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Stanley's discoveries in Holes

Summary:

In Louis Sachar's Holes, Stanley Yelnats makes several key discoveries at Camp Green Lake. Initially, he finds a gold tube, likely a lipstick case belonging to Kissin' Kate Barlow. Later, Stanley realizes the camp's true purpose is to find Barlow's treasure. With Zero, he discovers a suitcase containing jewels and bonds, reversing his family's bad luck. Additionally, after falling into a gully, Stanley finds water and onions, aiding their survival on God's Thumb.

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What does Stanley discover at the end of chapter 22 in Holes?

Holes is a novel written by Louis Sachar. This novel is about a young man named Stanley Yelnats and his experience at a place called Camp Green Lake, which is a detention facility where boys are sent after committing a crime. Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake for a crime he does not actually commit, stealing a pair of shoes that belonged to a famous baseball player.

In chapter 22 of the novel, Stanley discovers that the gold tube he found while digging in chapter thirteen is potentially a tube of lipstick. The Warden of the camp, a red-headed lady who makes her own fingernail polish out of snake venom, has been adamant that the boys dig vigorously in search of something. Stanley understands that this gold tube might be the entire reason the boys are digging holes. He initially notices that the tube has the initials KB...

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inscribed on the bottom, and he wonders if this tube is actually lipstick that could have belonged to a lady named Kissin’ Kate Barlow.

If this is the case, Stanley understands that this is a huge discovery. Miss Katherine Barlow was a teacher who lived on Green Lake. She was in love with a man named Sam, which angered other people of the town because of Sam’s race.

Throughout the novel, many discoveries are made, and the lives of the characters prove to be intertwined.

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In Holes, what surprising discovery does Stanley make at Camp Green Lake?

In Camp Green Lake, the juveniles are required to dig holes five feet deep and five feet wide to "build character." After Stanley runs away from Camp Green Lake to save Zero, the two boys end up surviving on God's Thumb, where they eat Sam's magical healing onions.

After their brief respite, Stanley learns that Zero was the person who stole Clyde Livingston's shoes and that they were required to dig holes in order to find Kissin' Kate Barlow's buried treasure. The boys decide to travel back to the camp to dig up the treasure without the Warden or any of the counselors spotting them.

When they return to the camp at night, they dig up a suitcase, which surprisingly has Stanley Yelnats's name written on the side. Although the Warden catches them, the Attorney General arrives along with Stanley's attorney and both boys get to leave Camp Green Lake with the suitcase. When Stanley finally opens the suitcase, he is surprised to find stock certificates, deeds of trust, and promissory notes which make him and Zero rich.

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Louis Sachar's Holes tells the story of 14-year-old Stanley Yelnats, whose family has been cursed with bad luck for generations. This curse manifests in Stanley's life when he is accused of stealing a pair of shoes donated to an orphanage by a famous basketball player. He is found guilty and sent to a juvenile detention center called Camp Green Lake, which is located in the middle of a desert. Part of Stanley's punishment is being required to dig one hole, five feet wide and five feet deep, every day.

Stanley's surprise comes when he realizes that the counselors require him to dig holes not to "build character," as they claim, but because they are looking for something in particular. When he and his friend Zero leave the camp, they find the treasure and Stanley realizes it was stolen from the same great-great grandfather that started the curse on his family. The treasure is a collection of jewels and bonds, which Stanley and Zero share to help their families.

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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 is not the most surprising thing. Perhaps the most surprising is the revelation of his own family’s history.

At the end of the novel, Stanley finds a suitcase full of treasure, worth quite a large sum of money. This trunk belonged to his ancestor, who had become wealthy in America only to have his money stolen and lost in the middle of the former lake, Green Lake. Generations of his family would be cursed with bad luck until a member ritually carried Madame Zeroni (or her descendant, Hector) to the tip of a mountain. When Stanley completes this task inadvertently, their fortunes are reversed, and Stanley discovers the treasure, unraveling the thread of his family history.

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In Holes, what two discoveries does Stanley make after falling into the gully?

After tumbling into the gully, Stanley finds water and an onion.

In chapter 38, Stanley and Zero continue climbing the mountain. During the exhausting climb, Stanley notices a large stone precipice ahead. He makes his way towards it but never reaches it. Instead, he falls into what appears to be a gully.

Inside the gully, Stanley notices that the ground is muddy. He is initially distressed at his predicament but soon cheers up. He concludes that there must be water in the gully, since water is needed to turn soil into mud.

So, Stanley begins digging into the soil with his hands. The more he digs, the more water fills up in the hole he has dug. Eventually, Stanley manages to dig a hole as deep as the length of his arm.

Both boys drink the water, and Stanley continues widening the hole. He soon discovers a round, smooth object hidden in the mud. When Stanley wipes the dirt off the object, he sees that it is an onion. Stanley then proceeds to eat half of the onion. He gives the other half to Zero.

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