Holes book theme. Holes Discussion Guide 2019-01-30

Holes (novel)

Critic contends that Holes is set apart through the not just manual, but forced labor Stanley and the other campers do daily. Sir and the venom nail polish , is rarely loud or blustering. Surprisingly, the treasure was originally stolen from Stanley Yelnat's grandfather, and it is marked with his name, which is also Stanley Yelnats. It seems that throughout the generations of the Yelnats family, success comes often, but is always just out of reach. Camp Green Lake is a cruel place, and that lack of kindness spreads quickly, as Kate becomes a ruthless murderer and thief, and the normally mild-mannered boy Zero beats Mr.

Holes by Louis Sachar

The Power of Decisions Do you remember what Mr. Holes is set mostly in present day Camp Green Lake, a detention camp for boys. This Camp Green Lake dictatorship, while occasionally violent as in the case of Mr. Friendship The events of the past one hundred fifty years have been setting the stage for a Yelnats and a Zeroni to be together again. The attorney orders the Warden to get Zero's file, but the camp staff are naturally unable to find it, and Zero is also released. These interconnecting stories touch on themes such as racism, homelessness, illiteracy, and arranged marriage. Stanley slowly develops a friendship with a fellow inmate named Zero, a small, quiet boy who rarely speaks.

Holes Themes by on Prezi

Is Kate punished or pardoned for the crimes she commits out of revenge? The desert is associated with struggle and oppression: Stanley and the other boys of Green Lake are being punished for their crimes, and the desert is both their prison and instrument of their punishment. She uses her power and privilege to get what she wants and make members of the camp do as she pleases. It would be better to return later, after everyone had a chance to calm down. In fact, maybe at the moment of his death he would be too weak to feel pain. The Warden owns the shade - but it doesn't do her much good. He never stops making fun of Zero ever since he has been at the camp, which comes back to bite him when the boy cracks him in the face with a shovel.

What Is the Main Idea of the Book

Was there a hole in Stanley's life when he went to Camp Green Lake? Stanley shares these traits with his family and, although he does not have a lot of self-confidence, he is not easily depressed, a characteristic that helps him adjust to the horrendous conditions of Camp Green Lake. Other Elements Significance of Names: Names have significance in Holes, the title itself describing many features of the novel. Pendanski, they are very much her underlings and are both laughable or pathetic in some way. After trekking through the desert, Stanley discovers an oasis on top of a mountain - and by carrying Zero up this mountain, he is able to break his age-old family curse. Does Stanley make any true friends at Camp Green Lake? Stanley and the other boys at the camp are forced to dig large holes in the dirt every day. He believes onions are the cure to everything and makes many remedies from onions. Setting: Place 'Holes' takes place in three different places: Camp Green Lake, the old town of Green Lake, and Latvia, or the old country.

Sample Discussion Questions & Themes in Holes by Louis Sachar

Do you think it happens a lot? Katherine Barlow is appalled by the unjust law that forbids her love with Sam, and by the Sheriff's lack of response when the town decides to bypass law enforcement and mete out a punishment that is much harsher than the law prescribes. What worried him the most was the thought of his parents not knowing what happened to him, not knowing whether he was dead or alive. When Kate and Sam kiss, the angry townsfolk kill Sam and destroy her beloved schoolhouse. And as long as he'd come this far, he might as well look for Zero. He finds a lipstick tube while digging his hole in the desert at Camp Green Lake and figures out that it belonged to Kissin' Kate Barlow, who just happened to have robbed his great-grandfather as he traveled West on a stagecoach with the fortune he'd made on the stock market.

Holes

For each of the major characters, ancestry affects their surroundings, decisions, and even day-to-day life. Have students research the Civil Rights movement and afterwards fill out a web such as this one: To see more, 2. Although there is an element of uncertainty regarding whether the curse - and thus the characters' destinies - are real, the narrator clearly suggests that they are real and explain some of the fantastic coincidences in the novel. They are sent home where they enjoy newfound riches and a life without a curse. How does Stanley change throughout the novel? Every time that Stanley does something nice for X-Ray, X-Ray is nice to Stanley and stands up for him when the other boys pick on him.

Holes Quotes and Analysis

Are they all the same? It's the same location, but back in 1888, it was a lakeside community in the old west. What is the significance of Stanley's name being a palindrome? Themes The Power of Fate to Determine Events Although Stanley always believes that he is unlucky and in the wrong place at the wrong time, the events in the book seem to be the result of fate's reunification of members of the Yelnats and Zeroni families for the mutual benefit of both parties. In any case, by the end of the novel, the antagonists Trout Walker and the Warden have been punished for their sins and crimes, and the protagonists are redeemed. These trappings of imprisonment are not needed, since if a boy tries to run away, the desert will use its weapons of dehydration, starvation, and exposure - not to mention the bites of its various poisonous inhabitants - to make sure the runaway never reaches safety. Many people who have read 'Holes' thinks that Camp Green Lake is a symbol for the way the boys are feeling: it is hot, dry, and difficult to live at Camp Green Lake, just like life has not been easy for the boys who live there. If Stanley had been assigned to a different group at Camp Green Lake would he have met Zero? In the end, which characters prevail? Hint: Think about his actions before he carries Hector up the hill—has he changed? Stanley agrees to teach Zero how to read, and in return, Zero digs Stanley's hole part of the time. Plot Overview 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.

Holes (novel)

He likes the person he has become and he feels good because he has a friend. Derek, a boy half his size, picks on him without fear of Stanley taking revenge, and Stanley accepts his false conviction for stealing Sweet Feet's shoes with a striking lack of protest. Sir This phrase by Mr. Kate is devastated by Sam's death and becomes Kissin' Kate Barlow, one of the most feared outlaws in the West. Zero is even quieter than Stanley and has already been judged and dismissed by the other campers and camp counselors.

HOLES: 7 Creative Classroom Activities

Does he only change once the curse is broken or is he changing throughout? Sir tells Stanley when he arrives at Camp Green Lake is that there are no guard towers or fences at Camp Green Lake. When Zero escapes from the camp, Stanley is plagued with guilt and worry about his friend. Discuss the bond that develops among the boys. Granted, Stanley didn't steal the shoes, but the quote is still relevant. Although the boys are surrounded by danger on all sides, the lizards never bite, the warden never shoots, and a lawyer rescues them.

What Is the Climax of the Book

He is an inventor and quite smart, but extremely unlucky. Continue the conversation beyond the classroom Assign the Holes online game for homework. Stanley's family open the case, discovering the jewels, , stocks and stolen from Stanley Yelnats I. During one dig, Stanley finds one of Barlow's lipstick tubes though he does not recognize it for what it is. GradeSaver, 20 April 2016 Web. However, the kindness that friendship spreads shows its power, as the friendship that Zero and Stanley develops gives them both the strength to move past their harsh environment and thrive. Although it has been several years since the book was published it was published in 1998 , it takes place in the late 1990s, so life in Stanley's world is not much different from life today.