Holes By Louis Sachar: Character Analysis

For every positive or negative action, there is an equal reaction. In the novel Holes by Louis Sachar, protagonist Stanley Yelnats undergoes an arduous journey brought about by the actions of his ancestors. Because of the karma of the Yelnats family, the Walker family, and Hector Zeroni, Stanley Yelnats IV fulfills his destiny of going to Camp Green Lake and bringing his family out of poverty. To begin, Stanley’s superstitious beliefs, fostered by his family’s stories of an alleged curse, influences Stanley to follow his ancestors towards his destiny. Elya Yelnats, Stanley’s great-great-grandfather, breaking of a promise to a certain Madam Zeroni is the origin of the Yelnats’ alleged family curse of eternal bad luck. A Yelnats family associated with the family curse is of Stanley Yelnats I, who was robbed of his fortune and stranded in the middle of the desert. Stanley I proclaims he found refuge on “God’s Thumb,” but does not give any further details to his survival. When Stanley Yelnats IV is stranded in the same desert 100 years later, he chooses to travel to a thumb-shaped mountain for safety rather than a known point of civilization. Elya and Stanley I’s stories have instilled in Stanley …show more content…
The jealousy of the Walker family towards the outlaw, Kissin’ Kate Barlow’s spoils from her career of bank robbing led the family to spend their lives digging holes in the desert where Barlow supposedly hid the spoils. When Ms. Walker began a juvenile detention camp to continue the search 100 year after its inception, Stanley IV is sent there. Only in that camp that the Walkers established could Stanley IV have the chance to find the treasure that would bring his family out of poverty. The Walker family jealousy, and subsequent organization into a disciplinary camp guided Stanley IV into his fate of bringing his family out of