Jaliyah Wright

10/29/18

​Hole In My Life: Mid-Unit Writing Assessment

In the story “hole in my life” by Jack Gantos, the author believes that with determination
you can prevail in life. For example being incarcerated made Gantos realize he had to change
his ways and came up with the solution of starting his writing career. Another example is when
Gantos took the offer from Rik so that he could leave St. Croix and go to a good college.
Throughout the story Gantos brings the thematic statement to light through specific use of tone,
word choice, and repetition over the course of the text. As a result of being in prison, Gantos
decided that he wants to transform himself by starting on his writing career. Gantos states

“​Being locked up in prison is where i fully realized i had to change my life around for the better,
and in one significant way i did. It is where i went from thinking about becoming a writer, to
writing” (Gantos, 7). The tone of this statement implies that Gantos is confident that he can
make a change within himself by making his dream a reality. This statement relates to`the
thematic statement because Gantos shows that he is willing to transform himself for a better
future. When offered a large amount of money from Rik, Gantos sees it as a way to leave St.
Croix and go to college. Gantos also states “I just saw my exit from the island and entrance to
my future, and it was glorious and good” (Gantos, 69). The word choice in this quote shows that
Gantos wants to do better by escaping what he feels is holding him back. This statement relates
to the thematic statement because Gantos took advantage of the situation and used it as a way
out of a drought to pursue his dream. Throughout the text the author has showed that he
believes with determination you can prevail in life. The development of this thematic statement
is significant because Gantos has proved throughout the story that he is determined to better
himself. This relates to everyday life because in school i’m always determined to get a better
grade and i put all my effort into my work so that i have the best outcome. In summary, Gantos
realized he wanted to transform his life by starting his writing career, he used his situation for
motivation and took advantage of an offer chase his dreams.