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In comparison to the other staff at Camp Green Lake, Mr. Pendanski at first seems to be kind. He says that he wants to help the boys build better futures for themselves, and the other boys in Stanley’s group even call him “Mom.” However, it quickly becomes clear that Mr. Pendanski only cares about having the appearance of being nice and helpful. We see Mr. Pendanski’s true colors in how he treats Zero. Mr. Pendanski refuses to call the other boys by nicknames and focuses on their future as productive members of society, but he doesn’t call Zero “Hector.” The reason for this difference lies with the boys’ families. The other kids at Camp Green Lake have families to go back to and talk about their experiences. Zero, however, has no known family to hold Mr. Pendanski accountable, so Mr. Pendanski makes no effort to care about Zero’s future. Mr. Pendanski makes this reasoning clear when he assures the Warden that no one will look for Zero after he runs away. Since there is no one to take Camp Green Lake to task about Zero’s wellbeing, Mr. Pendanski believes they don’t need to make the effort to care.
The fakeness of Mr. Pendanski’s kindness contributes to the failures of the criminal justice system we see throughout the novel. For example, his mentoring sessions with Stanley’s group are shallow and silly. Instead of talking to the boys about the crimes they committed and the circumstances that led them to commit those crimes, he instead asks them about dream jobs. The conversation about Magnet becoming an animal tamer or a zookeeper reads like a conversation for kindergarteners and not a troubled teenager because it ignores the context of Magnet’s life. In Holes, the characters’ pasts play an important role in shaping who they are. Despite saying words that sound nice, Mr. Pendanski is simply going through the motions of helping the troubled teens without giving them the actual care and support they need.
