• Genre: Fiction
• Setting: The setting for Holes is at Camp Green
Lake. The name is kind of a contradiction
because there is NOTHING green at Camp
Green Lake. There is also no lake so the name
really has nothing to do with the camp except
that there once was a lake.
Theme
Theme: The theme of holes is the power of fate to
determine events. This theme makes since because
Stanley “Caveman” Yelnats always seems to be in the
wrong place at the wrong time. Even though on one
occasion it seemed fatal it actually proved to be a life
changing experience for the better.
Stanley “Caveman” Yelnats
• Stanley is an overweight kid who doesn’t have
any friends, and is often picked on by the school
bully. Stanley's family is cursed with bad luck and
although they do not have much money they
always try to remain hopeful and look on the
bright side of things. He is also not easily
depressed. This characteristic helps him adjust to
the awful conditions of Camp Green Lake. Over
the course of the book Stanley looses weight and
gains a nickname “Caveman.”
Hector “Zero” Zeroni
• Hector Zeroni is probably the least popular of all
the “campers.” When Zero was very little his
mother abandoned or “lost him.” So he has been
homeless the majority of his life which in turn
causes him to have very little education. Since
Zero has little education he can’t read or write.
Zero is a VERY quiet person he always walks
around in silence. Once he gets to know Stanley
a bit better he tells Stanley that he doesn’t talk
much because he doesn’t like answering
questions especially from Mr. Sir who is always
mocking him.
Rex “X- Ray”
• X-ray is the self-claimed leader of tent-D at
Camp Green Lake. X-ray is the one that gives
Stanley his nickname (Caveman). X-Ray is also
the one that chose the line order for the water
truck. 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. When Stanley becomes friends with Zero,
however, X-Ray's system is threatened and he
becomes hostile towards Stanley.
Katherine “Kissin’ Kate” Barlow
• Kissin Kate Barlow is a sweet and intelligent
women who was a school teacher 110 years
before camp was added to Green Lake. Kate falls
in love with Sam the onion man who is black.
Even though they love each other everyone in the
town is racist and have put every law in place to
keep Sam and Kate from getting married. So
when they run away they kill Sam and his donkey
Mary Lou. That’s when Kate becomes Kissin’ Kate
Barlow the outlaw. She kills certain men and
leaves her mark by giving them a kiss with her red
lipstick.
Theodore “Armpit”
• “Armpit” hates being called by his real name
Theodore. You find this out very quickly
because Stanley calls him by Theodore and he
gets knocked down HARD! Along with Squid
he seems to be one of X-Rays closet friends.
He is also the one that the warden gets mad at
when the boys aren't digging up what she
wants.
Alan “Squid”
• Squid is just another one of the boys. He is
just as tough as X-Ray but often follows his
rules. He often messes with Stanley about
writing to and receiving letters from his
mother. The truth is that Squid cares about
his mother too and when Stanley is released
from camp Squid asks him to calls his mother
and tell her that he is sorry.
Book Summary
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Stanley Yelnats was given a choice. The judge said, "You may go to jail, or you may go to Camp Green
Lake." Stanley was from a poor family. He had never been to camp before.
And so, Stanley Yelnats seems set to serve an easy sentence, which is only fair because he is as innocent as
you or me. But Stanley is not going where he thinks he is. Camp Green Lake is like no other camp
anywhere. It is a bizarre, almost otherworldly place that has no lake and nothing that is green. Nor is it a
camp, at least not the kind of camp kids look forward to in the summertime. It is a place that once held
"the largest lake in Texas," but today it is only a scorching desert wasteland, dotted with countless holes
dug by the boys who live at the camp.
The trouble started when Stanley was accused of stealing a pair of shoes donated by basketball great
Clyde "Sweet feet" Livingston to a celebrity auction. In court, the judge doesn't believe Stanley's claim that
the shoes fell from the sky onto his head. And yet, that's exactly what happened. Oddly, though, Stanley
doesn't blame the judge for falsely convicting him. Instead, he blames the whole misadventure on his "nogood-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather." Thanks to this benighted distant relative, the
Yelnats family had been cursed for generations. For Stanley, his current troubles are just a natural part of
being a Yelnats.
At Camp Green Lake, the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging
holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than
character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the treacherous
warden is searching for something, and before long Stanley begins his own search—for the truth.
Fate conspires to resolve it all—the family curse, the mystery of the holes, the drought that destroyed
Green Lake, and also, the legend of Kissing Kate Barlow, an infamous outlaw of the Wild West. The great
wheel of justice has ground slowly for generations, but now it is about to reveal its verdict.
Resources
Links:
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/holes/
http://www.louissachar.com/HolesBook.htm
Books:
Holes by Louis Sachar