Student Question

What are the parallel stories in Holes by Louis Sachar?

Quick answer:

The parallel stories in Holes are: Stanley Yelnats IV's present-day experiences at Camp Green Lake; the history of Green Lake involving Katherine Barlow, Sam, and Charles Walker, which explains the town's abandonment; and Elya Yelnats's story in Latvia, where failing to fulfill a promise to Madame Zeroni leads to the Yelnats family curse, affecting Stanley's fate.

Expert Answers

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There are really three parallel stories happening in the book. The first is the one happening in the present day involving Stanley Yelnats IV. His story revolves around getting charged with stealing a pair of shoes and then being sent to Camp Green Lake instead of prison. He grows a great deal while there and becomes a true hero when he shows both courage and compassion in rescuing Zero.

The second story is the story of Green Lake itself. Once upon a time, the town teacher, Katherine Barlow, was pursued by two men. The first was Sam, an African American man who sold onions and folk medicines to the town. The second was a spoiled son of the richest family in Green Lake, Charles Walker. When he is spurned by Katherine, he engineers the killing of Sam which causes the rain to stop falling and the lake to dry up which leads to the town being abandoned. Katherine becomes a bandit, "Kissin' Kate Barlow" who connects herself to Stanley's story by stealing a fortune from Stanley Yelnats I.

The third story is that of Elya Yelnats in Latvia. He promises to carry the wise gypsy woman Madame Zeroni up the mountain in exchange for her advice. Her advice proves brilliant and he finds great success but then forgets to follow through on his promise so she curses the family. This curse is what caused Stanley Yelnats I to lose his fortune to Kate and Stanley IV to get sent to Camp Green Lake.

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