He regularly taunts and berates zero, and jokes that the holes could be graves for stanley and zero. Xray and the other boys dont like the fact that zero is helping dig stanleys holes. Sir and stanley took the rap, so he has been taken to the wardens cabin to be punished. There once was a very large lake here, the largest lake in texas. The film was produced by walden media and released by walt disney pictures. See our topranked characters and read their profiles. Stanley yelnats iv is a goodhearted teenager born to a luckless family who have been cursed for hundreds of. How do these three stories fit together within the larger story of holes.
In truth, zero is very smart, although he has never been taught how to read. Stanley yelnats, zero, xray, squid, magnet, armpit, zigzag, warden, kate barlow, sam. Stanley yelnats, overweight, lonely, and poor, has been arrested for a crime he didnt commit, and hes on a bus headed for camp green lake. Basically, its a place for kids who have committed crimes. The main conflict in the book holes was that stanley was sent to prison for something he did not do, and it was resolved when he helped shut down camp green lake and found out zero took the shoes. She placed a curse on stanley yelnats family, because his socalled nogooddirtyrottenpig. Mar 03, 2012 this is one of several powerpoint lessons that i have uploaded on the novel holes by louis sacher, ready to teach with its resources if aplicable. I thought the most interesting part of the book holes was when stanley and zero discovered the kate barlows chest in the hole, but started getting covered in yellow spotted lizards. There are several clues in the novel that suggest zero has mixed feelings about digging holes. Heres a good rule to remember about rattlesnakes and scorpions.
Zero tuesday july 8th 1973 the hot blazing sun was hitting me on the neck, i could feel its rays burning my skin all i could think of was water but i didnt want to drink out of my canteen just yet. Stanley yelnats caveman is the main character of holes. Vocabulary from louis sachars holes vocabulary list. Zero comes to stanleys aid with an intense display of street fighting. Also, this makes stanley rethink his decision to teach zero to read. Characterization of stanley yelnats holes stanley yelnats is the main character of the novel holes, written by louis sachar in 1998.
She placed a curse on stanley yelnats family, because his socalled nogooddirtyrottenpigstealinggreatgreat. Zero is the greatgreatgreatgrandson of madame zeroni, the woman who put a curse on stanleys family. He is the latest in a line of family members who are. The subplots are talltale motifs that provide explanations about incidents involving previous yelnats generations that significantly impact stanleys life as well as the lives of others. The main character is a fifthgeneration stanley yelnats. Medal, the national book award, the school library journal best book of the year all for holes, and more than 30 individual state awards for the best book of the year, all voted upon by the children in the respective states. In summary, the bargain was that if madame zeroni would give elya a pig so he. Out on the lake, rattlesnakes and scorpions find shade under rocks and in the holes dug by the campers. He beats zigzag up when he sees him in a fight with stanley. Stanley yelnats is the main protagonist in the young adult novel holes, written by louis sachar and published in 1998. The main conflict in the book holes was that stanley was sent to prison for something he did not do, and it was resolved when he helped shut down. The character of zerohector zeroni in holes from litcharts the. Zero s real name is hector zeroni, but he has been called zero for most of his life. As the story evolves, more of zero is discovered, and he is not who he once appeared to be.
Holes is a 1998 young adult novel written by louis sachar and first published by farrar, straus. Winner of the newbery medal and the national book award. At the end of the book, hector is reunited with his mother again, and she is. Sir gets recognized as marion sevillo, zigzag says marion, gee, i didnt know that was a mans name mr. Zero is very thankful about this and i think this is very good for their friendship.
Stanley finds zero under an overturned and abandoned boat, eating the decadesold leftovers of the peaches that katherine barlow loved to make. This can then be used as a scaffold to form a more detailed written analysis of. Zero is the best digger and generally thought to be stupid by the counselors and the other boys. Stanley yelnats is the main character in the book holes by louis sachar. Stanley is falsely accused of stealing a pair of celebrityowned tennis shoes that were donated to a childrens. She is a mysterious and shady character during the first half of the book. Towards the end of the book we learn that the one who actually stole the shoes, which stanley is accused of stealing, is zero.
Zeros greatgreatgrandmother was madame zeroni, who put a curse on generations of the. This can then be used as a scaffold to form a more detailed written analysis of stanley yelnats character. Holes activities holes parts of the story holes by louis sachar stanley yelnats holes book s t o r y in a small village in latvia during the. I think it was luck that stanley found in the wasteland to zero. A character description of stanley yelnats education. Hes black and is often scowling and angry looking, though stanley notices that when zero smiles, his. Zero hector zeroni stanleys best friend, who was the real culprit in stealing clyde livingstons shoes. For a main character in holes, there is little known about zero. When you spend your whole life living in a hole, the only way you can go is up.
Being bitten by a scorpion or even a rattlesnake is not the worst thing that can happen to you. So i think the reason why zero is so protective of stanley is the pressure of conscience. He soon creates a friendship with zero khleo thomas, whose real name is hector zeroni, while teaching him to read. Zero dug stanleys hole because stanley didnt steal the seeds and he didnt steal the shoes that put him at camp green lake. They can be taught together to reach an assessment outcome but all are suitable as standalone exploratory lessons. You can also use any of these questions as writing prompts. Zero has a share in the novels happy ending, as he receives half the treasure and is able to find and reunite with his mother. The relationship between zero and stanley holesbyvanessa. What is the description of the characters in the book holes. The power of his friendship with zero helps stanley discover his own courage.
The two help each other to reach the top of a big mountain, which turns out to be sams old onion field. Holes is a 1998 young adult novel written by louis sachar and first published by farrar, straus and giroux. So i think the reason why zero is so protective of stanley is the pressure of. The character of zerohector zeroni in holes from litcharts. Almost everybody thinks he is a stupid boy which he is not. The one thing i have learned out here at camp green lake was that i need to ration out my water so i dont past out from dehydration. Character analysis hector zeroni he is the most interesting character of the book. In what ways is the saying you cant judge a book by its cover a good one for this story. Despite all the adversity that he has faced, zero knows that he is smart. Zero physically attacks zigzag to get him to stop beating up stanley. S t o r y in a small village in latvia during the 1800s, lived the great great grandfather of stanley yelnats iv, named elya yelnats.
He is overweight and is accustomed to having bad luck. Stanley teaches zero to read in return for zero digging part of stanleys holes. Overview camper at a juvenile detention facility out in the desert. Zero eventually runs away from camp and stanley, in an effort to save him, follows after a few days.
Stanley goes after him and they survive the desert together, cementing their friendship. He is the latest in a line of family members who are goodhearted and wellmeaning, but. Although stanley and zero, also known as hector zeroni, do not know it, hector is the great greatgreatgrandson of madame zeroni. When you spend your whole life living in a hole, he said, the only way you can go is up. As the story evolves, more of zero is discovered, and he is not who he once. When the group hazes stanley for letting zero dig part of his holes, mr. The reader learns that zero is the greatgreatgreatgrandson of madame zeroni, the gypsy that cursed stanleys greatgreatgrandfather, and it is through the boys. The second is the tale of stanleys greatgreatgrandfather and the curse put on him by madame zeroni. What is the main conflict in the book holes and how. Pendanski is complicit in destroying zeros records. He insists that zero has nothing to offer, is unable to learn, and is only good for digging holes. In louis sachars book holes, hectors nickname is zero. According to most of the characters in the book, zero is a big fat zero.
In louis sachars novel holes, why does zero like digging. Holes book summary sachar writes the humorous plot of holes in a straightforward manner. Students connect the characteristics describing stanley yelnats to their correct quotation from the novel. This is one of several powerpoint lessons that i have uploaded on the novel holes by louis sacher, ready to teach with its resources if aplicable. He attributes this bad luck to his nogooddirtyrottenpigstealinggreat. She runs camp green lake with rewards and threats, showing no concern for the suffering of others. The ridicule zero bears at camp green lake eventually becomes too much and zero runs away. Although, you will wish to adapt and differentiate for your own class. Zero is an orphan and when stanley carried zero up gods thumb, stanley unknowingly broke the yelnats family curse, because zero is a descendant of madame zeroni. Stanley agrees to help zero learn to read if zero who is an excellent holedigger will help dig stanleys hole for an hour every day. Everyone in holes seems to be convinced that zero is a real nothing of a kid. He had never spoken to the others, until stanley came to the camp, thats reason why he is called zero by the others.
Zero eventually runs away from the camp, and a couple of days later stanley steals the water truck and drives a short way before crashing the truck and following zero on foot. His real name is hector zeroni and his nickname is zero. Okay, maybe thats obvious, but its also a key part of the story, so well take a look. When stanley asked the reason why zero took stanleys hole over, zero said that stanley wasnt guilty and so he dug up his hole. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one.
Stanley has to go to camp green lake, a juvenile correctional facility in the desert of texas, because he is wrongly accused for stealing the sneakers of the famous baseball player clyde sweet. Holes the story of elya yelnats storyboard by rebeccaray. And we can all take a brief moment and appreciate how the movie is one of the best adaptations of this story ever. Stanley is slowly accepted into the group and is given the name caveman. After reading holes, use these questions to start a discussion with your students about the book. Literally no other book in the universe is quite like it. When problems arise, zero escapes from camp, and shortly after, stanley too, leaves the relative safety of camp green lake, and eventually finds zero, near dead from exhaustion and exposure. There he got the nickname zero due to the fact that he was assumed unintelligent, and may have been related to his last name. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office.
Holes begins with a description of camp green lake, a juvenile detention facility in texas. Sir comes by with the water truck and fills stanleys canteen with water. Holes is a 2003 liveaction film directed by andrew davis and screenplay adapted by louis sachar, whose original novel of the same name it was based on, with shia labeouf as the lead role of stanley yelnats. I also thought it was interesting because it got intense when the yellow spotted lizards covered the boys because i wanted to know if they were going to get. When the book starts, he is overweight and passive. Pendanski encourages a fist fight between stanley and zigzag that gets out of hand. Holes summary buy study guide stanley yelnats iv is an overweight teenage boy from a poor family, whose future fortune depends on his inventor father discovering the secret to curing bad foot odor.
In an early scene, stanley notices that despite being the smallest boy at the camp, zero is the. Hectors greatgreatgreat grandmother, madame zeroni was an egyptian. The book holes talks about in adventure for stanley as he meets a boy named zero who he helps throughout the book. Stanley is falsely accused of stealing a pair of celebrityowned tennis shoes that were donated to a childrens orphanage, so he is sent to an allboys juvenile. Although, you will wish to adapt and differentiate for your. Stanley, the protagonist of holes, is a dynamic character. Louis says he had a wonderful first experience in hollywood much better than he ever could have imagined. At camp green lake, everyone gets a nickname, and hector zeroni gets tagged with zero. Zero has not had much of an education so he does not know how to read or write. Zeros real name is hector zeroni, but he has been called zero for most of his life.
Stanley is on his way to a boys juvenile detention centre which is called camp green lake. Stanley, the protagonist of the novel, is a friendless, selfconscious, overweight. I want to tell you about the most interesting characterwell, i think so in holes. Read about how this protagonist overcomes his familys curse and learns more about himself at the same time. Holes is a popular book by author louis sachar that has won several awards. Stanley must dig a hole everyday even saturday and sunday, breakfast is at 4. The warden she is the embodiment of cruel authority. The holes quotes below are all either spoken by zerohector zeroni or refer to zerohector zeroni. Holes is about a kid named stanley yelnats, who has been mistaken for a crime that he did not commit. The book holes by louis sachar is a well written book. He changes during the course of the novel due to the influence and effect of his experiences and actions. It features a boy named stanley and his journey to find answers about the holes he has to dig. The inmates, known by their nicknames, include zero who refuses to speak to anyone, but likes to dig holes, armpit, zigzag, squid, xray and magnet.
Pendanski, in particular, mocks and belittles zero at every turn. Xray rex washburn the unofficial leader of group d at camp green lake. The name is a false description, as the area is a parched, barren desert. Zero is the novels deuteragonist, the character second in importance. What is the physical description of zero in the book holes. The third story is of kissin kate barlow, the outlaw who robbed stanleys greatgrandfather. He has been homeless for most of his life, and his mother abandoned or lost him when he was still small.
1355 317 676 218 493 1265 73 410 1527 102 1487 1368 1134 1056 960 1038 844 694 1149 401 1249 605 287 1009 1409 1383 796 631 860 454 15 507 347 536 313 1384 1488 817