This comparative essay will tell you all about the story Holes. This essay will also compare and contrast the book and movie which will be examined very closely for its not all so suvtle differences. One may ask, why is the name of the story “Holes?” Well, in which I would say the story has received such a name from the complex storyline included treasure, robbery, (Digging!) and most importantly action! The complex storyline in which is usually used as the plot involves a juvenile detention camp for delinquents and is an alternative for jail time. The name of such center is Camp Green Lake. This camp is located in a once mainstream local town now dried out abandoned now used as a juvenile discipline center.
So basically the once lively town has since been reverted. The staff of the establishment includes but is not limited to: The counselor of Stanley’s tent is Mr. Pendanski. The secondary counselor is known as Mr.
Sir although at the end of the movie his name is exposed as Mary. The warden (Mrs. Walker) is the highest ranked staff member. Also, the main character of Holes is Stanley Yelnats IV.
His later gained friend, Zero, and the rest of the group which includes Armpit, Zigzag, X-ray, Squid, and finally Magnet. I will now present a basic summary of the plot. Stanley one day was casually walking on the sidewalk when all of the sudden shoes fell on his head from a highway that crossed the road from above. He got arrested for “stealing” and was taken to court. Here he was given a choice of either going to jail or Camp Green Lake and he chose Camp Green Lake.
He meets Zero and they become friends and eventually run away separately then find each other. They climb a mountain once climbed by Stanley’s ancestor. They live off of onions and muddy water. They return to camp and dig up treasure that belonged to a deadly famous lizard known as the Yellow-Spotted Lizard which is notorious for giving a slow and painful death. Their attorney arrives and takes Stanley and Zero because they had no records of them and shut down camp.
Stanley splits the loot with Hector or Zero and receive four million dollars in the movie. In the book it is a little bit under a million. There is many enjoyable scenes of Holes both similar and different between the book and the movie. One similar scene is when Zero ran away, the next day Stanley steals the water truck then crashes it in a further away hole and runs to get Zero.
He finds him under a small boat and is sleeping or tired. They consume old peaches that Zero has named Sploosh. They consume the rest of it so Stanley strongly suggests returning to camp. A scene different is when Kissi’n Kate Barllow hides the loot. Kate decides to commit suicide by grabbing a nearby Yellow-Spotted Lizard and it extracts venom into her arm.
That was the movie and in the book they torture Kate by making her walk barefoot until she relinquishes the information of the location of the loot. Then in both Trout has his family dig and this all happened 110 years ago. I liked the same scene of running away and thought it was pretty cool. I also liked the different scene in the way that I liked the movie better.
I like how it showed how the Lizards have been around awhile. It also gives this dark scary almost vibe intriguing the dark feel. Both of these scenes are great additions to the storyline. In my opinion the movie does make it better. That is not the only set of a similarity and differences. There is some more that are very interesting indeed.
Furthermore, here is the first similarity. One scene that is the same is when Zero starts to pass out and tumble down the mountain. Then Stanley retreats to running downhill and saves him then continues to carry him uphill. One scene that was different was when Stanley and Zero find the treasure finally.
They went back to dig for it. In the book, the treasure is a suitcase. In the movie, the treasure is a chest. The similar scene was good and I am definitely glad Stanley noticed. The different scene was better in the movie because I liked the raise in money and the idea of finding a chest was more interesting and intrigued my creativity about what could be contained.
Finally for some of the last facts of similarities and differences. One more similarity is when Zero admits to stealing the shoes and breaking under pressure when he heard the police so he threw the shoes off of the overhang highway and hit Stanley on the head coincidentally. They also both got arrested a few days later. Very interesting addition to the production and rising action of the story.
A difference between the book and the movie is the amount of money. The book says they received a bit under a million dollars when in the movie they got multiple million dollars. The scene that was the same was enjoyable and I liked it. The different scene is better in the book because a suitcase is more realistic and had also a more accurate amount of currency.
This is important because personally I enjoy a realistic story that could happen because I like to be able to relate in some ways. It is just a lot better to read something legitimately could happen. It’s more interesting to hear something that could happen and it makes you wonder if anything similar has happened. Now there is some scenes that I enjoyed in the book and movie.
In the movie, I liked the part where they received the money in the hole and got it because that was fun to see them get lots of money. It was even better when Zero wrote Stanley’s name on the suitcase in the book. It was cool in the movie how it was engraved though. I like how the scenes are different in the book to the movie. This makes the story more enjoyable to watch and more entertaining to see the difference. Although that was cool, there is one part that I didn’t care for.
In the movie, I didn’t like how Stanley’s family looks like a bunch of idiotic adults putting fruits and shoes in pots with test tubes and beakers. Although it was kind of funny, I found it weird too. This was not terrible just kind of weird. Another part that wasn’t that great was when in the book Kissi’n Kate Barllow is found and Trout Walker finds her and demands immediate loot and pay. They make her get up and walk around the lake barefoot and I thought that particular part was a bit boring.
In return Kate states that she is not releasing the location of the buried treasure and states that Trouts family will be digging for a long time. In my opinion, the movie made this scene better. I believe that the movie just did its justice. I liked the book for being a long enjoyable and suspenseful read to get the chance to hear about every day and I got excited but the movie had a visual approach as intended and cannot be judged for the way they are presented.
But when it comes down to it, the movies storyline was a bit easier to follow and less hard to comprehend especially I could imagine for little kids interested. Finally, the part where I get to wrap things up. In conclusion, Holes was a great book and movie while its very edgy and intensive action packed storyline connected throughout the story. It was very fun to read along but sadly it has come to an end. It was great while we read it, but no such longer.
It may have taken a while for me to realize but in the end the theme is to never give up. Yes, Stanley may have been thrown in a bus and taken half way around the country due to a random pair of shoes falling from an overhang. He may have been forced to dig holes in a dessert with an average of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and been bullied at the same time. But he didn’t give up. Stanley even had to run away and live off of onions and muddy water for a few weeks but he made it.
He never gave up; and what was his reward one may ask? In the book, almost a million dollars! A few million in the movie! I prefer the movie for having a more compact and interesting storyline and having a better picture overall. Literally a better picture! This has been my comparative essay and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed holes.
