Part 2, Chapter 30 Quotes

"He's a genius, all right!" said Mr. Pendanski. "He's so stupid, he doesn't even know he's stupid."

Stanley didn't know why Mr. Pendanski seemed to have it in for Zero. If Mr. Pendanski only thought about it, he'd realize it was very logical for Zero to think that the letter "h" made the "ch" sound.

Related Characters: Mr. Pendanski (speaker), The Warden, Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni, Zigzag/Ricky Cruelty vs. Kindness Theme Icon Justice Theme Icon Page Number and Citation: 138 Cite this Quote Explanation and Analysis: Unlock with LitCharts A+ Part 2, Chapter 31 Quotes

"I don't think I can erase him completely from all the state files, said Mr. Pendanski. "Too many cross-references. But I can so make it so it would be very difficult for anyone to ever find a record of him. Like I said, though, no one will ever look. No one cares about Hector Zeroni."

"Good," said the Warden.

Related Characters: Mr. Pendanski (speaker), The Warden (speaker), Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni, Mr. Sir Cruelty vs. Kindness Theme Icon Power, Money, and Education Theme Icon Page Number and Citation: 144 Cite this Quote Explanation and Analysis: Unlock with LitCharts A+ Part 2, Chapter 47 Quotes

"It's got his name on it," said Zero.

Stanley's lawyer pushed past the tall man to have a look.

"See," Zero showed her. "Stanley Yelnats."

Stanley looked, too. There, in big black letters, was STANLEY YELNATS.

Related Characters: Zero/Hector Zeroni (speaker), The Warden, Mr. Sir, Mr. Pendanski, Ms. Morengo, The Attorney General, The First Stanley Yelnats Fate and Destiny Theme Icon Power, Money, and Education Theme Icon Page Number and Citation: 216 Cite this Quote Explanation and Analysis: Unlock with LitCharts A+ Get the entire Holes LitChart as a printable PDF. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S. Download Holes PDF

Mr. Pendanski Quotes in Holes

The Holes quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Pendanski or refer to Mr. Pendanski. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: Fate and Destiny Theme Icon ). Part 1, Chapter 7 Quotes

Stanley waited for him to drive away, then took another look at his hole. He knew it was nothing to be proud of, but he felt proud nonetheless.

He sucked up his last bit of saliva and spat.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Mr. Pendanski Cruelty vs. Kindness Theme Icon Justice Theme Icon Man vs. Nature Theme Icon Page Number and Citation: 40 Cite this Quote Explanation and Analysis: Part 1, Chapter 27 Quotes

Fortunately, Mr. Pendanski delivered the water more often than Mr. Sir. Mr. Pendanski was obviously aware of what Mr. Sir was doing, because he always gave Stanley a little extra. He'd fill Stanley's canteen, then let Stanley take a long drink, then top it off for him.

Related Characters: Stanley Yelnats, Mr. Sir, Mr. Pendanski, The Warden Cruelty vs. Kindness Theme Icon Power, Money, and Education Theme Icon Page Number and Citation: 116 Cite this Quote Explanation and Analysis: Unlock with LitCharts A+ Part 2, Chapter 30 Quotes

"He's a genius, all right!" said Mr. Pendanski. "He's so stupid, he doesn't even know he's stupid."

Stanley didn't know why Mr. Pendanski seemed to have it in for Zero. If Mr. Pendanski only thought about it, he'd realize it was very logical for Zero to think that the letter "h" made the "ch" sound.

Related Characters: Mr. Pendanski (speaker), The Warden, Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni, Zigzag/Ricky Cruelty vs. Kindness Theme Icon Justice Theme Icon Page Number and Citation: 138 Cite this Quote Explanation and Analysis: Unlock with LitCharts A+ Part 2, Chapter 31 Quotes

"I don't think I can erase him completely from all the state files, said Mr. Pendanski. "Too many cross-references. But I can so make it so it would be very difficult for anyone to ever find a record of him. Like I said, though, no one will ever look. No one cares about Hector Zeroni."

"Good," said the Warden.

Related Characters: Mr. Pendanski (speaker), The Warden (speaker), Stanley Yelnats, Zero/Hector Zeroni, Mr. Sir Cruelty vs. Kindness Theme Icon Power, Money, and Education Theme Icon Page Number and Citation: 144 Cite this Quote Explanation and Analysis: Unlock with LitCharts A+ Part 2, Chapter 47 Quotes

"It's got his name on it," said Zero.

Stanley's lawyer pushed past the tall man to have a look.

"See," Zero showed her. "Stanley Yelnats."

Stanley looked, too. There, in big black letters, was STANLEY YELNATS.

Related Characters: Zero/Hector Zeroni (speaker), The Warden, Mr. Sir, Mr. Pendanski, Ms. Morengo, The Attorney General, The First Stanley Yelnats Fate and Destiny Theme Icon Power, Money, and Education Theme Icon Page Number and Citation: 216 Cite this Quote Explanation and Analysis: Unlock with LitCharts A+ Previous Mr. Sir Previous Mr. Sir Next Charles "Trout" Walker Next Charles "Trout" Walker Cite This Page Close Company About Us Our Story Support Help Center Contact Us Connect Facebook Twitter Legal Terms of Service Privacy Policy Privacy Request Home About Contact Help LitCharts, a Learneo, Inc. business Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved Terms Privacy Privacy Request The LitCharts.com logo. Save time. Stress less. Sign up!
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Tag » Why Does Pendanski Hate Zero