CRITICAL ESSAY STRUCTURE RECAP
INTRODUCTION
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Mention title, author, genre (short story) in no specific order.
Summarise the plot in a sentence or two.
Mention briefly the main theme/s (issue/s) at the heart of the story.
Include a personal response (comment)
Create link (refer specifically) to the task posed by the essay question.
“Holes” is a novel by Louis Sachar where the
main character, Stanley, is unfairly imprisoned
due to the alleged theft of a pair of shoes that
were destined to a charity auction.
The main theme of the novel is the importance of
friendship through the many hardships posed by
life, past and present.
“Holes” represents an important lesson about
resilience and the triumph of justice.
Stanley’s imprisonment and forced labour remind
the reader of how hard work is always required in
order for us to achieve our goals.
TECHNIQUE 1 (word choice, rhyme scheme, characterisation etc.)
1. Topic sentence (explaining how the specific technique is relevant to the task
posed by the EQ).
2. Quote 1
3. Comment 1 (explaining how the words and expressions, figures of speech,
literary techniques and structure address the task posed by the EQ and how
our general understanding of the main themes is deepened).
4. Repeat the same as above for Quote 2, 3 and so on.
Flashbacks are frequently used in Holes to
provide the reader with an idea of time as an
inescapable circle where the events of the
past eventually always catch up with our
present and future. Sachar this way is
reminding particularly the younger readers
about the importance of our origins, families
but also our communities and general history.
Gratitude: being able to recognise other’s
“Madame Zeroni warned that if he failed to
do this, he would be doomed for all eternity”
This flashback about how the curse on
Stanley’s family began is reminding the main
character but also the reader about the
importance of honesty, gratitude as they
remain the basic requirements for a
prosperous life together with our families and
ourselves.
“I have been wishing I was dead for the past
twenty years!”
Kate Barlow, a long gone lone heroin whose
lover is savagely killed by those who then also
become Stanley’s ancestral archenemies,
through her sorrowful words is showing us
how love and hatred cause endless pain and
grief to people across the centuries and
across all territories.
“It’s a big wasteland out there”, Kate Barlow
utters as she promises that her stolen
treasure will never be found by those who
killed the love of her life in an outburst of
racist hatred.
SETTING
Setting is a further technique used by Sachar
to convey the lesson behind the novel.
Stanley is sent to a camp called “Camp Green
Lake”, now a vast desert, where young
offenders are made to dig holes so as “to
build their character”. The name “Camp
Green” is here highly ironic and significant as
it reminds us of the consequences of our past
actions, which continue to haunt us until we
finally face the truth. The Lake dried up
following Sam’s death. And his killer’s future
generations are now sentenced by Kate
Barlow’s curse to spend the rest of eternity
digging holes in vain in search of her treasure.
Symbolism
Symbols are also used by Sachar throughout
the novel to communicate the deeper
meaning behind this apparently light-hearted
adventure novel for young readers.
The shoes donated by the baseball champion become
the symbol of an inescapable truth and destiny. And
even the laces seem to represent the tie between the
two main characters. After Zero and Stanley break free
from Camp Green Lake, the truth about the theft by
Zero will be revealed so as to close a circle of honesty
which always triumphs in the end. Another effective
symbol in the novel is the yellow-spotted lizard – lethal
though fascinating in its attractive aspect.
The lesson lurking behind the use of the lizard is the
thin line between life and death we all walk along
every day of our lives.
Characterisation
Sachar also makes use of characterisation to convey the
important lesson about honesty and gratitude lying behind
the plot.
The main character Stanley is described as a quiet, naïve,
though smart and hard-working young man who is
determined to fix any wrongdoing.
Once at Camp Green Lake, he immediately connects and
sympathises with Zero as if he saw in him a family member.
“I’ll try to teach you how to read, if you want!”
Stanley offers his help as a token of appreciation since Zero
had dug a lot of his hole. Following this gesture, the two boys
are now more than just friends; they are comrades, fighting a
common enemy that has taken their truth and freedom
away.
Eventually, once they both run away from the camp, Stanley
will also take Zero up the mountain so as to repair the
damage cause by his ancestor’s broken promise with
Madame Zeroni.
Zero didn’t get up. Stanley bent over him – “Come on, Zero,
he urged!”
Stanley is a caring friend who is there for his friend in need.
And only together as a team, they will make it to the top of a
symbolical mountain.
Contagion threatening the wider society.
CONCLUSION
1. Explain why you think the main theme/s of the story was effectively
illustrated by the writer.
2. Mention how the story had an impact on your development as an individual
(maturity, increased awareness, appreciation of human qualities).
Write about a novel which had a deep
impact on you…
Intro…
First technique: WORD CHOICE
The word choice used by Sachar
effectively impacts the reader with its
poignant significance. It allows the reader
to learn the values which are at the heart
of a mature and peaceful existence.
“For once in his unlucky life, he was in the
right place at the right time and it still did
not help him!”
After the first day of forced labour at
Camp Green Lake, the main character
Stanley senses that his imprisonment
represents an important stage in his
personal growth and maturity. A hurdle
that he has to overcome if he wants to
solve his family and friends’ problems. The
reader is here impacted by this sense of
an unavoidable destiny that drags Stanley
into a more and more challenging future.
“Higher and higher he climbed. His strength came
from somewhere deep inside himself and also
seemed to come from outside as well"
While Stanley is helping his friend Zero who is
unable to climb the mountain ‘Big Thumb’, the
word choice here effectively creates an image of
the main character as a predestined – someone
who sees their mission as a voice inside of them
and outside of them too. The idea of a fate that
has to be pursued has a strong impact on the
reader because of its almost supernatural appeal.