They must labor away at a single seemingly pointless task for months on end, and that task is one intimately connected with the landscape around them. For each of the major characters, ancestry affects their surroundings, decisions, and even day-to-day life. Chapter 1, Hiram's Hospital—Chapter 2, The Barchester Reformer, Chapter 3, The Bishop of Barchester—Chapter 4, Hiram's Beadsmen, Chapter 5, Dr. Grantly Visits the Hospital—Chapter 6, The Warden's Tea-Party, Chapter 7, The Jupiter—Chapter 8, Plumstead Episcopi, Chapter 9, The Conference—Chapter 10, Tribulation, Chapter 11, Iphigenia—Chapter 12, Mr. Although there is an element of uncertainty regarding whether the curse - and thus the characters' destinies - are real, the narrator clearly suggests that they are real and explain some of the fantastic coincidences in the novel. Friendship is something that is lacking from Stanley's life at the beginning of the novel. Young people tend to have less power and control than their elders - therefore parent/child and teacher/student relationships are explored routinely in young adult fiction. The desert landscape is the backdrop for the bulk of the present-day narration, and Sachar's detailed description of the desert is highly effective in transporting the reader to the location of the action. It is interesting to note that even though Elya Yelnats does not break the promise out of malice - in his disappointment and anger, he simply forgets to carry Madame Zeroni up the hill - he and his descendants must still be punished for this thoughtlessness. Tom Towers sees his office at the Jupiter (which is another name for Zeus, the Greek king of gods) as Mount Olympus, as though ordinary mortals can not enter, and he sees himself as a god, shaping the reality of all the people. When he follows Zero into the desert and helps his friend navigate the dangers of the wasteland, Stanley's loyalty, resilience, and perseverance are pushed to their very limits, and he becomes a better person and a better friend. Some of the series of events in the novel are highly improbable, and Stanley is right when he recognizes that they are "more than a coincidence" (187). Stanley’s life, just like the lives of his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, is clearly hampered by a promise his distant ancestor failed to keep. The conflicts of the past are of such consequence that they have the ability to seemingly transcend time itself by continuing through the generations and steering the destiny of the characters in the present-day narrative. Her power is derived partly from her ownership of the land on which the camp is built, partly from the authority vested in her by the state legal system, and partly from the fact that she controls the resources within the camp.
Henry Holloway, a Church reformer and vicar of St Faith's Church, Winchester, into the finances of the Hospital of St Cross, Winchester, and the income derived by the institution's Master, Francis North, 5th Earl of Guilford. When Stanley manages to atone for past sins, he does so by accident. He has developed the skill of putting himself in Zero's shoes, thinking about his own fears or struggles and "realiz[ing] that that was how Zero must have felt" (195). It is interesting that Trollope makes repeated references to Greek Gods and Goddesses, since the story is about members of a different religion.
After trekking through the desert, Stanley discovers an oasis on top of a mountain - and by carrying Zero up this mountain, he is able to break his age-old family curse.
When Stanley arrives at Camp Green Lake, he is a mostly passive character who does what is asked of him and doesn't disrupt the status quo: for most of Part One, he doesn't stand up to Mr. Sir or to X-Ray's manipulation. The Stanley we meet at the beginning of the novel may be an unlikely hero - overweight and bullied - but by the end there is no question that he is the underdog hero of Holes, affecting and bettering not only his life, but the lives of Zero, the Yelnats family, and all the boys at Camp Green Lake when the brutal work camp is finally shut down. For the first half of the novel, the Warden is a cool, composed, and seemingly unbeatable figure of authoritarian tyranny. The landscape, although it appears immutable and eternally hostile, is actually changeable. The Warden's power is challenged at the end of Part Two, of course, when her superior (the Attorney General) appears, with Stanley's belligerent lawyer in tow.
Initially, he begins to toughen up mentally and physically as he digs more and more holes; his hands go from soft to calloused and he loses weight.
Sachar makes a point of noting in the very first chapter that "[t]he Warden owns the shade" (3). The Warden is well aware of her power, and uses it to her advantage, following her selfish motivations to sometimes abusive extremes.
They must labor away at a single seemingly pointless task for months on end, and that task is one intimately connected with the landscape around them. For each of the major characters, ancestry affects their surroundings, decisions, and even day-to-day life. Chapter 1, Hiram's Hospital—Chapter 2, The Barchester Reformer, Chapter 3, The Bishop of Barchester—Chapter 4, Hiram's Beadsmen, Chapter 5, Dr. Grantly Visits the Hospital—Chapter 6, The Warden's Tea-Party, Chapter 7, The Jupiter—Chapter 8, Plumstead Episcopi, Chapter 9, The Conference—Chapter 10, Tribulation, Chapter 11, Iphigenia—Chapter 12, Mr. Although there is an element of uncertainty regarding whether the curse - and thus the characters' destinies - are real, the narrator clearly suggests that they are real and explain some of the fantastic coincidences in the novel. Friendship is something that is lacking from Stanley's life at the beginning of the novel. Young people tend to have less power and control than their elders - therefore parent/child and teacher/student relationships are explored routinely in young adult fiction. The desert landscape is the backdrop for the bulk of the present-day narration, and Sachar's detailed description of the desert is highly effective in transporting the reader to the location of the action. It is interesting to note that even though Elya Yelnats does not break the promise out of malice - in his disappointment and anger, he simply forgets to carry Madame Zeroni up the hill - he and his descendants must still be punished for this thoughtlessness. Tom Towers sees his office at the Jupiter (which is another name for Zeus, the Greek king of gods) as Mount Olympus, as though ordinary mortals can not enter, and he sees himself as a god, shaping the reality of all the people. When he follows Zero into the desert and helps his friend navigate the dangers of the wasteland, Stanley's loyalty, resilience, and perseverance are pushed to their very limits, and he becomes a better person and a better friend. Some of the series of events in the novel are highly improbable, and Stanley is right when he recognizes that they are "more than a coincidence" (187). Stanley’s life, just like the lives of his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, is clearly hampered by a promise his distant ancestor failed to keep. The conflicts of the past are of such consequence that they have the ability to seemingly transcend time itself by continuing through the generations and steering the destiny of the characters in the present-day narrative. Her power is derived partly from her ownership of the land on which the camp is built, partly from the authority vested in her by the state legal system, and partly from the fact that she controls the resources within the camp.
Henry Holloway, a Church reformer and vicar of St Faith's Church, Winchester, into the finances of the Hospital of St Cross, Winchester, and the income derived by the institution's Master, Francis North, 5th Earl of Guilford. When Stanley manages to atone for past sins, he does so by accident. He has developed the skill of putting himself in Zero's shoes, thinking about his own fears or struggles and "realiz[ing] that that was how Zero must have felt" (195). It is interesting that Trollope makes repeated references to Greek Gods and Goddesses, since the story is about members of a different religion.
After trekking through the desert, Stanley discovers an oasis on top of a mountain - and by carrying Zero up this mountain, he is able to break his age-old family curse.
When Stanley arrives at Camp Green Lake, he is a mostly passive character who does what is asked of him and doesn't disrupt the status quo: for most of Part One, he doesn't stand up to Mr. Sir or to X-Ray's manipulation. The Stanley we meet at the beginning of the novel may be an unlikely hero - overweight and bullied - but by the end there is no question that he is the underdog hero of Holes, affecting and bettering not only his life, but the lives of Zero, the Yelnats family, and all the boys at Camp Green Lake when the brutal work camp is finally shut down. For the first half of the novel, the Warden is a cool, composed, and seemingly unbeatable figure of authoritarian tyranny. The landscape, although it appears immutable and eternally hostile, is actually changeable. The Warden's power is challenged at the end of Part Two, of course, when her superior (the Attorney General) appears, with Stanley's belligerent lawyer in tow.
Initially, he begins to toughen up mentally and physically as he digs more and more holes; his hands go from soft to calloused and he loses weight.
Sachar makes a point of noting in the very first chapter that "[t]he Warden owns the shade" (3). The Warden is well aware of her power, and uses it to her advantage, following her selfish motivations to sometimes abusive extremes.
This mental and physical hardiness in extreme conditions is impressive, and Stanley is pleased with himself: on top of God's Thumb he reflects on how far he has come and how he "like[s] himself now" (186). The counselors and the Warden need never experience thirst, hunger, or sunburn, since they have access to all the resources at the camp; this is why the air conditioning in the Warden's cabin is a huge status symbol in the context of Camp Green Lake.
They must labor away at a single seemingly pointless task for months on end, and that task is one intimately connected with the landscape around them. For each of the major characters, ancestry affects their surroundings, decisions, and even day-to-day life. Chapter 1, Hiram's Hospital—Chapter 2, The Barchester Reformer, Chapter 3, The Bishop of Barchester—Chapter 4, Hiram's Beadsmen, Chapter 5, Dr. Grantly Visits the Hospital—Chapter 6, The Warden's Tea-Party, Chapter 7, The Jupiter—Chapter 8, Plumstead Episcopi, Chapter 9, The Conference—Chapter 10, Tribulation, Chapter 11, Iphigenia—Chapter 12, Mr. Although there is an element of uncertainty regarding whether the curse - and thus the characters' destinies - are real, the narrator clearly suggests that they are real and explain some of the fantastic coincidences in the novel. Friendship is something that is lacking from Stanley's life at the beginning of the novel. Young people tend to have less power and control than their elders - therefore parent/child and teacher/student relationships are explored routinely in young adult fiction. The desert landscape is the backdrop for the bulk of the present-day narration, and Sachar's detailed description of the desert is highly effective in transporting the reader to the location of the action. It is interesting to note that even though Elya Yelnats does not break the promise out of malice - in his disappointment and anger, he simply forgets to carry Madame Zeroni up the hill - he and his descendants must still be punished for this thoughtlessness. Tom Towers sees his office at the Jupiter (which is another name for Zeus, the Greek king of gods) as Mount Olympus, as though ordinary mortals can not enter, and he sees himself as a god, shaping the reality of all the people. When he follows Zero into the desert and helps his friend navigate the dangers of the wasteland, Stanley's loyalty, resilience, and perseverance are pushed to their very limits, and he becomes a better person and a better friend. Some of the series of events in the novel are highly improbable, and Stanley is right when he recognizes that they are "more than a coincidence" (187). Stanley’s life, just like the lives of his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, is clearly hampered by a promise his distant ancestor failed to keep. The conflicts of the past are of such consequence that they have the ability to seemingly transcend time itself by continuing through the generations and steering the destiny of the characters in the present-day narrative. Her power is derived partly from her ownership of the land on which the camp is built, partly from the authority vested in her by the state legal system, and partly from the fact that she controls the resources within the camp.
Henry Holloway, a Church reformer and vicar of St Faith's Church, Winchester, into the finances of the Hospital of St Cross, Winchester, and the income derived by the institution's Master, Francis North, 5th Earl of Guilford. When Stanley manages to atone for past sins, he does so by accident. He has developed the skill of putting himself in Zero's shoes, thinking about his own fears or struggles and "realiz[ing] that that was how Zero must have felt" (195). It is interesting that Trollope makes repeated references to Greek Gods and Goddesses, since the story is about members of a different religion.
After trekking through the desert, Stanley discovers an oasis on top of a mountain - and by carrying Zero up this mountain, he is able to break his age-old family curse.
When Stanley arrives at Camp Green Lake, he is a mostly passive character who does what is asked of him and doesn't disrupt the status quo: for most of Part One, he doesn't stand up to Mr. Sir or to X-Ray's manipulation. The Stanley we meet at the beginning of the novel may be an unlikely hero - overweight and bullied - but by the end there is no question that he is the underdog hero of Holes, affecting and bettering not only his life, but the lives of Zero, the Yelnats family, and all the boys at Camp Green Lake when the brutal work camp is finally shut down. For the first half of the novel, the Warden is a cool, composed, and seemingly unbeatable figure of authoritarian tyranny. The landscape, although it appears immutable and eternally hostile, is actually changeable. The Warden's power is challenged at the end of Part Two, of course, when her superior (the Attorney General) appears, with Stanley's belligerent lawyer in tow.
Initially, he begins to toughen up mentally and physically as he digs more and more holes; his hands go from soft to calloused and he loses weight.
Sachar makes a point of noting in the very first chapter that "[t]he Warden owns the shade" (3). The Warden is well aware of her power, and uses it to her advantage, following her selfish motivations to sometimes abusive extremes.
