I.S.228 Justin Havens
703 12/24/04
Holes Louis Sachar Fiction
Holes is about a boy named Stanley Yelnats. Stanley has been sent to camp green lake (a juvenile center). He was arrested, and later guilty for stealing a pair of shoes. Back at school, there was a bully named Derrick Dunne. Derrick used to torment Stanley. The teachers never took Stanley’s complaints seriously, because Derrick was so much smaller than Stanley. Some teachers even seemed to find it weird that a little boy like Derrick could pick on someone as big as Stanley. On the day Stanley was arrested, Derrick had taken Stanley’s notebook and after a long game of come and get it, Derrick finally dropped it in the toilet in the boys’ restroom. By the time Stanley retrieved it he had missed his bus and had to walk home. It was while he was walking home, carrying his wet notebook, with the job of having to copy the ruined pages that were messed up, that the sneakers fell from the sky. He didn’t know what they were or whom they were from so he kept them. Then Stanley heard sirens and ran, he didn’t know why he ran but he kept on running.
Later Stanley found out that the shoes belonged to Clyde Livingston A.K.A sweet feet, his favorite pro athlete. He also found out that the shoes were going to a homeless shelter. So Stanley was in trouble. The judge gave him a choice. “You can go to camp green lake, or to jail”. Stanley never had been to camp before so he chose camp.
Stanley then was on the bus for 8 hours. When he got to camp green lake there was no lake, there wasn’t any grass all there wasn’t anything but empty space. Then Stanley went to the Warden; the rules were presented to him there. He was to do dig a hole 5 feet in diameter and 5 feet deep. But there really was one rule don’t mess with the warden. He was introduced to his tent then he started digging hole first thing every morning af...
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...when Stanley did the same thing that Madame Zeroni said he broke the curse. They ate onions and drunk water while they were up there, remember yellow spotted lizards don’t like onions. When Stanley put all of the clues together he remembered the hole he found the tube of lipstick in and dug around it and found the treasure. Yellow spotted lizard was all around it but still they ate onions. The warden caught them and thanked them for there help, and Mr. Pendanski pointed out that Stanley’s lawyer came the day before and found out that he was innocent. The next morning the lizards still haven’t made a scratch but then Stanley’s lawyer came to get Stanley. As soon as Stanley came out because the Warden lied on him, and after that the warden wanted they treasure but she couldn’t because it said his name on it and it was his property but Stanley couldn’t leave zero so they were looking for his file but the warden threw it out he ran away. So when there wasn’t a file it was a little weird to the lawyer so they just took him and he hired a team of private investigators to find her. When they did they lived next to each other and that’s the story of holes.
Stanley Yelnats, a boy who has bad luck due to a curse placed on his great- great-grandfather, is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp, for a crime he did not commit. Stanley and the other boys at the camp are forced to dig large holes in the dirt every day. Stanley eventually realizes that they are digging these holes because the Warden is searching for something. As Stanley continues to dig holes and meet the other boys at the camp, the narrator intertwines three separate stories to reveal why Stanley's family has a curse and what the Warden is looking for.
When the narrator failed to find water with the alder branch, the farmer, disappointed about how children do not accept what is passed on to them, takes back the branch. “And he took the alder branch from my hands.” The alder branch can be interpreted as the spirit and gift of his father. When the farmer takes back the branch, it is as if he had lost the gift that his father had gave to him forever. The author does this to allow the one to reflect on the parental relationship. The author is able to manipulate the reader’s feelings of guilt which allows the writer to be able to persuade the reader of his view. The author concludes the short story with this quote which adds to the impact or guilt it may have on the reader. In the novel He-y Come on Ou-t, the author symbolizes the hole as a way to persuade the reader. After the business had expanded, many people decided to throw their unwanted possession into it. “The hole gave peace of mind to the dwellers of the city. They concentrated solely on producing one thing after another. Everyone disliked thinking about the eventual consequences.” The hole can be interpreted as a symbol of humanity's ignorance towards the environment and how humans are oblivious to consequences. Although the people of the story were given a temporary solution (the hole) to the problem, they had pushed away the eventual consequence as it gave them a peace of mind. The author is trying to convey the message that we need to start thinking about how one’s actions can affect the future by manipulating fear to the reader. Shinichi Hoshi and Roch Carrier utilizes symbolism to show how Fiction is essentially rhetorical
At Camp Green Lake Stanley is given the nickname “Caveman”, this shows that for the first time in his life, Stanley has some acceptance from a peer group. He grows stronger and tougher as he battles the harsh conditions at the camp, digging in the desert heat. He becomes friends with a boy called Zero by agreeing to teach him how to read in exchange for help digging. This upsets the other boys and causes a fight. In the aftermath, Zero hits a counselor with a shovel and runs away into the desert. It is guessed that Zero will die out there and no one will care. His records are destroyed.
He said “Pig-Polack-disgusting-vulgar-greasy…Remember what Heuy Long said-“Every Man is a King!” And I am the King around here, so don’t forget it! My place is cleared! You want me to clear your places?”(Williams131). This proves that Stanley has a violent and disrespectful character. He claims that he is the man of the house and no one else can take his place even temporarily. Every time his dominance is doubted by someone else he feels challenged and impulsive. Especially with women, he gives them no respect but expects their respect and shows a deep desire for control. This relates to the thesis because he talks and acts with women in a very violent way, which makes them emotionally hurt. This scene is also very ironic because Stanley states that he is not an animal and that he is a hundred percent perfect American but in reality he has an inhuman behavior and he is savage, which is portrayed in the way he talks, eats , and acts with
After taking a pair of used sneakers that had been thrown down from a nearby overpass, Stanley finds himself sitting in a prison camp bus seat with nothing more than a toothbrush, toothpaste, and some writing utensils waiting on the unknown. He can’t get much passed the guards on the bus despite his good behavior, they only ignore him or bash at him to be quiet. The bus ride is long and painfully boring as they travel further and further into the desert heat. Eventually the bus slows down and the patrolling guard tells Yelnats that this is his stop. Stanley steps right from the bus onto the grounds of what used to be a camp for young adults called Camp Green Lake. Now it is a fiery oasis filed with holes. The biggest mystery behind Camp Green was why that the once wonderful lake and campgrounds were nothing more than sand and rocks in a desert now (Sutton). Stanley is then introduced to the camp warden, a mean and vicious woman with no sympathy for any human that walks the grounds of the camp. Stanley is walked around the camp to his new living quarters where he meets Zero. They soon become best friends and Stanley finds himself at peace with the camp. It doesn’t take long for the warden to ruin that, however, as she walks in and takes Stanley to see what must be done for the duration of the time he is at the camp.
Stanley was hot and tired from a long nine hour bus ride. He was headed for the juvenile delinquent camp, Camp Green Lake. His wrist was hot and sweaty from the handcuff that chained him to the seat. Finally after nine hours they arrived. The bus driver waited in the bus while the bus guard took Stanley inside. It was a small building with a sign in front that read ‘You are entering Camp Green Lake juvenile correctional facility.’ He saw desert anywhere he looked. There were holes everywhere he looked. They were so even that he knew they had to be dug on purpose. He saw another sign that said ‘It is a violation of the Texas Penal Code to bring guns, explosives, weapons, drugs, or alcohol onto the premises.’ He thought that was pretty obvious.
Throughout the novel, Williams has referred to animalistic behavior and virtues. He presents New Orleans as a jungle; a metaphor Williams uses to portray the primitive, sub-human nature of its inhabitants. Stanley epitomizes this as he represents the brutes of society that dominate in this jungle. Williams conveys both imagery and dialogue to portray this notion throughout the novel as Stanley performs brutish acts and declares, "I am the king around here, so don't you forget it." Beating his wife Stella is one significant act that portrays Stanley's brutish characteristics. In addition, throughout the novel Stanley presents himself as a self-important brute, driven by the force of desire that enables him to thrive in the jungle that really is his "Elysian Fields."
In the novel, Holes, by Louis Sachar, two of the familiar themes were represented which were teamwork and leadership. The two themes were used by Stanley Yelnats and Hector Zeroni. Teamwork and leadership are two essential points that summarize the novel.
Stanley in the book Holes digs,bonds and changes throughout the whole book.Throughout the story Stanley undergoes friendships,and mental and physical changes.
This book is about a girl name Ellen Foster who is ten years old. Her mother committed suicide by over dosing on her medication. When Ellen tried to go look for help for her mother her father stopped her. He told them that if she looked for helped he would kill them both. After her mother died she was left under her fathers custody. Her father was a drunk. He would physically and mentally abuse her. Ellen was forced to pay bills, go grocery shopping, cook for herself, and do everything else for herself. Ellen couldn't take it any more so she ran away her friends house. Starletta and her parents lived in a small cabin with one small bathroom. One day at school a teacher found a bruise on Ellen's arm. She sends Ellen to live with Julia the school's art teacher. Julia had a husband named Roy. They were both hippies. Julia and Roy cared a lot about Ellen. After Ellen turned 11 years old she was forced to go live with her grandmother. Ellen didn't want to leave Julia and Roy but her grandmother had won custody. Her grandmother was a cruel old lady. Ellen spends the summer with her grandmother. Living with her makes her very unhappy. Since her grandmother owns farmland she forces Ellen to work on the field with her black servants. Ellen meets a black woman named Mavis. Mavis and her become good friends. Mavis would talk about how she knew Ellen's mother and how much Ellen resembled her mother. Her grandmother didn't think the same. She thought that Ellen resembled her father. She also hated that man. Her grandmother would often compare her with her father. Her grandmother would torture her because she wanted revenge from her father. Her grandmother also blames her for the death of her mother. While Ellen was staying with her grandmother her father died. When her father died she didn't feel sad because she had always fantasized about killing her father. Ellen just felt a distant sadness. Ellen cried just a little bit. Her grandmother was furious because Ellen showed some emotions. She told her to never cry again. After that Ellen becomes scarred for a long time. One day her uncle Rudolph bought the flag that had been on Ellen's father's casket. Her grandmother turns him away. Later that day she burned the flag.
Stanley in the beginning was very unloyal, and not even one bit confident in himself. For example he even let someone bully him, “Back at school a bully named Derrick Dunne used to torment Stanley.” (Sachar 23). This shows that Stanley is unable to stand up for himself and lets people push him around. Thus him even wanting to quit at digging his hole, “ He thought about quitting, he wondered what they would do to him.” (Sachar 35). This quote proves that Stanley isn’t
Stanley does not take notice of his wife’s concern, but instead continues on his original course, asserting his own destiny, without any thought to the effect it may have on those around him. This taking blood at any cost to those around him is foreshadowed in scene one, with the packet of met which he forces upon his wife. It is through actions such as these that Stanley asserts power, symbolic of the male dominance throughout patriarchal society. He also gains a s...
“hole” that the narrator refers to is the basement home that he discovers later in the novel.
The image of the girls working together to dig holes in the dirt begins with each girl digging her own hole, but symbolically the two separate holes become one, representing the merging of Sula and Nel into a deep and meaningful relationship. The imagery of a "hole" is used to describe the "whole" of Sula and Nel, indicating the completeness of the two when they are together.
Their similarities helps them understand each other; through their experiences. For one, they are both outcasted socially. Stanley has no friends and always bullied, by Derrick Dune in school, and by X-Ray and his gang in Camp Green Lake. Speaking of Camp Green Lake, both have nicknames given by X-Ray and the two are just children. Similarly, Zero and Stanley were unlucky at some point. Stanley bears his family curse of luck, while Zero lost his mother and is homeless. Zero and Stanley are misunderstood. For example, Stanley was accused for stealing Clyde Livingston’s shoes; and Zero being assumed to be dumb. Finally, to end in a happy note, Stanley and Zero are rich at the end of the