A man was sitting with his feet up on a desk. He turned his head when Stanley and the guard entered, but otherwise didn't move.
Even though he was inside, he wore sunglasses and a cowboy hat. He also held a can of soda, and the sight of it made Stanley even more aware of his own thirst. . . .
There must have been a small refrigerator behind his desk, because the man in the cowboy hat produced two more cans of soda. For a second Stanley hoped that one might be for him, but the man gave one to the guard and said the other was for the driver.
—Holes,
Louis Sachar
What do the actions of the man in the cowboy hat show about him?
He is considerate of others.
He is cold to everyone.
He is indifferent to Stanley.
He is pleasant to all children.
It just shows that the man in the cowboy hat was indifferent to Stanley. It doesn't mean he hated him or anything, he just planned already on whom to give the drinks to.
The author develops the societal outcast theme through characterization. The lead character feels like an outsider who can’t relate with the people he is with except for the major who like him has no faith that the machines will cure him.
