[英文]Holes: Evaluation Paper

Summary:
Stanley is just a regular kid until he is found responsible for a crime he didn't commit. We learn about a curse that has been in his family for several generations. His bad luck lands Stanley in a very strange correctional camp in the Texas desert. The warden has all the inmates digging holes in a dry lake bed. The story weaves interesting tall tales from local history and Stanley's family. The relationships among the juveniles in the camp are interesting to follow. Stanley finds a good friend, treasure, and learns to like himself.

Evaluation Paper:
Write a two-page evaluation paper on Holes. Your paper must try to answer the following questions.
(1) Do you like the ending of the story? Why or why not?
Do you think the ending is satisfying or convincing? Why or why not? (60%)
(2) How does the novel elaborate the concept of destiny?
Consider how the past events and characters are related to one another. Is it a coincidence that Stanley goes to the Camp or is it the operation of Destiny that he is doomed to be there? (40%)

Holes Q/A:
Why do you think book's lead character, Stanley Yelnats, connects with so many children? Stanley isn't a hero-type. He's a kind of pathetic kid who feels like he has no friends, feels like his life is cursed. And I think everyone can identify with that in one way or another. And then there's the fact that here he is, a kid who isn't a hero, but he lifts himself up and becomes one. I think readers can imagine themselves rising with Stanley.

More HOLES Q/A:http://www.louissachar.com/HolesBook.htm
SparkNotes:http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/holes/
Author Website:http://www.louissachar.com/
Related Website:http://eduscapes.com/newbery/99a.htm
Dig It-From the Disney movie "Holes":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybjSSExktzI

Evaluation Paper: Holes

Most of the Chinese believe in destiny. And it is one of the important ideas in Holes. Stanley Yelnats, the leading character who was fat and timid, followed the fate at the beginning. But after he got in Camp Green Lake, he started developed his self confidence by the friendship of Hector Zeroni. In the end, he beat the fate and relived his family curse. But is it all because the destiny?
In the story, Stanley was constantly bullied at school, and his inventor father never succeeded. Life seemed more miserable when he found a pair of shoes on the sidewalk and was sent to Camp Green Lake. But he made his new friends, Hector. When Hector was abandoned in the desert, he became brave. It was the first time he didn’t accept his fate. He ran away from the lake to save his friend. He took Hector to the Big Thumb Mountain. Things became much better after they reached the hilltop and drank the water, just like Stanley’s great-great-grand father had promised Madame Zeroni. After they reached the hilltop and drank the water there, his father invented a product that eliminates foot odor, and the onions on the hilltop helped him get the treasure under the lake. It seemed like the operation of destiny. But it isn’t about destiny. It’s because Stanley himself.
I thought Stanley and his family were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But this time, Stanley was in the right place at the right time. It was not arranged at first. Because if Stanley didn’t pay attention on his grandfather’ story, if he didn’t keep curious on the Warden and the tube he had found, if he didn’t cherish the friendship between Hector and he, if he didn’t try to rescue Hector or give up halfway, he wouldn’t have a chance to break away from his miserable life.
I like the ending just I like the whole story. Thought it was a little pity that we don’t know the denouement of other boys. Stanley’s and Hector’s happy ending is an encouragement to make me believe that if you try, life would be much better, or not. But, anyhow, you can’t just sit there and complain without having a go.
The ending is convincing because the author has explained all the causes and results. Why the Warden made children in Camp Green Lake dig holes instead of doing other things; why the yellow-spotted lizard didn’t bite Stanley and Hector; why Stanley’s forefather didn’t die in the desert after robbed by Kissin’ Kate Barlow. Although Stanley's family had had bad luck for generations, all of the unlucky events helped Stanley and Hector in some way. Everything happened for a reason. So I think the story is completely finished and it doesn’t need a sequel.
Sometimes life seems really fatal, having no alternative, just like the past of Yelnats. But look, Stanley and his father still try and try and try. Finally the author gives them a happy ending. In a real life, we are our own author. And we can absolutely write a happy ending for ourselves.