Analytical Essay On Holes By Louis Sachar

In the novel Holes, Louis Sachar establishes Stanley’s improvement from the beginning of the novel to the end, including the changes in his confidence and character. Being bullied is tough and even though Derrick Dunne is bullying Stanley at the beginning, Stanley finds himself happier at camp green lake with his fellow campers. Renamed Caveman, he finally feels as though he finally fits in somewhere because they acknowledge him as one of them by giving him a nickname like the ones the others have. Eventually the peace between all the campers come to an end, and Zero takes off, leaving his canteen behind leaving Stanley to contemplate where his loyalties stand. So in the end, Stanley makes a brave, but possibly stupid choice, of stealing the

When Zero dug Stanley’s hole, something changed he’d been sincere to others in his tent, even though they were being blunt to him. When he started teaching Zero.

“I’ll teach you how to write if you want.” pg. 96 This quote shows that Stanley is willing to teach Zero after he digs his hole for him, and feels he should do something for him. “I just reached into the glass and took them.” pg. 184 “I was walking home when the sneakers fell from the sky.” pg. 23 Zero changed Stanley's life because he took the shoes from the homeless shelter and threw them over the overpass it hit Stanley causing the cops to think he stole them. When he went to Camp Green Lake, a lot of parts in his life changed. His family's fortune and the curse that has been with his family for centuries was removed too. This all happened because of Hector Zeroni (Zero). Stanley changes a lot in the novel, but how he is, in the end, is a whole lot different from the

When Zero asked Stanley to teach him how to read or write, Stanley rejected it. He needed to “save his energy for the people who counted.” But later on, he did decide to teach him- in exchange for Zero digging half of his hole. When Zero ran away from Camp Green Lake, Stanley followed him (and crashed Mr. Sir’s truck), because he was worried. This led up to Stanley fulfilling Madam Zeroni’s wish and carried him up the mountain.

He is a very dominating: he overpowers his timid wife, Stella, constantly, to keep her from leaving him. He is very proud of his American heritage, several times referencing to his being in the United States Army and is enraged when Blanche calls him "common," or a "Polack." He seems incapable of refinement, and does everything whole-heartedly: he claims to love Stella thoroughly and hates Blanche vehemently. Stanley is honest to the point of brutality, and he does not care about offending others. Further, He even brags to Mitch about raping Blanche. He despises Blanche because they are opposites. His hatred of Blanche is so great that he rapes her, causing her final mental breakdown.

Stanley’s rugged, unsophisticated, and not very wealthy. Some would even say he’s barbaric and comes across as a brute. His personality resembles the likes of a hardworking, middle class man, that’s

He also stands up for himself and his fellow friends. He used to be very careful before he spoke because he did not wanted to create trouble. “I’m not looking for trouble,” Stanley said. “I’m just tired that’s all.” (page 44), “He nervously went towards her. “Mr. Pendanski and I have been having a discussion. Have you taken a drink since Mr. Pendanski last filled your canteen?” Stanley didn’t want to cause trouble for Mr Pendanski. “I still got plenty left.” he said. “Excuse me.” He stopped. “Yeah, I drank some.” “Thank you. May I see your canteen please.” (page 67). As it mentions in the novel clearly that he was not looking for any trouble and that he did not want to cause any trouble for anyone because at that time he did not know how to stand up for yourself and continue growing. But later on, he gets to know everyone a little better. So he decided to show everyone the real him. “He went over to his hole, and to his surprise it was nearly finished. He stared at it, amazed. It didn’t make sense. Or perhaps it did. He smiled. Since he had taken the blame for the sunflower seeds, he realized the other boys had dug his hole for him. (page 94) “I’m teaching him to read and write.” said Stanley. “It’s sort of a trade. The hole still gets dug, so what does it matter who digs it.” “Excuse me?” said the Warden. “Isn’t it more important for him to learn to read” asked Stanley. “Doesn’t

Have you ever been blamed for something you didn’t do? That’s exactly the situation Stanley Yelnats found himself in, in Louis Sachar’s Holes. In Holes, Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake, a correctional facility for troubled youth. Camp Green Lake is in the middle of nowhere, dry, and desolated. Throughout the book, Stanley is faced with many challenges, that he must overcome to survive, and escape Camp Green Lake. Holes has a strong theme of courage, it shows Stanley surviving, escaping, and overcoming the camp’s conditions, and his family’s curse.

aggression of Stanley (who is based on his father). His father- similar to Stanley- was very

When he has his parties, he does not consider anyone else feelings. When Blanche and Stella tried to listen to music on the radio, he demanded they turn it off, when they did not he throw it out the window. He walks around as if he is great but really, he is not. Stanley did not have a lot of money. His family lives in a house that is not very attractive.

All three of the main characters do not want to accept the truth and have the covet to live in an allusion to hide the past from everyone including themselves. Stanley does not like when Blanche questions his manhood and nationality by calling him a Polack; which he takes very offensively. Stanley has had enough of Blanche and yells at her, “But what I am is a one hundred percent American” (110). Stanley has pride in his native land and when Blanche downgrades him, he takes those remarks she makes to heart. He wants to dominate and use his

Stanley’s actions are intense and mostly uncalled for, Stanley is heavily motivated by the past and

“And as long as he’d come this far, he might as well look for Zero” (p.33). Squid, a member from his camp, asks Stanley if he could talk to his mother for him. Squid wrote his mother’s phone number on a piece of paper and asked Stanley to call his mum and tell her that he was sorry. Stanley promised he would (p.221). When the curse had been finished of the no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing great-great-grandfather, Stanley lived a normal life and it was good.

It is not always about what is on the outside but what is on the inside. He has always been loving and caring but through this rough time in his life it is shown a lot. He shows this side to his family and also his new friends. After Stanley was done taking the blame for the spilt sunflower seeds and zero digging Stanley’s hole for him, Stanley showed Zero he cared for him; he agreed to teach him to read. “I’ll try to teach you to read if you want,” Stanley offered. “I don’t know how to teach, but I’m not worn-out today, since you dug a lot of my hole.” (Sachar, 96.) Stanley was grateful for what Zero had done for him and wanted to repay the favor and help him out as well. When Stanley left for camp his mom gave him pen and paper so he could write her and tell her how it was going. By writing to his mom and telling her that he was okay, even though he lied about what he was doing he showed he cared for his parents. “Dear Mom and Dad, Camp is hard, but challenging. We’ve been running obstacle courses, and have to swim long distances on the lake. Tomorrow we learn” (Sachar, 81.) As the story comes to an end Stanley really cares about Zero and refuses to leave camp without him. He gets his lawyer to ask for files and after the Attorney General could not find his files they took Zero home with them. “C’mon Stanley,” said his lawyer. “Your parents are waiting.” Stanley stayed where he was.”

A year later, his father remarried a woman from “hell” and she was one of the reasons why Stanley became destructive. She was selfish and only cared for her and her seven children. She physically and emotionally abused Stanley by severely beating him many times and blaming him for senseless things. She also neglected him and his two other siblings while she gave her children the best of everything with Stanley’s father money. For example, his stepmother would save food and feed her own children and let Stanley and his siblings