Holes By Louis Sachar Essay

The novel holes by Louis Sachar showcases many major teen issues, in particular crime, affecting today’s youth. Teen crime is when an individual under the age of the majority acts against the law. Teen crime features very clearly in the novel and Sachar displays the consequences, effects and examples of the issue throughout the novel. This issue will be explored through an analysis of the setting, plot and characters in the text, holes.

My first support to this claim will be setting. Sachar has set the novel primarily at the youth detention centre ‘Camp Green Lake’ where every boy has committed some form of crime in order to be sent to the camp as punishment and rehabilitation. As Stanley is escorted into Camp Green Lake, a sign declared it was a violation of the Texas Penal Code to bring guns, explosives, weapons or alcohol onto the premises’ (p.12). This immediately sets the scene with a high potential for crime by showing how dangerous and untrustworthy the inmates can be. Everything in the setting is based around the fact that all the teenagers are criminals who have lost their freedom and are forced to obey the orders of the guards whether they like it or not.
First and fore most, it is portrayed through all the in mates as they all have acted against the law to be sent to the camp. Examples of this include Twitch, who was arrested for stealing a car (p.145) and Zero, who was caught stealing a pair of shoes (p.184). All of the teens within the correction facility struggle as a result of their crimes although sometimes teens are force into; Zero is a prime example of this. Zero is bound to a life of crime from a young age as he and his mother live in poverty; Zero states ‘we always took what we needed’ (p.184). Zero must steal to survive and after he is caught stealing shoes, is sent to Camp Green