Holes

Stanley's friends give him the nickname "Caveman" during an incident in the "wreck room" on the second day of camp. Stanley trips over a boy called the Lump when the Lump has his foot outstretched,...

While external conflicts like the Yelnats family curse and Stanley's false accusation are certainly important elements of Louis Sachar's novel Holes, the primary conflict of the story is actually...

Stanley "Caveman" Yelnats and Zero are first and foremost bound by the crime for which Stanley is doing time at Camp Green Lake. Stanley is wrongfully accused of stealing a pair of sneakers—shoes...

The primary themes of Holes are justice, friendship, and integrity. Justice When Stanley is arrested for allegedly stealing the shoes, he expects justice. Instead, justice is much longer coming. We...

Stanley Yelnats is arrested for a crime he did not commit. His family blames their bad luck on the person they refer to as "Stanley's no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather"...

Stanley Yelnats, the main character in Holes by Louis Sachar, possesses many character traits. Here are five of them: Stanley has a strong belief that his family is chronically unlucky, and...

Mr. Pedanski says that digging holes is supposed to build character. Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake for stealing a famous ball player’s shoes. They actually fell on his head. It was an...

Stanley lied in order to spare his mother pain and worry. In the story, we learn that Stanley has been sent away to a camp for "bad boys." At Camp Green Lake Juvenile Correctional Facility, Mr. Sir...

Stanley knows that the gold tube is a lipstick tube because he remembers his mother’s lipstick tubes. Stanley recognizes the tube as a lipstick tube when he remembers that he has seen lipstick...

In the book Holes, we are introduced to Stanley, a young boy sent to a camp after being charged with a crime he didn't commit. The book takes us on an emotional journey of heartache, gypsy curses,...

The warden called Stanley by his nickname, Caveman. All of the boys are called by nicknames instead of their real names at Camp Green Lake. The warden is less interested in the boys’ development...

X-Ray got his nickname because he wore glasses. He claims he can see through people. X-Ray wore glasses, which were quite dirty and so thick it seemed to Stanley that he could barely see through...

Sam says that onions can cure everything. Sam is known as “the onion man.” He claims that his donkey Mary Lou is fifty years old, and her old age and good health are a result of eating onions....

Stanley Yelnats, the main character of Holes, experiences all of these types of conflict through the novel. This is just one example of each type of conflict, but there are many other examples in...

The answer to this question can be found in chapter 40 of the book. The chapter starts out in the present with Stanley digging up a root. We are not told what the root is, but the flashback that...

X-Ray tells Stanley to give him the tube because he has been there longest and deserves a day off. As unofficial leader, X-Ray seems to have a lot of power over the group. For example, he chooses...

Elya told Myra to choose Igor because she did not really love him, and she proved self-centered. In the past, there is the story of Elya Yelnats and Myra Menke. Elya is in love with Myra. So is...

The Yelnats' family curse was originally placed on their "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather" by Madame Zeroni. The curse is a bad luck curse. The Yelnats family consistently...

The Warden in Holes is a truly fearsome individual. A nasty, egomaniacal control freak and bully, she simply will not tolerate any challenge to her authority, however minor. A particularly stark...

In chapter thirty, tensions peak when Zigzag and the other boys begin bullying Stanley for allowing Zero to dig part of his hole. When things turn physical and Zigzag begins to beat Stanley, Zero...

Stanley is surprised to see his hole mostly dug for him. Stanley was sent to Camp Green Lake juvenile detention center for supposedly stealing an athlete’s shoes. He actually found them (they...

The book Holes, by Louis Sachar, tells the story of 14-year-old Stanley Yelnats, whose family has been cursed with bad luck for generations. The curse began when his great-great-grandfather, Elya...

Stanley learns Zigzag has harbored a grudge and can be violent. All of the boys at Camp Green Lake go by nicknames. The nicknames are generally not flattering. Stanley’s nickname is Caveman....

In Louis Sachar's novel Holes, Stanley Yelnats' family explains its consistent bad luck by the curse placed on his "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather" by Madam Zeroni for...

In Chapter 7 of Louis Sachar's Holes, we learn that Stanley's great-great-grandfather Elya Yelnats was taught to sing a lullaby to the pig the gypsy woman gave him to carry. As a result of a...

Mr. Pendanski's behavior in regard to Zero is completely contrary to his usual demeanor as the camp counselor. While he treats the other boys with at least some compassion and respect, he seems...

After taking the blame for eating Mr. Sir's sunflower seeds, Stanley returns from his uncomfortable visit with the Warden to find that his hole has already been finished for him. He notices that...

In chapter five, Stanley Yelnats is introduced to the other juvenile delinquents serving time in Camp Green Lake. There are six large gray tents at Camp Green Lake that are labeled A through F. The...

Sachar mainly uses a third-person point of view in writing Holes. This means that the narrator of the story isn't part of the action and can tell us everything that's going on, including what's...

Stanley finds out many surprising things during his stay at Camp Green Lake. He learns that the true purpose of the camp is to search for buried treasure in order to make the Warden rich, but this...

In chapter seven, Stanley Yelnats digs his first hole, which is supposed to measure five feet deep and five feet across. Well before Stanley finishes digging his hole, the other boys finish their...

In chapter 30, Zigzag and the other boys begin picking on Stanley because Zero has been digging his holes in exchange for reading lessons. On Zigzag's birthday, he becomes increasingly hard on...

In Chapter 33, Stanley has left camp and is walking through the desert, looking for Zero. No one follows Stanley, and he debates turning back but decides to keep going in the hopes of finding his...

After Zero runs away the Warden decides not to notify anyone. Because Zero is a ward of the state, and has no legal guardians, she assumes no one will come looking for him if he dies out in the...

Squid is the nickname of one of the boys who has been sent to Camp Green Lake after being found guilty of committing a felony. He is one of the first two boys Mr. Pendanski introduces to Stanley...

Despite being an unruly bunch of young tearaways, the boys of D tent are remarkably well-ordered when it comes to lining up for water. This is all the more remarkable given the searing desert heat...

This book which is often studied in English class seems to effectively combine a series of different genres to create a compelling read. As a young adult book, there is of course the genre of the...

Over the course of his long stay at Camp Green Lake, Stanley has toughened up in many different ways. As well as developing physical toughness, he's also developed something of a hard heart. You'd...

Camp Greenlake has only one rule: Whatever you do, DO NOT UPSET THE WARDEN!!When Stanley Yelnats is first sentenced to time at Camp Green Lake, his expectations are fair. He rationalizes his...

In chapter 15, X-Ray acts like he's suddenly found a small gold tube, and Mr. Pendanski drives back to the camp to inform the Warden of X-Ray's discovery. When the Warden arrives, she briefly...

In the novel Holes, by Louis Sachar, God is called on to mete out punishment to Katherine and Sam, two characters in the back story. Sam is an African American man and Katherine is a white American...

There are several clues in the novel that suggest Zero has mixed feelings about digging holes. In an early scene, Stanley notices that despite being the smallest boy at the camp, Zero is the...

In the book Holes by Louis Sachar, Stanley Yelnats is a young man who has been sent off to a sort-of detention facility with dozens of other young men. Part of the punishment for those at the...

A palindrome is a word or phrase that means the same thing written either right to left or left to right. For instance, the word "racecar" is a palindrome. If you spell it bacwards, it's still...

Zero may not be over-endowed in the brains department, but this boy sure knows how to dig a hole. The cruel Mr. Pendanski says that's all he'll ever be good for, and though that's an unfair...

Louis Sachar make Stanley a wonderfully dynamic character in his book Holes. While Stanley's changes might not surprise experienced readers, his changes are still fun to witness. When we first meet...

Truth be told, there aren't a whole lot of similarities between X-Ray and Stanley. One is Black, the other white; one is short, the other quite tall. One has been at Camp Green Lake for a while...

I assume you are referring to the scene in which the Warden hits Mr. Sir and scratches him with her nails coated in varnish containing rattlesnake venom. Stanley does not get punished for stealing...

The curse you are referring to is first placed when Elya Yelnats seeks help from Madame Zeroni in order to win the love of an incompetent local girl, Myra Menke. Zeroni tells Elya to carry a piglet...

Stanley, or Stanley Yelnats IV, to give him his full name, lives in California. As he tells us himself, his great-grandfather—the first Stanley Yelnats—lost his fortune on his way out west from New...