Holes Louis Sachar

Story Elements Title: Holes Author: Louis Sachar Type of Work: Novel Author’s Purpose: Entertain Genre: Fiction-Mystery; folk tale; adventure Narrator: 3 rd Omniscient Protagonist: Stanley Yelnats

Setting setting (time) · Most of the story takes place at the end of the 20th century but there are flashbacks to the late 19th century and to the mid 19th century. setting (place) · Most of the story takes place on Green Lake, in Texas. This place is described as it was in the late 19th and late 20th centuries. There are also brief flashbacks to scenes in Latvia in the mid to late 19th century.

Vocabulary Chapter perseverance 2.desolate 3.preposterous 4.intensity 5.engraved 6.paranoid 7.evict 8.callused 9.refuge 10.concoctions

perseverance perseverance-steady persistence, insistence, determination, dedication, commitment, endurance Page 8 - Stanley's father was an inventor. To be a successful inventor you need three things: intelligence, perseverance, and just a little bit of luck. Stanley's father was smart and had a lot of perseverance. Once he started a project he would work on it for years, often going days without sleep. he just never had any luck.

desolate desolate - Devoid of inhabitants; deserted, abandoned, bare, empty, godforsaken, isolated, lonely, solitary, uninhabited, unoccupied, unused, vacant, wild Page 11 - The land was barren and desolate. He could see a few rundown buildings and some tents.

preposterous preposterous - so devoid of wisdom or good sense as to be laughable, absurd, crazy, excessive, extreme, far out, foolish, harebrained, insane, irrational, laughable, loony, ludicrous, nonsensical, outrageous, ridiculous, senseless, silly, stupid, unreasonable, unthinkable, wacky Page 34 - "Why not let Myra decide?" suggested Elya. "That's preposterous!" exclaimed Igor, expelling saliva as he spoke. "Myra is just an empty-headed girl," said her father. "How can she possibly decide, when I, her father, can't?"

intensity intensity - exceptionally great concentration, power, or force, acuteness, anxiety, deepness, depth, earnestness, emotion, emphasis, intenseness, keenness, magnitude, might Page 47- Zero stared at him for a moment, with the same intensity with which he had been staring at the letter.

engraved engraved - carved, cut out, or etched into a material, blocked out, depicted, etched, marked out, sketched Page 62 - "It looks like an old shotgun shell," said Squid. "Yeah, that's probably what it is," said Stanley. He decided not to mention the engraved design. Maybe nobody would notice it. He doubted X- Ray could see it.

paranoid paranoid - exhibiting or characterized by extreme and irrational fear or distrust of others, unglued, unhinged, unsettled, schizophrenic Page 71 - "She watches us all the time," said Zigzag. "She's got hidden cameras all over the place. In the tents, the Wreck Room, the shower.“ "The shower?" asked Stanley. He wondered if Zigzag was just being paranoid.

evict evict - To put out (a tenant, for example) by legal process; expel, throw out, remove, dislodge, put out, eject Page 75 - The landlord is threatening to evict us because of the odor.

callused callused -To form or develop such hardened tissue, coarse, rough Page 80 - His muscles had strengthened, and his hands were tough and callused.

refuge refuge - A place providing protection or shelter, retreat, sanctuary, security, resting place Page 93 - When he was asked how he lived so long, he said he "found refuge on God's thumb."

concoctions concoctions - the act of creating something by mixing raw materials, mixture, preparation, compound Page They would get regular medicine from Doc Hawthorn and onion concoctions from Sam. After they got over their illness, no one could be sure, not even Doc Hawthorn, which of the two treatments had done the trick.

Characters introduced in Chapter 5 Adults at Camp Green Lake Mr. Sirthe: guard - wears a cowboy hat and eats sunflower seeds Mr. Pedanskithe: counselor - almost bald, beard, sunburned nose, nicknamed Mom Warden:

Characters introduced in Chapter 5 Campers from Tent D Lewis: Barf Bag, the boy who slept in the bed before Stanley Rex: X-Ray, black, wears glasses Alan: Squid, white José: Magnet, Hispanic Theodore: Armpit, black Ricky: Zigzag, white Zero: Zero,black

Vocabulary Ch drenched 2. delirious 3. deftly 4. ventilation 5. protruding 6. contritely 7. inexplicable 8. pronounced 9. authenticated 10. incarcerated

drenched drenched -wet through and through; soaked, saturated, soaked to the skin, dripping wet, sopping wet, sodden Page The air became unbearably humid. Stanley was drenched in sweat. Beads of moisture ran down the handle of his shovel. It was almost as if the temperature had gotten so hot that the air itself was sweating.

delirious delirious -having a delirium; wandering in mind, light-headed, insane, raving, wild, hallucinating, confused Page No one ever knew what he meant by that. He was delirious when he said it.

deftly deftly - Quickly and skillfully, adroitly, precisely, nimbly, dexterously, precisely Page He popped some sunflower seeds in his mouth, deftly chewed them, and spat out the shells.

ventilation ventilation - To admit fresh air into (a mine, for example) to replace stale or noxious air, freshening Page There were enough cracks and holes in the bottom of the boat, now the roof, to provide light and ventilation.

protruding protruding - jutting out, projecting, extending beyond, overhanging Page Stanley cupped his hands together, and Zero stepped on his interwoven fingers. He was able to lift Zero high enough for him to grab the protruding slab of rock.

contritely contritely - Feeling regret and sorrow for one's sins or offenses; penitently, remorsefully, regretfully, apologetically, ashamedly Page "It made my husband and me sick as well," said Mrs. Tennyson, "but it nearly killed Becca, what with her being so young. Sam saved her life." "It wasn't me," said Sam. "It was the onions." "I'm glad Becca's all right," Hattie said contritely.

inexplicable inexplicable - Not explicable; not explainable; incapable of being explained, interpreted, or accounted for; as, an inexplicable mystery, incomprehensible, unfathomable, strange, baffling, puzzling, perplexing, curious Page Instead he tried to recapture the feelings he'd had the night before - the inexplicable feeling of happiness, the sense of destiny. But those feelings didn't return

pronounced pronounced - Strongly marked; distinct, definite, obvious, well-defined, evident, prominent Page As the dirt chipped and flaked away, the hard object became more pronounced.

authenticated authenticated - To establish the authenticity of; prove genuine, authentic, real, valid, legitimate, legal Page "She didn't have proper authorization," and the Warden. "I had a court order!" "It was not authenticated," the Warden said. "Authenticated? It was signed by the judge who sentenced him." "I needed authentication from the Attorney General," said the Warden. "How do I know it Legitimate? The boys in my custody have proven themselves dangerous to society..... "

incarcerated incarcerated - put into jail, locked up, confined, caged Page The Attorney General stared at her. "He was obviously incarcerated for a reason."