How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Assignment Three

When an author begins to paint a wonderful or dismal scene in a story, weather becomes a main factor in bringing across a point or foreshadowing. The author uses artistically detailed adjectives and verbs to describe what the main character is about to endure without just flat out saying it.

In the novel, Holes, the main character, Stanley Yelnats is sent to Camp Green Lake after "stealing" a pair of shoes from charity. From simply judging by the name, being forced to go to this camp instead of jail sounds like a walk in the park, but after arriving he soon realizes that it was a LIE.

Louis Sachar introduces Stanley, driving down a dusty road toward a scorching desert and 120 degree weather. A total wasteland. After reading this novel I began to realize the significance of the weather in this particular scene. The author is trying to foreshadow what the main character is about to have to experience. The dry, deserted location represents how alone Stanley feels and how out of place he is. The desert camp not only crushes his hope of getting off easy and escaping, but can also metaphorically describe the other members of the camp. All of them are scarred and dismal, but in the end they all want a fresh start.

On the other hand, the dry, open desert can simulate a new beginning. It is so wide, free, and dangerous. It offers up a new start, with more options than any of them ever expected.