Stanley's Fateful Journey
Louis Sachar's novel Holes details a young man’s journey to find himself. Stanley Yelnats, a likable yet unlucky young man, finds himself convicted of a crime he did not commit and sentenced to 18 months at Camp Green Lake where “if you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy” (Sachar 5). Stanley arrives at camp, weak in both mind and body, to serve his time. Through facing many trials, Stanley ultimately finds that he has become strong enough to trek through a desert, outwit the criminal warden while solving a hundred-year-old mystery, and save the life of his best friend.
When asked how he ended up at Camp Green Lake, Stanley blames his “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather” (Sachar 57). Mr. Pendanski, the camp counselor, corrected him: “You’re the reason you are here. You're responsible for yourself. You messed up your life, and it's up to you to fix it. No one else is going to do it for you— for any of you" (Sachar 58). Stanley found himself contemplating the role of fate and destiny in his life; both are major themes through the story. He considers the role destiny has played in his arrival at Camp Green Lake. He was found guilty of a crime he did not commit and incarcerated with Zero, the great grandson of the Gypsy, who allegedly placed a curse on his family a hundred years ago. The boys realize Zero was guilty of the crime for which Stanley was convicted. Stanley ends up saving Zero’s life, while they search for and find the lost riches of Stanley’s no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. In the end, Stanley is sure that these events are more than coincidence.
Holes was written with a classic plot structure called the Hero’s Journey. Alex Cabal writes that this structure “allows a writer to tell a story that focuses on personal transformation and psychological development of a protagonist, through their overcoming great adversity to complete a quest”. Joseph Campbell, an American writer, professor, and mythologist developed a theory on the Monomyth (also known as the Hero’s Journey) and the tale of the hero archetype in stories. Campbell identified seventeen stages of this structure, which he divided into three acts (Mohr). Modern writers have condensed Campbells original seventeen stages to eight, (Ionescu).
Campbell describes the journey: “[the hero] ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered, and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man” (Mohr). In this description, Campbell defines the three acts of the monomyth: departure, initiation, and return. In Holes, the reader sees Stanley leave his family for camp, face trials including saving his best friends life, find a lost treasure, take down an evil camp warden and her two henchmen, and return home to his family having overcome great odds in doing so.
By the end of the book, Stanley has grown from a weak, bullied boy, content with accepting the bad luck and fate thrust upon him by a century old curse, to a strong, capable, and wily young man, who exudes the confidence of realizing that he can do hard things and succeed.
Ionescu, Iulian. “Why the Hero’s journey is Critical for Character Development.” Iulian Ionescu: Writing. Thinking. Living. 9SEPT21 https://iulianionescu.com/blog/the-hero-s-journey/
Mohr, Jacob. “Exploring the Monomyth: 6 Lessons from Joseph Campbell’s Theory of “The Hero’s Journey.” TCK Publishing. https://www.tckpublishing.com/joseph-campbell-monomyth-heros-journey/
Sacher, Louis. Holes. 1998
When asked how he ended up at Camp Green Lake, Stanley blames his “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather” (Sachar 57). Mr. Pendanski, the camp counselor, corrected him: “You’re the reason you are here. You're responsible for yourself. You messed up your life, and it's up to you to fix it. No one else is going to do it for you— for any of you" (Sachar 58). Stanley found himself contemplating the role of fate and destiny in his life; both are major themes through the story. He considers the role destiny has played in his arrival at Camp Green Lake. He was found guilty of a crime he did not commit and incarcerated with Zero, the great grandson of the Gypsy, who allegedly placed a curse on his family a hundred years ago. The boys realize Zero was guilty of the crime for which Stanley was convicted. Stanley ends up saving Zero’s life, while they search for and find the lost riches of Stanley’s no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. In the end, Stanley is sure that these events are more than coincidence.
Holes was written with a classic plot structure called the Hero’s Journey. Alex Cabal writes that this structure “allows a writer to tell a story that focuses on personal transformation and psychological development of a protagonist, through their overcoming great adversity to complete a quest”. Joseph Campbell, an American writer, professor, and mythologist developed a theory on the Monomyth (also known as the Hero’s Journey) and the tale of the hero archetype in stories. Campbell identified seventeen stages of this structure, which he divided into three acts (Mohr). Modern writers have condensed Campbells original seventeen stages to eight, (Ionescu).
Condensed Monomyth Structure
Campbell describes the journey: “[the hero] ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered, and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man” (Mohr). In this description, Campbell defines the three acts of the monomyth: departure, initiation, and return. In Holes, the reader sees Stanley leave his family for camp, face trials including saving his best friends life, find a lost treasure, take down an evil camp warden and her two henchmen, and return home to his family having overcome great odds in doing so.
By the end of the book, Stanley has grown from a weak, bullied boy, content with accepting the bad luck and fate thrust upon him by a century old curse, to a strong, capable, and wily young man, who exudes the confidence of realizing that he can do hard things and succeed.
Works Cited
Ionescu, Iulian. “Why the Hero’s journey is Critical for Character Development.” Iulian Ionescu: Writing. Thinking. Living. 9SEPT21 https://iulianionescu.com/blog/the-hero-s-journey/
Mohr, Jacob. “Exploring the Monomyth: 6 Lessons from Joseph Campbell’s Theory of “The Hero’s Journey.” TCK Publishing. https://www.tckpublishing.com/joseph-campbell-monomyth-heros-journey/
Sacher, Louis. Holes. 1998
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