Holes by Louis Sachar (Newbery Medal, National Book Award, Horn Book Award, and
others)
NY/Random House/1998, 241 pp (first edition), 233 pp (second ed.), & 497 pp
(on iPad)
ISBN 13: 978-0440414803
Genre: Fiction /tall tale/social commentary/magic realism
Grade Range: 5 and up
Subjects Covered: justice, fate, role of history, friendship
Book Brief: Stanley is sent to juvenile detention camp because of an unfortunate
mistake. The conditions and people at Camp Green Lake are severe. Stanley struggles
at first to survive, then eventually to prevail over the injustice there. Ultimately, he fulfills
his destiny and breaks the family curse through his friendship with Zero and their
experiences together at Camp Green Lake.
Cross-curricular Connections: social studies, language arts
Note some eleventh grade eligible content that could be used as enrichment at earlier
levels.
Pennsylvania Eligible Content Applications
SKILLS/FICTION
R8.A.1.1.1 Multiple Meaning:
1. Holes
2. Ch. 1, Camp Green Lake
3. Ch. 5, respect and Zero
4. Ch. 8, rec/wreck room
5. Ch. 15, “He dug the hole into his memory.”
R8.A.1.1.2 Synonyms/Antonyms
R.8.A.1.2.1 Affixes
R8.A.1.2.2 Changes in word meanings/using context clues
R8.A.1.3.1 Inferences/conclusions:
Ch.1. A. curse, bad luck, “If only, if only”
B. Camp Green Lake is a detention center.
Ch. 3. Stanley is wrongfully convicted, and is following the history of “bad luck” in
the Yelnats family.
Ch. 4. Both man (Mr. Sir) and nature (the dry hot desert) are against Stanley.
Ch. 5. Mr. Pendanski can be mean-spirited. (His comment about Zero).
Ch. 6. The detention camp staff believes Stanley is guilty. Fellow campers don’t
believe he is truthful about the sneakers he was arrested for stealing.
Ch. 7. Stanley’s great-great grandfather was not a thief, just as Stanley is not a
thief. They have both been mis-judged and punished unfairly.
Ch. 8. The description of the yellow-spotted lizards sets up a confrontation
between them and one or more of the characters.
Ch. 9. Everything in the “wreck room” has holes, just like all the campers have
holes in their lives—the condition of the rec room shows the ability of the
campers to be violent. Stanley is nick-named “Caveman” for his size, but does
not realize this.
Ch. 10. Stanley shows the Yelnats characteristic to keep hoping when he finds
the fossil. Mr. Pendanski is again shown as cruel when he dashes Stanley’s
hope.
Ch. 11. Stanley goes along with X-rays’s request to turn over anything
“interesting” to him because Stanley remembers the condition of the rec room.
Stanley also wants to be accepted—thus he is glad to have a nickname.
Ch. 13. When Stanley finds the lipstick tube marked “KB,” he gives it to X-ray
and earns some acceptance as evidenced by his new place in the water line.
Ch. 15. The warden doubles her efforts to “find something” with water and
rewards. Readers wonder what the significance of the gold lipstick tube is and
why Stanley doesn’t reveal the true location.
R8.A.1.3.2 Cite evidence/generalizations:
Ch.7. Evidence of family curse— (great-grat frandfather) Elya Yelnats fell in love
with Myra and wonted to win her hand. He went to Madame Zeroni who told him
to forget Myra and go to America, but Elya insisted. So Madame Zeroni helped
him and made him promise, “’I want you to carry me up the mountain. I want to
drink from the stream, and I want you to sing the song to me.’” And “ Elya
promised that he would. Madame Zeroni warned that if he failed to do this, he
and his descendents would be doomed for all of eternity.”
( Stanley) Stanley remembers this story while he is digging his first hole. “. . .he
felt a sudden rush of dizziness and put his hands on his knees to steady himself.
For a moment he thought he would throw up. . .He drank the last drop of water
from his canteen. He has blisters on every one of his fingers and one in the
center of each palm. Later after Stanley remembers more of his great-great
grandfather’s story we learn—“Stanley’s blisters had ripped open, and new
blisters formed. . . .The sun beat down on his unprotected head and neck.”
Ch. 16. (Stanley’s father) Stanley receives a letter from his mother and shares
that, “Your father thinks he is real close to a breakthrough on his sneaker project.
I hope so. The landlord is threatening to evict us because of the odor.”
Ch. 9. Evidence that everything at Camp Green Lake is broken, including the
people: “Nearly everything in the room was broken; the TV, the pinball machine,
the furniture. Even the people looked broken, with their worn-out bodies
sprawled over the various chairs and sofas.”
Evidence of the fear of violence from fellow campers: “As Stanley made his way
across the room, he tripped over an outstretched leg. ‘Hey, watch it!’ said an
orange lump on a chair. . . .The Lump rose. He was amost as big as Stanley
and a lot tougher. ‘You said something.’ He poked his fat finger in Stanley’s
neck. ‘What’d you say?’”
R8.A.1.4.1 Main ideas and supporting details
R8.A.1.5.1 Summarize:
Ch. 1. Camp Green Lake is introduced as a desert area with no lake, rattle
snakes, scorpions, and yellow-spotted lizards that occupy the holes dug by the
“campers”.
Practice Question
Which of the following details would not be included in a summary of this
chapter?
a. scorpions
b. cactus
c. yellow-spotted lizards
d. holes
Ch. 2. Camp Green Lake is a detention center for boys. The boys’ punishment
includes digging a hole the size of their shovels in depth, width, and breadth.
This will supposedly turn a “bad” boy into a “good” boy. 15 year old Stanley
Yelnats chooses Camp Green Lake over jail, but is naive about what kind of
camp it is.
Ch.3. Stanley rides a bus to Camp Green Lake handcuffed to the armrest, while
the guard rides behind the driver with a gun in his lap. Stanley imagines he is
going to a summer camp. At home he was a loner, who often faced ridicule about
his weight—even his math teacher compared his weight to another boy who
weighed 1/3rd of Stanley’s weight. Stanley is innocent of the crime for which he
is being sent to Camp Green Lake. As is the family custom, he blames his bad
luck on his “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather.” Stanley is
the IV because his family liked the fact that his name is Yelnats spelled
backwards—a palindrome. All the Stanley’s to date have had bad luck. As
Stanley arrives at camp, he notices that nothing is green about it.
Ch. 4. When the guard leads Stanley into an air-conditioned building, he meets
the tattooed Mr. Sir, who is eating sunflower seeds because he quit smoking.
The guard and Mr. Sir sip sodas, but Stanley is denied one—he is assured by
Mr. Sir that Camp Green Lake is not for Girls Scouts. Stanley receives two
orange jumpsuits, two tee shirts, and two pair of yellow socks, one set which
should be washed every third day. He also receives a hat with a neck flap for sun
protection. Breakfast is at 4:40 AM, then the campers will go to the desert to dig
a hole five feet wide and five feet deep every day. Mr. Sir also points out that
there are no guard towers or fences and that the desert heat would prove fatal to
an escapee because there is no water in the surrounding area. The chapter
ends with Mr. Sir scornfully telling Stanley to get used to being thirsty, that he’ll
be thirsty for the next 18 months.
Practice Question
Without this detail, the chapter summary would be incomplete.
a. Stanley is given two pair of yellow socks.
b. The guard and Mr. Sir sip sodas.
c. There is no water outside the camp for a hundred miles.
d. Stanley’s clothes smelled like soap.
Ch. 5. Stanley is assigned to Tent D where he meets the counselor, Mr.
Pendanski. He calls the boys in the tent by their real names instead of their
nicknames—except for Zero. The boys call Mr. Pendanski, “Mom.” Although he
is friendlier than Mr. Sir, Pendanski shows he can have a mean side when he t
alks about Zero having “nothing inside his head.” Stanley is assigned a cot
formerly used by a boy named “Barf Bag.” Later, Stanley asks Theodore where
to get water; Theodore turns on Stanley, throwing him to the ground and says his
name is “Armpit.” Then he informs Stanley that there is water from the shower
stall spigot. Stanley wonders if the nicknames are terms of respect.
R8.1.6.1 Author’s intended purpose: To entertain, enlighten, and reveal an
important truth (Broken promises may have consequences.)
R8.A.1.6.2 Support author’s purpose:
The author, Louis Sachar, sets the background for the story, Holes, by using flashbacks
to the main character’s relatives. His great-great grandfather Elya Yelnats had not
fulfilled a promise to Madame Zeroni and so the family was cursed to have bad luck
until Stanley carries Zero Zeroni, a descendent of Madame Zeroni, up the mountain
near the end of the book—then the families’ luck changes. Stanley’s father discovers a
cure for smelly sneakers, and Stanley and Zero remain friends, both having become
stronger and accepted during the ordeal at Camp Green Lake. The flashbacks
throughout the story reveal more and more the consequences of a broken promise and
the need for restitution.
APPLICATION/FICTION AND NONFICTION
R8.B.1.1.1 Character:
MajorStanley Yelnats, the 15 year old protagonist, whose family has a history of bad luck
(Ch. 3), is wrongfully convicted of stealing (Ch. 6) and is sent to Camp Green Lake, a
juvenile detention center. He arrives overweight with low self-esteem (Ch.3), but after
befriending Zero (Chs. 21-22) and surviving the ordeals in and around Camp Green
Lake (Ch.4) Mr. Sir, (Ch. 5) Mr. Pendanski and Armpit, (Ch. 7) digging holes, (Ch. 17)
Stanley hit by Zigzag , he leaves with tremendous physical (Ch. 13) and emotional
strength (Chs. 35-36), saving Zero.
Zero is a quiet strong-willed youth who takes an interest in Stanley. He is the best
digger of holes at Camp Green Lake. He doesn’t talk much so others at camp,
including the counselor think he is stupid. However, Zero is good with numbers and he
is intelligent—he was just uneducated because he was homeless. Zero finagles reading
lessons from Stanley by helping dig Stanley’s holes. The two become best friends.
MinorMr. Sir is a mean, antagonist camp manager. His cruel and sarcastic comments
include reminding the campers that Camp Green Lake is not a “Girl Scout Camp.” He
controls the boys by withholding water or privileges.
Mr. Pendanski , the camp counselor, seems nice at first, but reveals his mean spirit
when he belittles Zero.
The Warden runs the camp with threats and rewards. Her lack of concern for others is
shown when she scratches Mr. Sir with rattlesnake venom. She is the granddaughter of
Charles and Linda Walker, and although she tells the boys that they are digging holes to
“build character,” she really wants to uncover the treasure that her ancestors never
found.
X-Ray, Magnet, Armpit, Squid, and Zigzag are the other members of Group D at
camp. There is an established order to the group, with X-Ray on the top of the ladder
and Zero on the bottom rung. They also use rewards and threats as controls for others.
Elya Yelnats is Stanley’s “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather.”
When he was 15, he broke a promise to Madame Zeroni and this has caused the bad
luck of the Yelnats in the generations that followed.
Practice Question
How would the plot be different without Elya Yelnats? (written response)
Madame Zeroni, a one footed gypsy who gave Elya Yelnats a pig so that he could win
the hand of the girl he loved. When Elya broke his promise to carry her up the mountain
to drink, Madame Zeroni cursed the Yelnats family. The curse is broken when Stanley
befriends Hector Zeroni, carries him up the mountain, and helps him survive.
Katherine Barlow was the schoolteacher in the town of Green Lake one hundred years
ago. She was kind appreciative woman known for her spiced peaches. When she
kissed a black man named Sam, the townspeople murdered him and burned down the
school. In her sorrow she became an outlaw known as Kissin’ Kate Barlow, and she
robbed Stanley’s great-great grandfather. Her preserved peaches were found by Zero
under the remains of Sam’s boat in the middle of dried up Green Lake.
Sam, the onion man, grew and sold onions in the town of Green Lake. He also repaired
the school house for Katherine. When she fell in love with Sam and was seen kissing
him , the townspeople reacted with a lynching and killed Sam.
Charles “Trout” Walker was a wealthy arrogant man who thought he could have
anything he wanted, including Katherine. When she rejected him, he led the lynching of
Sam.
Stanley Yelnats I was Stanley’s great grandfather, who was robbed by Kissin’ Kate
Barlow. He climbed God’s Thumb and survived there until he was rescued.
R8.B.1.1.1 Setting:
(Ch.1) The novel takes place at a boys’ juvenile detention center situated in the dried up
bed of a fictional lake in Texas. Most of the story is set in contemporary time around the
end of the 1990”s. There are flashbacks to the town of Green Lake, which existed one
hundred ten years earlier before the lake dried up (See Flashbacks under R8.B.2.1.1).
There are also flashbacks to a village in Latvia in the mid-1800’s (See Ch.7).
Practice Question
What details from the setting cause Zero to eat the tainted peaches? Give at least two
pieces of evidence. (Chapter 35)
R8.B.1.1.1 Plot:
Protagonist, Stanley is the character around whose ordeals the story is centered.
Holes shows how Stanley overcomes his problems, both internal and external (curse
and Camp Green Lake). Antagonist, The severe conditions and hard people at Camp
Green Lake are both adversaries. Stanley struggles to first survive, then later to defeat
the injustices at Camp Green Lake. He fulfills his destiny and breaks the family curse
through befriending Zero.
Climax, Fellow campers resent Zero digging part of Stanley’s hole, so the stress
increases. As a result, a fight occurs that causes Zero to run away. Stanley is then
forced to take a stand, and the climax occurs when he attempts to steal the water truck,
but ends up running away to find Zero. Outcome, Stanley does find Zero, and he
proves his friendship to Zero by carrying him up the mountain where they survive on
“God’s Thumb”. After recovering, they return to Camp Green Lake to look for Kissin’
Kate Barlow’s treasure to aid their escape. The friendship endures when Stanley
refuses to leave Camp Green Lake without Zero.
Practice Question
Explain a main conflict in the novel and how it is resolved. Give at least two examples to
support your explanation. (Students may choose either the harshness of the
environment at Camp Green Lake and its people vs. Stanley or the Yelnats family’s
“bad Luck” because of the curse.)
*R8.B.1.1.1 Theme:
1. History--the past affects the present – The events of the past 100 fifty
years have set the stage for a Yelnats and Zeroni to meet again. Each time a
Yelnats is at the wrong place at the wrong time, a fateful
turn of events makes it the right place at the right time (Ch. 2), Stanley is sent to
Camp Green Lake and in (Ch. 5), he meets Zero. (Ch. 7), In a flashback, readers
learn about the disillusioned Elya, Stanley’s great-great grandfather who made
an unintentional mistake not taking Madame Zeroni up the mountain before
leaving Latvia. This flashback introduces the three themes of Holes, the impact
of fate and history on everyday life, the value of friendship, and the compassion
for victims of social injustice that readers gain from not judging people based on
first impressions.)
2. One cannot escape one’s fate: At the beginning of the novel, bits of
information about the past are given a little at a time. (Chs. 37-39), The
conclusion to Zero’s story about stealing Clyde Livingston’s shoes
demonstrates that is was beyond coincidence that a Yelnats and Zeroni were
brought together. It is this incident that allows the curse to be broken. (Ch. 39),
The pieces of history are coming together and the story moves faster. Stanley
finds Sam’s onion field where the water runs uphill. The puzzle is almost
complete. A descendent of Elya Yelnats has carried a descendent of Madame
Zeroni up the mountain to a place where the water runs uphill and has
sung the pig lullaby to him. Stanley has completed the promise that Elya had
made so long ago.)
Practice Question
How did the author develop the theme of not escaping one’s fate? (Madame Zeroni’s
curse) Use examples from the passage to support your ideas.
Stanley’s inventor father has not been successful. He blames the lack of success on
“bad luck” from a curse that his great-great grandfather caused by not keeping a
promise to Madame Zeroni 100 years earlier.
The Yelnets curse continues in the present as Stanley is convicted of a crime that he
did not commit.
3. Friendship develops through unselfish acts:
(Ch. 21), When Stanley must go with Mr. Sir to see the warden, Zero digs
Stanley’s hole for him. (Chs. 36-41, After Zero runs away, Stanley follows, and
the friendship blossoms as they help each other without concern for personal
benefit or safety.
4. First impressions may be deceiving:
In Holes, characters who are introduced with negative connotations evoke
sympathy once the reader learns their backgrounds. Stanley’s no-good-dirtyrotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather was actually a sincere man who was
treated insensitively and inadvertently broke a promise. He was not a thief.
Kissin’ Kate Barlow, first introduced as a murderous outlaw, was a sweet loving
school teacher whose life was destroyed by the cruelty and violence of the
townspeople. Though she becomes a criminal, the reader is sympathetic to her
pain. Even Stanley and Zero are at first introduced as bad boys who have
been sent to a detention center, but once again the false first impression that
gains them society’s injustice, for ex. The inability to read signifies stupidity, or
that if you tell the truth you will be treated fairly, are challenged once the victim’s
stories are revealed.
Practice Question
How did the author develop the theme of first impressions may be deceiving? Give at
least two examples.
The name “Camp Green Lake” is deceiving because it is a detention center—not a
camp as Stanley imagined , and it is anything but green. Ch. 1. “During the summer
the daytime temperature hovers around 95 degrees in the shade—if you can find any
shade. . . . The warden owns the shade.”
Ch. 5. “Mr. Pendanski” appears nice and helpful, telling Stanley that ‘ . . .Everyone
makes mistakes. You may have done some bad things, but that doesn’t mean you’re a
bad kid.’ Here Mr. Pendanski appears helpful. But when Zero appears Mr. Pendanski’s
true character is revealed when he says, “‘You know why his name is Zero?” asked Mr.
Pendanski. ‘Because there’s nothing inside his head.’ He smiled and playfully shook
Zero;s shoulder.”
R11.B.1.1.1 Tone, Style, Mood:
There is a mood of hardship and confusion in Holes. For example, Stanley does not
know from where the sneakers came, what will happen to him at Camp Green Lake, or
why he must suffer a miscarriage of justice. His great, great grandfather, Elya Yelnats
does not realize how mindless Myra is, and it crushes him. Zero accepts taunting and
cruelty for campers, prison staff, including the counselor who do not know why he is so
quiet or how intelligent he is. Katherine Barlow does not realize how harshly the
townspeople will react to the kiss, but the results are ruinous. Each of these characters
are bewildered by the actions of others. The reader always has more information than
the characters because of the shifts in time sequences, thus intensifying the mood of
confusion.
Practice Question
How does giving the reader more information than the characters have help create
confusion in the characters reactions to events happening in the story? Good examples
would be Stanley’s reaction to being convicted although he is innocent. Why does he
think of his great-great grandfather while he is digging his first hole? What does Kate
Barlow become an outlaw? What did each character not understand?
R11.B.1.1.1 Symbolism/ Motif:
1. Holes, The boys dig holes at Camp Green Lake, there is a hole in Stanley’s
life before Camp Green Lake, and there are holes in the story that the reader must fill in
as the plot develops.
2. The dual character names show two sides to each character. Stanley’s “no-gooddirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather” is called simply Stanley’s’ “great-great
grandfather” after it is explained that he was not really a thief. The sweet sounding
name, “Miss Katherine” changes to the dangerous sounding “Kissin’ Kate Barlow” when
her lifestyle changes form school teacher to outlaw.
All of the boys in Group D have real names that “society will recognize them by” and
their bad boy nicknames that they insist on being called at Camp Green Lake.
The narrator, however, continues to refer to Stanley as “Stanley” rather than
“Caveman”, and that sets Stanley apart from the other boys. The narrator’s intended
view of each character is reflected in the character’s names.
3. Onions, the onions represent goodness. The onions provide healing and good will,
not only in the flashbacks with Sam; but when Stanley and Zero find them on God’s
Thumb, they are key to their survival. They help Zero heal and protect Stanley and
Zero from the yellow-spotted lizards.
4. The landscape is a motif. The dry dusty conditions at Camp Green Lake affects all
the characters. The longer they are in such harsh conditions, the more likely they are to
commit violence. When the Warden insists on extra digging with no results, she
eventually strikes Armpit with a pitchfork. Zigzag strikes Stanley in frustration with a
shovel because Zero has been helping Stanley dig holes. Mr. Sir and Mr. Pendanski are
willing to have Stanley and Zero die to get the treasure.
R8.B.1.2.1 Connections between texts
R8.B.2.1.1 Similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, satire, imagery,
foreshadowing, flashbacks, and irony:
Ch. 1. Irony, “There is no lake at Camp Green Lake.”
Ch. 3. Flashback, “if only, if only”, Foreshadowing, Kissin’ Kate Barlow, and
Irony, “Welcome to Camp Green Lake.”
Ch.5. Irony, “respect” as used by Mr. Pendanski
Ch.6. Flashback, “Back at school . . .”
Ch. 7. Simile, “Myra’s head is as empty as a flowerpot.” Flashbacks, Story of
Stanley’s great-great grandfather, Elya Yelnats
Ch. 9. Foreshadowing, Zero asks Stanley, “Did the shoes have red X’s on the
back?
Ch. 13. Foreshadowing, Stanley finds a tube with the letters KB etched inside a
heart while digging his hole.
Ch. 26. Direct Address, “You make the decision: Whom did God punish?”
R8.B.2.1.2 Author’s purpose for and effectiveness of using figurative language in
text:
(See R8.B.2.1.1)
R8.B.2.2.1 Point of view: The narrator is omniscient and moves between present and
past intertwining the stories.
R8.B.2.2.2 Effectiveness of the point of view used by the author: The combination
and intertwining of the stories of Stanley Yelnats, Elya Yelnats, Kissin Kate Barlow,
Madame Zeroni and Zero Zeroni create a mystery-puzzle which is not resolved until
almost the end of the book. This creates the feeling that fate is at work in Stanley’s life.
The past is told in fable form. Modern Day is narrated through Stanley’s actions and
thoughts. Near the middle (Ch. 26) of the novel, the narrator begins to directly address
the reader to make decisions about who was punished and tells readers to (Ch.50) “fill
in the holes yourself.” All the above makes readers have to think about how the pieces
fit together in a very effective manner.
Additional Notes:
Interviews with Louis Sachar-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vUpO5cgZ1w
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/louis-sachar-interview-transcript
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/15/books/review/sachar-interview.html