Holes Essay
Describe an important scene in ‘Holes’. You should briefly explain what happens in the scene and then say how the scene contributes to our understanding of a character or and idea (theme).
A crucial and compelling scene in the film ‘Holes’ is the scene in which Zero, sick and tired of being treated so terribly for so long, decides to run away in quite a spectacular fashion. The scene starts out with Dr. Pedansky giving the boys their lunch. One of the campers, Zig-Zag, mischievously takes some extra graham crackers then sneaks off before Dr. Pedansky can spot him. He then moves over to Stanley’s hole where he mockingly offers him his extra graham crackers for Stanley’s help in digging his hole in return. In the film this gesture is shown through a particularly effective camera technique; a low angled point of view shot of Stanley looking up at Zig-Zag. This technique highlights the power that Zig-Zag has over Stanley and also how he has a slight crazy side to him.
Stanley then tries to shrug Zig-Zag off, but Zig-Zag persists which eventually causes Stanley to become physical, hitting the graham cracker out of his hand. This quickly erupts into a full scale ‘punch up’. At the side, Dr. Pedansky starts pushing Stanley to fight harder. Zig-Zag, egged on by Dr. Pedansky, get’s on top of Stanley and clearly shows he is winning this battle. Then, out of nowhere, Zero comes rushing up to the two boys and leaps onto Zig-Zags’ back, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck. Instantly Zig-Zag starts desperately gulping for air but its no use. Dr. Pedansky finally breaks it up with a frustrated gun shot. The Warden of the camp is quickly called down to the campers. She asks Zig-Zag and his mates why he started the brawl. They all tell her it was because ‘being out in the hot sun all day can make your blood boil’. Soon after a quick discussion, the Warden quickly discovers Stanley and Zero’s deal to help dig holes in return for reading lessons....