Holes: Part 2, Chapter 38 Summary & Analysis

Stanley pulls a limp Zero upright and then onto his shoulder, with Zero's legs dangling in front. He leaves the shovel and the jars behind and picks his way up the incline. Stanley feels as though God's Thumb is giving him strength and pulling him towards it. He begins to smell something foul in the air as the ground levels off. Stanley looks in front of him; the thumb no longer looks like a thumb and it's far too big to climb. He feels as though the smell in the air is the smell of despair. As Stanley heads towards the thumb, he slips, drops Zero, and lands facedown in a muddy gully.

As Stanley laments his fate, he suddenly realizes that one needs water to make mud. He begins to dig in the wettest part of the gully and in the darkness is able to fill a small hole with dirty water. When Stanley has a reasonably sized hole, he scoops water and splashes it on Zero's face. Zero begins to stir, so Stanley pulls Zero closer and pours more into Zero's mouth. He discovers an onion as he digs for water and eats half without even peeling it. He gives the other half to Zero and tells him it's a hot fudge sundae.