This semester I am taking Honors Children’s Literature with Dr. Slater,and I have just realized that my favorite book as a kid had so much to teach me about love. Until now, I have overlooked its message.
Holes by Louis Sachar is a book that I have read maybe ten times (and I have watched the movie at least 30 times). When I read it this time for class, however, I was able to pick up on things I’ve never noticed before: like Onion Sam and Kate Barlow’s love story.
In the flashbacks of Camp Green Lake, the forbidden love of Kate Barlow, a white school teacher, and Onion Sam, a black man who sells onions, unfolds into tragedy.
They first fall in love while Sam is fixing up the old school building and Kate Barlow realizes that he’s sweet and very fun to talk to. She starts asking him to make more repairs so that he can stay near to her, but quickly runs out of chores for him. When she has officially run out of things for him to fix, she cries out, “Oh Sam, my heart is breaking.” And his response? “I can fix that.” He kisses her on the spot.
THAT IS LITERALLY THE SWEETEST THING EVER!!!!
Get you a man that defies all social issues in order to fix your heart and care about you with every being that he is. Onion Sam knew that kissing Kate Barlow was a death sentence, but he loved her for as long as he could. He loved her with his entire heart.