YOU ARE ENTERING CAMP GREEN LAKE “There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. There once was a very large lake here, the largest lake in Texas. That was over a hundred years ago. Now it is just a dry, flat wasteland. “There used to be a town of Green Lake as well. The town shriveled and dried up along with the lake, and the people who lived there.” You can tell that setting is important inHolesbecause that is where the author begins. Sachar locates Camp Green Lake in a dry lakebed in Texas, a place where no rain has fallen in more than a century. The punishing heat and uncomfortable conditions make this the perfect spot for a prison. No guard towers or fences are necessary because anyone attempting to run away would quickly die of thirst and end up as “buzzard food,” Stanley’s first impressions of Camp Green Lake sketch out a stark picture for the reader: “The land was barren and desolate. Holescontains three stories, all intersecting in one place. Setting and Context 1) Modern day: Camp Green Lake, a juvenile correctional facility in Texas. 2) 110 years ago: Green Lake, a town in the location of the modern-day camp. 3) Over 100 years ago: Latvia. One of the stories from the past concerns Stanley’s great-great grandfather Elya. As a young man in Latvia, Elya made a promise to a woman named Madame Zeroni. In return for her help, Elya agreed to fulfill three tasks: He would carry Madame Zeroni up a mountain, help her drink from a magical stream, and sing her a special song. But Elya forgets to keep his promise when he sails off to America, and the Yelnats family is cursed for generations to come. The second story tells how a beautiful and kindhearted schoolteacher becomes a notorious outlaw. Katherine fell in love with Sam, the onion man. Because she was white and Sam was black, their love had tragic consequences. For the next twenty years Kissin’ Kate Barlow was one of the most feared outlaws in all the West.” We also learn that Kissin’ Kate buried her loot somewhere in the lakebed. She died from a yellow-spotted lizard bite before she could tell anyone where she’d hidden it. More than a century later, the Warden wants desperately to find Kate’s buried treasure. Sachar, who lives in Austin, says that the blistering Texas summers gave him the first ideas for this book. On Stanley’s second day at the camp, “The only thing that got him out of bed was knowing that every second he wasted meant he was one step closer to the rising of the sun. He hated the sun.” These descriptive details seem realistic enough, but there are also signs that Camp Green Lake is not an actual place. Pockmarked with holes, the dry lakebed reminds Stanley of the surface of the moon, an unearthly setting.
The combination of realistic details and imaginary elements in the setting of this book may remind you of a fable or a folktale, demonstrating how Sachar borrows from these traditions inHoles. Folk narratives typically include both real and fanciful elements), and are part of the culture of the American West.
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